A knowingly trashy but often inventive splatter-horror riff on Pinocchio that seems to lean hard into practical gore, dark comedy, and a mean-spirited fairy-tale premise. It sounds like the kind of movie that will delight gorehounds and curiosity seekers while alienating anyone expecting polish, coherence, or… Read more
Pinocchio: Unstrung
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Horror · Fantasy
Wed · 1h 22m
Director: Rhys Frake-Waterfield
Starring: Jude Evan Lloyd, Robert Englund, Cameron Bell
Overview
Influenced by a sinister Cricket and created by Geppetto, Pinocchio launches a violent crusade to carve himself into a real boy like his brother James, one piece at a time.
Director
Rhys Frake-Waterfield
Cast
Jude Evan Lloyd, Robert Englund, Cameron Bell
Curator Review
Verdict
A knowingly trashy but often inventive splatter-horror riff on Pinocchio that seems to lean hard into practical gore, dark comedy, and a mean-spirited fairy-tale premise. It sounds like the kind of movie that will delight gorehounds and curiosity seekers while alienating anyone expecting polish, coherence, or genuine emotional depth.
Best for
hardcore gore fans
viewers curious about the Twisted Childhood Universe/Poohniverse
fans of splatter comedy and practical effects
midnight-movie audiences
people who enjoy outrageous horror premises
Skip if
you want polished filmmaking
you dislike cheap-looking CGI or uneven pacing
you are squeamish about body horror, teeth, and mutilation
you prefer sincere fairy-tale adaptations
you want a movie with strong emotional restraint or subtlety
Overview
Pinocchio: Unstrung sounds like exactly the kind of shamelessly deranged horror gimmick its title promises: a wooden boy on a bloody quest to become “real” by harvesting body parts. The strongest reactions point to inventive kills, nasty practical effects, and a gleefully absurd tone that knows it is ridiculous and tries to weaponize that absurdity rather than hide it.
Worth noting
The film’s appeal seems to live in the margins: the animatronic work, the splatter set pieces, and Robert Englund’s sinister Cricket voice performance. When it clicks, it plays like a rowdy midnight crowd-pleaser with a mean streak. When it doesn’t, the complaints are familiar for this universe: rushed pacing, uneven craft, and some distracting digital effects.
Bottom line
As a one-time ride for horror completists, it sounds like a worthwhile curiosity and possibly one of the stronger entries in this particular low-budget fairy-tale horror lane. As a movie to admire for structure, elegance, or emotional resonance, it probably comes up short. The question is less whether it is “good” than whether you want to watch a murderous puppet tear through a fairy tale with no shame at all.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Yves Bouwen (3★) · 111 likes
From the masterminds that brought you Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey and the likes, aka the Poohniverse, comes ... Well that doesn't sound right. From the mental minds that brought you Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey and the likes, aka the Poohniverse, comes Pinocchio Unstrung. If you ever had a deep desire to see Pinocchio peeling someone's face off, harvesting organs or sticking his nose up a poor guy's nose, this is for you. For James! With real boys and real puppets.
Azz l'épouvantail (4★) · 52 likes
What a nasty, nasty boy ! De très loin le meilleur et le plus gore du Twisted Childhood Universe. C'est très con, la mise en scène et le montage sont toujours un peu aux fraises, mais y'a tellement de moments de bravoure, d'animatroniques trop cools et de meurtres cruels et crapuleux que franchement... Chapeau. Y'a même eu un malaise dans la salle ! Et pour de vrai, cette fois !
🖖🏼jess (1★) · 45 likes
the collective laugh when this title appeared
Final_girl_lex (2.5★) · 23 likes
The movie shines brightest during its creative, bloody kills. Watching Pinocchio desperately slice up victims to build his own human body is wonderfully twisted and Robert Englund's voice performance as the manipulative Cricket adds a much-needed layer of dark menace to the chaos. It works fine as a one-time popcorn flick for horror lovers, especially to admire Todd Masters' stellar Pinocchio animatronic, but honestly, I don’t ever need to ever watch it again.
ChuckYourMovieGuy (3.5★) · 18 likes
Significantly better than anything from this universe- There’s actually a story here, that carries some emotional weight- Richard Brake is fantastic along with the child actors- Mix that with some gnarly practical effects and very creative kills- Because this little wooden bastard is a savage- And you might just have the surprise horror movie of the year- Only real complaint-it felt a little rushed at a lean 82 minutes- And I could’ve used more cricket- in fact, I could use a whole entire cricket movie! Robert England’s voice behind this design is one of my favorite things in years-
Themes
body horror, dark fairy tale, splatter comedy, identity and transformation, mutilation, twisted innocence, practical effects, revenge quest
Topics
horror, fantasy, body horror, splatter, dark comedy, fairy tale, practical effects, midnight movie, gore, low-budget