Whilst alot of indie horror film studios are jumping on the band wagon of making cheaply made horror films out of beloved kids cartoon characters the one studio that started it all was Jagged Edge Productions. Well there've just released the latest entry in there Twisted Childhood Universe with this even boasting a couple of legendary horror actors in it and so then join me as I give you my SPOILER FILLED review of the film that is quite easily better then Bambi: The Reckoning with the film in film in question being called simply just "Pinocchio: Unstrung" enjoy.
The plot of this film is when a grandfather makes his grandson a puppet to keep him company the puppets naive nature leads to him getting the urge to kill something which the boy and his group of friends must stop before it's far to late. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally tought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. To be frank this films plot really does have no right being as good as it isas by all rights this films plot should have been a very paint by numbers slasher plot where you can predict all of the plot points coming a mile away. Yet with this film you really do have no idea of where the plot is going with this being something that does make you want to keep on watching the film and heck speaking purely from a plot point of view this might be the best Twisted Childhood Universe film as alot of them do have these predictable plots to them and yet here with this film you no idea of where the plot is taking you or where it's going to go next and while yes the films plot could have been alot more stronger in some aspects it's alot alot more better then the plots of films like for example Popeye Returns of Betty's Revenge as with this plot there is alot effort put into making good and out into making you care about the plot in the first place granted it's not as good as say the plot of Scream VI but for the type of horror film that this is it is a good plot in it's own way the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this film is Jude-Evan Lloyd as the voice of Pinocchio and Robert Englund as the voice of the Cricket. Also starring in this film is Batman Begins star Richard Brake as Geppetto , Cameron Bell as James , Karolina Knight , Amanda , Mya Brown as Georgia , Jack Art Gray as Dudley , Luca Marandola as Logan , Toni Olabanji as Trey , Elliott Spilling as Zach , William Turnbull as Daniel and Jessica Balmer as Mia.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally tought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. The fact that this films acting is about as it is is something that you do expect not only from the Twisted Childhood Universe films but also from other films like this as well with the main difference here being the fact that this films writer , producer and director Rhys Frake-Waterfield is actually trying to get a good performance out of his actors and while some of the kid actors are really bad as it usually the case with kid actors the acting from the adults especially Richard Brake and Robert Englund is top notch with of them showing of why they are in there own rights horror acting legends. However neither of them are the films best actor as the best actor in this film is Cameron Bell as James as even tho he is a kid actor in this film he is just so good in this film and heck even tho this is only his first ever feature film the kid does have a really great future ahead of him in acting should this be a path that he chooses to go down further, with him being shockingly good in this film as his performance really does anchor the entire film with Cameron brining his own likable charm to the character which is something that really does shine through in his performance in this film. With the acting that's in this film really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.
This films characters are where the film does somewhat start to dip in quality as alot of them just aren't that good in the first place. As alot of the side characters are very note characters who are just there to be killed of and really nothing more then that with the best example of this being the character of Dudley who adds quite literally nothing to the films plot and it just there to tell us how amazing Pinocchio as a toy puppet is and that's not enough to to fully justify him being a character in the film as alot of his lines could have been given to any one else in the film and it would have made just as much sense and the character of Mia is just there to be the token girl character as outside of the fact that she's the only one of the there group of friends who can drive she adds nothing to the film. However tho where the films characters do pick is both in the side characters and with Pinocchio's side characters as we all know The Cricket from all of the various adaptations of the book with him here not really acting as Pinocchio's conscience as here he is one of two characters that are actively trying to get Pinocchio t commit these crimes in the first film with the other being a wood creature, Pinocchio himself was about as well handled as he always is with the film not really doing any thing all that knew with him as a character which is fair enough as there is only so much that you could do with him as a character. The films main two human character Geppetto and James where actually quite good with Geppetto being a grandfather that does genuinely love his grandson James so much so that he does create Pinocchio just to keep James company and James is a sweet and innocent kid who is just lovable.
SPOILERS START HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you've been following these films from the very beginning then you will spot some easter eggs and some cameos from other characters like for example we either have Peter DeSouza-Feighoney as Michael Darling or one of this films producers Scott Chambers as Christopher Robin. As it could be either character that we see in a hospital scene talking to James but either way it was fun to see either character as it does hit home the point that these films are meant to be set in the same fictional world with the cameo being done tastefully as they do appear in a scene where there character would naturally appear and aren't just forced into the film as a way for us fans of these films to get mildly excited like they very easily could have been. Heck even the cover to one of the songs that a character is listening to is one of the posters for the first Blood And Honey film with Winnie The Pooh being plastered front and centre which is a nice little tip of the hat to where these films began as opposed to where they are now and again much like with the cameos the film doesn't really linger on it all that much as it's just a quick shot and then the film moves on but it is still nice to see the makers of this film not only giving us glimpses as to where the characters are now but are also tipping there hat to where they began these films and the very rough state that they were in and yet due to the fact that they were more then willing to listen to the fans and fix the issues that people had with the first film in the second film it does mean that there is alot more effort put into these film as opposed to any of the other film where the main villain is a classic kids character, while it the film would work without these cameos and easter eggs as they don't really add anything to the plot of the film they were still fun things to put in and The Twisted Childhood Universe is now at that point where they have build up enough good will where they can afford to put in things like this and not have it be distracting from the main film.
While there are alot of things that this film does indeed get right it sadly does get alot of things wrong like for example the fact that they do a surprise reveal with Geppetto actually being the main villain of the film which does feel a little bit cliche. With the other thing being the fact that the film does go over board with making sure to give James this overly dramatic and depressing back story where his parents are killed and then one of his best friends are killed none of which was needed as they add nothing to the film other then being a way to explain why he is is staying with Geppetto in the first first place which even then you could change to him staying with because of the fact that he lives closer to James's school or his parents are away on holiday either one would have made sense. Speaking of James's school the makers of the film can't decide on if he goes to a private boarding school or not as the film does go out of it's way to say that Geppetto is insanely rich therefor it would make sense that he would send his apparently only grandchild to a boarding school with the school itself even looking like a boarding school and yet for some odd reason the school allows the students to go home every day which defeats the entire purpose of it being a boarding school in the first place and whilst yes this is a only a very minor issue in the grand scheme of things it is something that did drive me crazy watching the film as it really does look a boarding school and while the plot of the film isn't effected by this it is something that the makers of this film could have addressed with a line of dialog from one of the characters with them saying that it used to be a boarding school but is now just a regular school that right there would addressed this minor issue head on.
Let's talk about the twist with Geppetto as while it does make sense that the film would have him be a surprise villain. Given everything that we've seen with the character it really doesn't add up as everything that we've seen with him does make him out to be this kind old man that is genuinely trying to do what's best for his grandson with the two of them even having some sweet and fun scenes together and yet we are still supposed to buy into the fact that at the end of the film he is this cold blooded killer that right there just doesn't add up it would have worked if we got to see hints of him turning evil all throughout the film like maybe he does start to mistreat first Pinocchio and then James which granted wouldn't have been much but it would have been something. To be frank here that whole part with Geppetto being evil does feel like more of an excuse to have Richard Brake play another villain which is fine as if you've got someone who is known for playing horror villain then why not cast him to play another one but it is still something that could have been done alot more better with the only thing of good coming from it being the fact that we get to see Pinocchio be the one to kill him as while it would have made sense from an emotional stand point for it to be James to be the one to kill let's be real here the only person that we would want to see Geppetto is Pinocchio as he is meant to be the main villain of the film in the first place, with the fact that Geppetto does end up dying also kind of being tragic in it's own right as now James doesn't have any family left whatsoever which is also true for Pinocchio and while the film of course doesn't address this given the fact that Pinocchio is meant to be appearing in Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble it is something that could be getting addressed in that film.
Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and sixteen minuets and twenty seven seconds. This is quite a short running time for one of these films to have and this is something that is a bit of an issue in it's own right as it does mean that things like the films plot can't be fully set up as by the time that the plot of the film is fully set up then the film over half way done whereas if this film was about fifteen minuets longer then it would have had more then enough time to set up the films plot and it's characters as while the films world won't for obvious reason need setting up its characters and there relationships to each other with the film having more then enough plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place. With the film not even using its running time all that wisely as due to it having a shorter running time it really can't take the time to fully develop it's already thin plot as it does have to set up first and it can't do that when t's taking it's time to get properly started and when a film is this short every single scene needs to be about advancing the plot of the film and it can't do that when it has to spend so much screen time in first setting up the films plot with the makers of this film being more focused on showing of the Pinocchio puppet then they are in giving us a well developed plot. This is also something that does affect the films character development as well as the films characters can't have the time that they desperately needed in th first place to be well thought as they are now fighting for time with the films plot and yet if this film was just fifteen minuets longer both the plot and the characters would be able to get the development that they both so desperately needed with the makers of this film being more focused of making sure that we cared about James then they are in giving ant of its characters some character development but I really will admi that this film really does have some really good pacing to it ho.
So now then as this is a slasher film tat really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us un this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With the films kills actually being one of the best things about the film in the first place as while this film didn't have a big budget it as spent wisely as you can tell that alot of it went into making the Pinocchio puppet and to the films gore effects as the gore effects in this film are what really sell you on the films kills that they all look good and that was something that they really didn't need to do as the idea of having Pinocchio killing people and taking bit of them is a creepy enough idea that the film could have coasted on just having lame kills. With the best kill in the whole film being the scene where Pinocchio innocently entertaining the schools teachers gym with him just standing there doing nothing when all of the teachers get killed of in really brutal ways with each teachers death being the cause of another death with it all coming coming together when about two maybe three weights crush the face and skull in of a teacher, that whole entire scene is clearly where alot of the films effects budget went as every death in that scene looked like it hurt and while there deaths aren't caused by Pinocchio as he is literally just standing there watching them it is still fun to picture him there in the first place with the rest of the films kills being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall whilst the last two films in this universe haven't been the best this film is a return to form as it is a really good film that much like with the other films in this series does show that the makers of this film are willing to listen to the fans and give them exactly what they want which in this case does result in a really good film in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad ttings that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6,5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Tenor , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images simply because Google Images actually has images from this film really are up and on Google Images and plus pretty much much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we end this review as we always do with really our one and true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams
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