Rhys Frake-Waterfield | |
|---|---|
 Rhys Frake-Waterfield in January 2023, promoting Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey | |
| Born | Rhys Frake-Waterfield |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2021–present |
Rhys Frake-Waterfield (born 1991or1992) [1] is a British filmmaker who became known for his 2023 independent horror film Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey and its 2024 sequel. It was the first theatrical film of his career, as well as the first for his production company, Jagged Edge Productions.
In 2021, Frake-Waterfield left his job at EDF Energy to create low-budget horror films. [2] After entering the film industry, he produced 36 feature films in two years. [3]
On 1 January 2022, the 1926 Winnie-the-Pooh book entered the public domain in the United States. [4] Shortly after this, Jagged Edge Productions announced a Winnie-the-Pooh-based slasher film called Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey , with Frake-Waterfield serving as the director, writer, and co-producer with Scott Jeffrey. There was much controversy among both the general public and Winnie-the-Pooh fans, with Frake-Waterfield claiming that he and the other members on the film's production received death threats [5] and petitions calling for the film to be cancelled, [6] but the film was released in cinemas in the United States on 15 February 2023, receiving very poor reviews. The film made over $US5 million [7] [8] on a budget reported to be less than $US100,000. [9] Afterwards, Frake-Waterfield announced a sequel to Blood and Honey with a budget five times greater, [9] along with a cinematic universe called The Twisted Childhood Universe with horror films based on Bambi, a Life in the Woods and Peter Pan . [10] [11] He has also expressed interest in making films about Thor, the Teletubbies , and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the future. [12] [13]
Frake-Waterfield is also the owner of Dark Abyss Productions, where he writes, directs and produces films under the name Tyler James (with Scott Jeffrey). [14] Films he has directed under this banner include The Loch Ness Horror, Sky Monster, Dinosaur Prison, Deadly Waters and Monsternado. Films he has produced under this banner include Three Blind Mice, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Snake Hotel, Alien Invasion, Return of Punch and Judy, and Medusa's Venom. [15]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Bloody Mary | No | No | Yes | Yes | [16] | |
| Easter Killing | No | No | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2022 | The Area 51 Incident | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also composer | [17] |
| The Killing Tree | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also decorations | ||
| 2023 | Firenado | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Co-directed with Scott Jeffrey | |
| Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2024 | Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | [18] | |
| TBA | Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare | No | Yes | Yes | No | [19] | |
| Year | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Dinosaur Hotel | [16] |
| Dragon Fury | ||
| The Legend of Jack and Jill | [17] | |
| Monsters of War | ||
| Spider in the Attic | ||
| 2022 | H.P. Lovecraft's Monster Portal | |
| Looks Can Kill | ||
| Wrath of Van Helsing | ||
| Croc! | [16] | |
| Shockwaves | [17] | |
| Kingdom of the Dinosaurs | [16] | |
| Jack Frost | [17] | |
| Pterodactyl | ||
| Dinosaur Hotel 2 | ||
| Dragon Fury: Wrath of Fire | ||
| Krampus: The Return | ||
| Bloody Mary Returns | ||
| Mega Lightning | ||
| Easter Bunny Massacre: The Bloody Trail | ||
| TBA | Bambi: The Reckoning | [20] |
| TBA | Pinocchio: Unstrung | [21] |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Picture | Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey | Won | [22] |
| Worst Director | |||||
| Worst Screenplay | |||||
Winnie-the-Pooh is a 1926 children's book by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The book is set in the fictional Hundred Acre Wood, with a collection of short stories following the adventures of an anthropomorphic teddy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, and his friends Christopher Robin, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, and Roo. It is the first of two story collections by Milne about Winnie-the-Pooh, the second being The House at Pooh Corner (1928). Milne and Shepard collaborated previously for English humour magazine Punch, and in 1924 created When We Were Very Young, a poetry collection. Among the characters in the poetry book was a teddy bear Shepard modelled after his son's toy. Following this, Shepard encouraged Milne to write about his son Christopher Robin Milne's toys, and so they became the inspiration for the characters in Winnie-the-Pooh.
Bambi is the title character in Felix Salten's 1923 novel, Bambi, a Life in the Woods, and its sequel, Bambi's Children. The character also appears in Salten's novels Perri and Fifteen Rabbits.
Johannes Roberts is a British filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. He is known for directing horror films such as The Other Side of the Door, 47 Meters Down and its sequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.
Winnie-the-Pooh is a fictional teddy bear, and the central character in the book series by A. A. Milne.
Winnie-the-Pooh is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name in a children's story commissioned by London's Evening News for Christmas Eve 1925. The character is inspired by a stuffed toy that Milne had bought for his son Christopher Robin in Harrods department store, and a bear they had viewed at London Zoo.
Winnie the Pooh is a media franchise produced by The Walt Disney Company, based on A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's stories featuring Winnie-the-Pooh. It started in 1966 with the theatrical release of the short Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.
Atomic Monster is an American film and television production company, founded in 2014 by James Wan. The company produced The Conjuring Universe, Lights Out, Mortal Kombat, Malignant and M3GAN.
Damien Leone is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer known for writing and directing All Hallows' Eve (2013), Terrifier (2016), and Terrifier 2 (2022), each of which feature his character Art the Clown. He is currently working on Terrifier 3 (2024).
Stream is an upcoming American horror film directed, co-written and co-produced by Michael Leavy. It stars Jeffrey Combs, Danielle Harris, Dee Wallace, Tim Reid, Mark Holton, Felissa Rose, Tony Todd, Daniel Roebuck, Dave Sheridan, Terry Alexander, Damian Maffei and David Howard Thornton. Several producers and crew members for Stream, including director Leavy, were previously involved with the productions of the 2016 film Terrifier and its sequel Terrifier 2, as well as upcoming Terrifier 3.
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey is a 2023 British independent slasher film produced, directed, written, and edited by Rhys Frake-Waterfield. The first installment of The Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU),, it serves as a horror reimagining of A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's Winnie-the-Pooh books and stars Craig David Dowsett as the titular character, and Chris Cordell as Piglet, with Amber Doig-Thorne, Nikolai Leon, Maria Taylor, Natasha Rose Mills, and Danielle Ronald in supporting roles. It follows Pooh and Piglet, who have become feral murderers, as they terrorise a group of young university women and Christopher Robin when he returns to the Hundred Acre Wood five years after leaving for college.
The Mean One is a 2022 American Christmas horror film directed by Steven LaMorte from a screenplay written by Flip and Finn Kobler. It is a horror retelling of Dr. Seuss' 1957 children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and stars Krystle Martin, Chase Mullins, John Bigham, Erik Baker, Flip Kobler, and Amy Schumacher, with David Howard Thornton as the eponymous character. It follows a young woman as she attempts to defend her childhood town from a green-skinned creature who goes on a murderous rampage during the holiday season.
The Twisted Childhood Universe, or TCU, is a multimedia franchise and shared continuity of movies consisting of independent slasher-horror parodies of various public domain children's fairy tale media characters. It was conceived and created by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, and produced by the filmmaker's Jagged Edge Productions film studio. The plot centers around beloved childhood characters, and through the storytelling lens of these characters becoming dark murderous monsters.
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is a 2024 British independent slasher film directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and written by Matt Leslie. It is the second installment of The Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU) and a sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023), which serves as a horror reimagining of A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's Winnie-the-Pooh books. The film stars Scott Chambers as Christopher Robin, and Ryan Oliva as the titular character, with Tallulah Evans, Teresa Banham, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Alec Newman, and Simon Callow in supporting roles. It follows Pooh as he embarks on a murderous rampage through Christopher Robin's childhood town to seek revenge on him for revealing his existence to the world.
Mickey's Mouse Trap is an upcoming Canadian independent comedy slasher film directed by Jamie Bailey from a screenplay written by Simon Phillips. It is a horror reimagining to Walt Disney's 1928 animated short film Steamboat Willie and stars Sophie McIntosh, Nick Biskupek, James Laurin, Mireille Gagné, Damir Kovic, Callum Sywyk, Allegra Nocita, Jesse Nasmith, Mackenzie Mills, Madeline Kelman, and Ben Harris, with Phillips as the titular character. It follows a group of friends trapped inside an amusement arcade after it closes as they are terrorized by a masked killer in a Mickey Mouse costume.
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