Film Review: PINOCCHIO: UNSTRUNG (2026): Some Twisted Scenes Occasionally Elevate a Bizarre Premise

Pinocchio: Unstrung Review

Pinocchio: Unstrung (2026) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and starring Jude Evan Lloyd, Richard Brake, Robert Englund, Cameron Bell, Jessica Balmer, Karolina Knight, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Jack Art Gray, Toni Olabanji, Charlotte Jackson Coleman, Belinda Fenty, Kelly Rian Sanson, Jay Robertson and Andrew Rolfe.

Filmmaker Rhys Frake-Waterfield is back with another twisted fairy tale horror movie, Pinocchio: Unstrung. This new movie knows what it’s doing and even has a character listening to the soundtrack of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey at one point to remind viewers about this horror universe that Waterfield has immersed himself in. This new picture isn’t really bad although it’s twisted beyond a reasonable doubt and will definitely turn off anyone who doesn’t warm quickly to horror movies with explicit gore in them.

This film is the story of Geppetto (Richard Brake)’s puppet, Pinocchio (voice of Jude Evan Lloyd), who is carved out of wood. A young boy named James (Cameron Bell), who is Geppetto’s grandson, is the main star of the movie as he secretly befriends Pinocchio who starts to beat up and kill anyone who wrongs James, even if it is unintentional. There are some bullies who pick on James and the main one is Toni Olabanji’s Trey character. They become definite killer Pinocchio bait.

This story really kicks into gear when a drunk driver sideswipes a car with James in it and Pinocchio goes to the hospital room where the driver is and rips out his organs and places them in a compartment with the hopes of using them himself in his efforts at becoming a real boy. This is the story of a misunderstood puppet who will do anything for James, but doesn’t understand the error of his violent ways at first. Robert Englund serves as the voice of Cricket, an evil spin on Jiminy Cricket from the original Disney cartoon.

There are a number of humorous, inspired moments such as when Pinocchio’s long nose substitutes for the shark fin in a homage to Jaws set in a swimming pool. Englund gets some routine one-liners before he is eventually squashed by a mad Pinocchio, but fear not, the movie promises to bring him back if there’s a sequel with a surprise plot twist at the end.

At the end credits, we get to see how this twisted movie was made with some behind-the-scenes footage and it’s all pretty fascinating that there’s an audience for evil creature movies based on old Disney characters. There are too many ugly scenes in the new film, however, such as when Pinocchio rips out a dentist’s teeth so he can have teeth of his own. At the same time, going into this movie with the expectation it is going to be gory is the basic idea.

This movie may attract horror movie audiences who will be curious to see the homages it pays to the old Disney cartoon. There are a few inspired ones, but the movie doesn’t really dwell too much on Pinocchio’s nose growing because of his lies. The filmmakers could have done better with making Pinocchio lie more to grow his nose and also drive home the fact that the lies he tells are the reason his nose does, indeed, grow, just for viewers less familiar with the source material.

There are plenty of victims who get killed in a gruesome fashion. In one scene, a girl is killed after taking a shower and Pinocchio rips off her hair and dons it himself. Such scenes have a rather humorous touch to them, but the movie’s mean spirited nature wins out over the thrills it generates which is basically the point.

There is a fairly good supporting cast. Jessica Balmer’s Mia is somewhat memorable, but the leads really drive home the material. Englund has a blast spoofing his Freddy Krueger one-liners in a few key scenes. Cameron Bell is excellent as the boy who has to deal with the murderous rampage Pinocchio leaves behind that he blames James for. It’s humorous counting the times Pinocchio says it’s someone else’s fault for his murderous actions. Jude Evan Lloyd’s voice work is super funny. Richard Brake, in the main role, also does his very best here.

Pinocchio: Unstrung, the film’s title, references the fact that Pinocchio unties himself when his owner puts rope around his arms to keep him confined. While this new film is not really boring, it is a hard watch for anyone who can’t handle the blood, guts and gore. If you liked Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, you’ll be happy with Pinocchio: Unstrung as it shows a filmmaker growing as a demented artist with each passing film.

Rating: 6/10

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