The Twisted Childhood Universe has done it again, this time taking on the 1940 story of a lovable wooden puppet brought to life by a blue fairy and turning it into delightful derangement. Following in the blood-soaked footsteps of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, and Bambi: The Reckoning, Pinocchio Unstrung resurrects childhood innocence with gleeful brutality. By savagely plunging another nostalgic tale into a nightmarish dimension, writer-director Rhys Frake-Waterfield delivers a gory vision packed with guts, blood, and mayhem.  

James is a sensitive young boy still grieving the loss of his best friend, Zach, to a terminal illness. With no parental guidance left, he is taken in by his granddad Geppetto, played with tour-de-force intensity by Richard Brake. Hoping to comfort James and ensuring he never feels alone again, Geppetto introduces him to his latest and greatest creation: the puppet Pinocchio.  

Once James gets past his initial shock—understandable, since this Pinocchio resembles Groot more than anything cute—the two begin to bond through playtime, reading, and lessons. Soon enough, Pinocchio realizes he does not just want to be a real boy; he wants to be exactly like James.  

Despite Geppetto urging his grandson to keep his new friend a secret, James sneaks Pinocchio into school on the condition that he stays still and silent, just like a toy should. Inevitably, that promise shatters when Pinocchio sees James’s low standing among the other kids and witnesses him endure a brutal bullying incident. With recent events weighing on them, James eventually introduces Pinocchio to his two mates, Dudley and Mia. Though unsettled by the crudely made doll, the trio continues watching out for one another, unaware that James has gained a potentially deadly protector.  

The rest of the day spirals into a string of grisly episodes, including a gruesome gym encounter, a tense dentist visit where Pinocchio watches James have a tooth removed in pure horror, and several other dreadful moments that ultimately land James in the hospital. All of it stems from the wooden toy’s presence, leading Geppetto to conclude that the world simply is not ready for Pinocchio.  

Not yet.  

Back in the basement where he was created, Pinocchio encounters the Woods Mother, a witchy creature who guides him down a path of death and destruction to fulfill his deepest wish: becoming human. To protect James and claim his dream, Pinocchio starts harvesting pieces from those who hurt his idolized best friend, building himself into a real boy from the bodies of his enemies. Of course, he is not sent into the world alone; at his side is the sanctimoniously evil bug Cricket, voiced by the legendary Robert Englund.  

Interwoven with familiar figures from earlier Disney-inspired chronicles, including Michael Darling, played once again with excellence by Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, and hospital doctor Christopher Robin, portrayed perfectly by Poohniverse co-creator Scott Chambers, Pinocchio Unstrung delivers the life, love, and longing one could hope for inside the warped abyss of a dark imagination.  

In a world full of endless possibilities, I will always choose to keep wandering through the grim corners of this twisted childhood universe. Count me in and keep them coming!