Step aside, Poohniverse – there’s already a “weird” Pinocchio horror movie with a terrible Rotten Tomatoes score out there

Pinocchio: Unstrung is the newest installment of the The Twisted Childhood Universe – often referred to as the “Poohniverse” – but another movie already beat it to the punch.

Horror movies tackling beloved childhood characters has become something of a trend in recent years, reaching peak ridiculousness with Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey in 2023.

Although a critical bomb, it was a success at the box office, thus creating an entire cinematic universe based on beloved characters. As such, Pinocchio, Bambi, and Peter Pan are all set to become part of the Twisted Childhood Universe in coming years.

While Pinocchio: Unstrung has already been accused of “copying” the marketing of another, iconic horror doll, it’s also causing movie lovers to remember one particularly corny horror movie that took on the puppet in the ’90s.

That’s right – before there was Pinocchio: Unstrung, there was Pinocchio’s Revenge. Debuting as a straight-to-video release in 1996, the horror movie was a dark take on the famous character.

The movie revolves around a lawyer defending a convicted child murderer, taking home an innocent seeming wooden puppet that was buried with a body. When her young daughter takes a liking to the doll, they keep it, only to find that the Pinocchio puppet has a violent mind of its own.

Pinocchio’s Revenge was a flop with critics

If the words “straight-to-video” raise red flags, then you’d be forgiven. It was generally panned across the board by critics and audiences alike, and currently sits at only 25% on Rotten Tomatoes.

When the Pinocchio: Unstrung poster was revealed on August 23, one X user wrote: “Let’s see if this new Pinocchio horror movie can compete with Pinocchio’s Revenge.”

Another pointed out: “Um, they already made a Pinocchio horror movie back in ’96.”

Over on Reddit, one user wrote: “My cousin and I would always go look at the horror movies in Suncoast, and this was one we always wanted to see, based on the title and cover alone.”

Evidently, Pinocchio’s Revenge might serve better as an ironic watch, rather than a genuine horror masterpiece.

As one user wrote: “It’s the perfect movie to watch on a lazy night. My stepfather use to buy VHS tapes from this guy and this movie was one of them. I used to watch it lot when I was kid. It still makes no damn sense.” Another added: “It is so weird!!!”

However, others remember the ’90s horror more fondly, with comments like: “This is a sleeper for sure. It’s actually a pretty well done piece of psychological horror, and that puppet is creepy as sh*t,” and: “I remember watching this when I was 10 and it scared the sh*t out of me, gonna have to check it out again!”

Pinocchio’s Revenge isn’t currently available on streaming services, but you can rent the movie on Apple TV+ for $3.99.

For more, check out all the other 2024 horror movies to get excited about. You can also read our reviews of the movies at FrightFest 2024, and take a look at all the best serial killer documentaries to watch now.