Pinocchio: Unstrung | Film Review

 

Pinocchio, a wooden doll, will do whatever it takes to become a real boy. Even if his actions have deadly consequences.

The newest instalment of the Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU)! I get so excited each time a new film in the franchise gets released, and they're getting progressively better, which is a major plus!

I liked this film for what it was - and every single person involved in making it knows exactly what it is, which is great!

The design of Pinocchio is really interesting, particularly the progression of this, the way he changes as he experiences different things and how he becomes a horror figure.

The story, as I'd probably say for all TCU movies, is really original and creative. Even the ones that weren't good had a starting point of taking these classic childhood stories and adding original horror twists to them.

This one spent time developing and allowing the audience to get to know the characters, which is something that was missing from some of the previous movies.

In particular, I really loved the relationship between James (Cameron Bell) and Pinocchio (voiced by Jude-Evan Lloyd). The relationship became something really sweet and endearing to watch, and both actors did really well in their portrayals of the characters.

And speaking of actors, Richard Brake was fantastic as Geppetto and I was so pleasantly surprised to find that one of the characters was voiced by horror legend Robert Englund! And he did a great job!

You do have to suspend your disbelief, especially for the gory scenes, but this isn't particularly unusual, even with good horror.

It does get a bit silly as we get closer to the end, but the silliness is fun and easy to lean into. And I appreciate that they try to go somewhere different, and the villain isn't who you think.

Overall, I had a great time with this movie! I'm loving the TCU so far, and I'm excited to see where it goes next!

5/10