Pinocchio: Unstrung, the latest in the Twisted Childhood Universe franchise, turns the beloved puppet into a sick serial killer. Directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the film follows the same formula as the grisly Winnie-the-Pooh movies, offering feeble satire and shock-free horror.
A nasty piece of work
The film is set in a stately pile in the English countryside, where inventor Geppetto (Richard Brake) lives with his preteen grandson James (Cameron Bell), whose parents died in an accident. James has also lost a friend to childhood cancer. Geppetto carves Pinocchio out of wood and brings him to life—a friend who will never die. Like Chucky in the Child's Play movies, Pinocchio is a creepy doll with a malevolent face and rictus grin.
Black comedy and juvenile gags
James is terrified when they first meet, but they become fast friends. There are juvenile gags as Pinocchio learns about real boys, noting in an encyclopedia that Geppetto has missed a vital bit of anatomy. One day, James sneaks Pinocchio into his school bag and tells him not to move. But when James is bullied and mutters, “I wish they were all dead,” Pinocchio takes action.
Problems and cliches
The yucky bits feel like replays of slasher cliches with little satire. A scene features a female character playing a schoolkid getting a slasher moment topless in the shower, with the camera panning across her naked silhouette behind the curtain. The gore seems too fake to be properly disgusting, and the gruesome moments might get chuckles but no gasps. The film fundamentally fails to deliver shocks.
Pinocchio: Unstrung is in UK and US cinemas from 24 July.
