Peter Pans's Neverland Nightmare is directed by Scott Jeffrey, and the cast includes Martin Portlock, Charity Kase, Megan Placito, Kit Green, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney.
A few years ago, Winnie-the-Pooh entered the public domain, and within what felt like five minutes, someone turned it into a slasher movie, a really bad one with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, but hey, it made good money, so of course they will continue.
We then got a sequel which was a bit better, but still pretty bad, and I await to watch the 3rd one when it releases. I don't know why I do it to myself, even outside of the poohniverse, so many films featuring childhood characters being turned into horror villains have been released, and pretty much none are decent, even in a 'So bad they're good' way - yet I still watch them.
Thankfully, Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare is nothing like the Pooh movies really. It’s not a slasher romp, it’s actually a psychological horror film. And it works much better - granted, it isn't anything that
good, but this one is actually somewhat watchable.
In this twisted version, Peter Pan is a grown man who works at a creepy circus and kidnaps young boys. He takes them to this sketchy abandoned building with the help of his assistant, Tinker Bell. When he snatches Michael Darling, his sister Wendy sets out to save him before Peter takes him to “Neverland” -which here is more of a creepy concept than a magical place. There’s no flying. No pirates. Just some deeply unsettling stuff.
What I quite liked about the movie is that the it doesn’t tell you everything. Is Peter actually the Peter Pan? Or is he just some disturbed guy who thinks he’s a fairy-tale character? Is Neverland actually real? Or is that just what he tells himself while doing horrible things? The movie keeps that ambiguity, and it it does make it all a bit more interesting.
Character and acting wise, nothing much to say about them really. Most of them have little depth and aren't that good, not that I was expecting them to. But Peter Pan himself, played by Martin Portlock, is fine. He flips from being this weirdly charming circus guy to a total psycho in seconds, and he does pretty good with the creepy vibes.
The gore is practical (bless them for that), and is fine - just the right amount of gross without being over-the-top, and there are little nods to other films too, but instead of feeling like a ripoff, it comes across more as a love letter to horror.
What surprised me most, though, is how emotional parts of it were. I came expecting another silly horror spin on a childhood classic, and I got something darker, more thoughtful, and kind of moving in places, that actually leaves you with some question. I respected that, a lot, especially for this type of film.
This weird little horror universe that started off as a joke might actually get watchable if this is anything to go by, especially if they keep taking risks like this. It was nowhere near as bad as I thought, and little wins in this franchise - such as being somewhat watchable even if it isn't that good - are big wins after the mess of what came before.
We shall see when Bambi: The Reckoning brings to the table.