‘Poohniverse’ Finally Wins Over Critics with Its Best-Reviewed Film Yet

Bambi: The Reckoning, a new British horror film from director Dan Allen and writer Rhys Warrington, is giving people a very different look at the forest. The movie reimagines the story of Bambi as a dark, violent tale of revenge. This is the fourth film in the Twisted Childhood Universe, also known as the Poohniverse, and according to critics, it might be the best one so far.

The story follows a mother and her young son who get trapped in the woods and end up being hunted by Bambi, who’s gone feral after witnessing the death of his own mother. It’s a brutal take on Felix Salten’s original novel, but one that leans all the way into horror, gore, and twisted nostalgia.

The film was first teased in late 2022, and it was later revealed that it would be part of the same shared universe as the previous horror reboots like Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey. Filming took place in London during January 2024, with production wrapping in just twenty days. The movie hit theaters in the U.S. on July 25, 2025.

Bambi: The Reckoning stars Roxanne McKee, Tom Mulheron, Nicola Wright, Samira Mighty, and others. It doesn’t have a massive cast or big effects budget, but it still manages to deliver a believable and atmospheric horror experience. The CGI is used sparingly and effectively, with most of the tension coming from shadowy shots and the eerie woods setting.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a 71% score from 14 critics. The audience response is also decent, with over 50 fan ratings giving it a 69% on the Popcornmeter. That makes it the most well-received movie in the TCU so far.

Critics said the film works thanks to its strong visual mood, creepy atmosphere, and surprisingly emotional moments. While still very much a B-movie with a wild premise, it doesn’t play it too safe. It’s dark, weird, and unapologetically violent. Reviewers liked that it leaned into the absurdity without becoming a total joke. The emotional weight of the story and the commitment to the revenge theme gave it just enough heart to balance out the blood.

Some have called it the Cujo of fairy tale horror, while others said it reminded them of something like The Toxic Avenger meets Jaws: The Revenge—wild, over-the-top, but oddly satisfying.

The film’s technical team is a small crew, the end credits were mercifully short, but they achieve good believable work with their CGI, keeping their scenes dark, only revealing the horror creatures when they need to.

Cris Kennedy

Bleak, bloody, and effective eco-horror. This grizzly homage to the cartoon trauma of Bambi’s past should satisfy those who want to enjoy a bloody-fun bastardization of their youth and an exploitation of their childhood traumas.

Stephanie Malone

Bambi: The Reckoning is Cujo for the Brothers Grimm aficionados, one of the strongest additions to the Poohniverse, if not the best so far. It’s B-horror as B-horror should be: bloody, cruel, unflinching, and not concerned with the dramatics.

Jaylan Salah

With a successfully spooky, dreamy atmosphere that lets you believe these inescapable woods go on forever, and a memorable giant murder beast, it’s the best in this cinematic series so far.

Luke Y. Thompson

At a breezy 81 minutes, Bambi: The Reckoning moves along at a healthy pace, leaving little room for the sort of filler that usually troubles such low-budget horror films.

Joel Harley

For fans of the Poohniverse or anyone curious about horror reboots of childhood stories, Bambi: The Reckoning might be worth checking out. It may not be for everyone, but it’s definitely made a mark.

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