Bambi: The Reckoning Review

Welcome back, Twisted Childhood Universe fanatics. We’ve seen Winnie the Pooh slaughter innocents, watched Peter Pan kidnap children, and present we get the Poohniverse’s archetypal carnal diagnostic successful Bambi: The Reckoning. Writer Rhys Warrington morphs the lovable mule cervid who archetypal appeared successful writer Felix Salten’s Bambi, a Life successful the Woods into a monstrous sidesplitting instrumentality hellbent connected vengeance. It’s a razor-toothed instrumentality connected what mightiness beryllium 1 of Disney’s saddest animated classics, and stands arsenic 1 of the TCU’s amended films. Maybe that’s a debased barroom fixed it’s lone the 4th introduction and they’re each schlocky by design, but heck, astatine slightest we’re not reliving the worst-of-all terribleness of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.

This retelling opens with Bambi’s tragic backstory, but doubles down connected the heartache. Bambi not lone watches his parent die, but aboriginal finds his mate turned to roadkill by a Wilbexr Pharmaceuticals motortruck and his kid taken. It’s the impetus for the titular reckoning, which comes to walk aft helium sips outpouring h2o tainted with the company’s toxic waste. A ghastly, demonic-looking Bambi mutation with jagged teeth and zombie-ish features appears successful each its computer-generated glory, with muscular explanation inspired by David Bruckner’s godlike cervid entity successful The Ritual (because, without immoderate shame, these TCU films each ape ideas from acold superior, much fashionable fearfulness movies). The effects don’t look horrible, particularly nether the shadiness of night, but it’s inactive intelligibly a knockoff.

Enter Xana (Roxanne McKee) and her lad Benji (Tom Mulheron), the cardinal protagonists. Their narration parallels Bambi and his child’s, fixed however Xana’s deadbeat husband, Simon (Alex Cooke), is arsenic absent arsenic Bambi’s dormant lover. There’s an attempted commentary astir chasing parental emotion from the incorrect root and ignoring what’s available, but it’s hardly interesting. Bambi’s rage is provoked by humanity’s desecration of nature, which leads to a much inviting subplot astir mercenaries hired by Wilbexr to way down Murder Bambi. Unshockingly, Bambi: The Reckoning is strongest erstwhile hunters are maimed and decapitated – that’s erstwhile this movie isn’t taking itself excessively seriously.

Director Dan Allen tries to equilibrium B-movie splatter effects with an affectional communicative of parental protection, but it’s a futile effort. The worst determination Bambi: The Reckoning makes is veering distant from the grim fable’s inherent silliness, sucking the amusive retired of gruesome wood rampages. The inclusion of Benji’s extended household is simply unfortunate fodder, ne'er fleshed retired beyond however their soma volition beryllium ripped out. The champion we’ve got is obnoxious teen Harrison (Joseph Greenwood), a bratty younker truthful annoying that his decease can’t hap soon enough. Allen desperately wants to instrumentality a basal for uncovering anticipation successful dysfunctional household dynamics, yet his nobler intentions ne'er align with the after-midnight thrills these TCU slashers chase. Either that, oregon helium fails to work the country successful presumption of hammering america implicit the caput with sadness, similar that inexcusably bleak ending that near maine with a sour sensation successful my mouth.

As for the violence, you’ll beryllium delighted (die-lighted?) to perceive that Bambi is simply a human-seeking rocket carrying retired Mother Nature’s cruelest orders, goring threats connected his antlers and leaving trails of blood. Even better, an homage to Thumper gets successful connected the carnage, due to the fact that immoderate woodland carnal could person sipped the aforesaid infected water, right? Bambi: The Reckoning finds its groove arsenic blameworthy parties conscionable vile fates, with hooves and chompers causing repulsive brutality. Had it not felt weighed down by melodrama and throwaway improvement of uninteresting characters, possibly the chaotic joyousness of Bambi’s murderous mayhem could person risen to the apical of the TCU.

But, alas, Bambi: The Reckoning sinks into a forgettable rhythm of one-by-one kills and nods to its superior influences. You can’t assistance but spot Death of a Unicorn (minus the comedy) reflecting successful countless scenes, which is simply a shame due to the fact that Bambi: The Reckoning was expected to beryllium released earlier A24’s fantastical farce successful 2024. There are besides galore Jurassic Park references, which consciousness doubly recycled due to the fact that Death of a Unicorn itself remixes Jurassic Park: The Lost World.

Of course, Bambi: The Reckoning is hardly original, adjacent beyond the nationalist domain, due to the fact that these movies thin to trust connected imitation alternatively than reinvention. It’s a shame, due to the fact that characters similar Peter Pan and Bambi are begging for their ain breakouts, not to go cut-rate versions of idiosyncratic else’s successes.