The “Twisted Childhood Universe” (also known as the “Poohniverse”), is undoubtedly charting a course for a vast expansion in 2025. Since striking internet gold withWinnie the Pooh: Blood and Honeyand continuing the momentum withWinnie the Pooh: Blood and HoneyII, creatorRhys Frake-Waterfieldhasn’t let the viral success of the series go to waste. Now, an extended universe based on horror versions of classic children’s characters is expanding withBambi: The ReckoningandPinocchio: Unstrung, but not before the franchise’s first deviation from theBlood and Honeyfilms —Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare.
It’s no secret that the Blood and Honey movies were made primarilyto capitalize on the denizens of the 100-acre wood joining the public domain,with the inherent shock value of Pooh and Piglet killing people being too good to pass up. However, the concept of a horror film centering around a twisted version of Peter Pan honestly holds water. The idea of an immortal boy who abducts children and takes them to a magical land infested by pirates is a dark premise that can be easily tweaked into a horror-centric plot. Sadly,Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmareseems to bemore concerned with copying other better horror stories instead of fully committing to its intriguing idea.
Much like the classic tale it is inspired by,Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmarefollows Wendy Darling (Megan Placito) and her family, with the young woman ready to enter adulthood and move on with her life. Only, in this version, Peter Pan is not a fun-loving rebel who fights pirates and doesn’t wanna grow up.This Peter (Martin Portlock) is a notorious and vindictive serial killerwhose primary victims are children and any other adults who get in his way. While Peter promises to take these unsuspecting kids to Neverland, the actual reality of his trips is much less magical. Wendy finds herself tracking down this gleeful cretin when her little brother Michael (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) is abducted to become one of Peter’s “Lost Boys.”
Peter Pan Himself Is ‘Neverland Nightmare’s Biggest Strength and Biggest Misstep
So, let’s start with the obvious — Peter Pan is an adult man inNeverland Nightmareinstead of a plucky young kid or even a teenager.This honestly feels counter-intuitive, as keeping Peter a kid would have made him being a serial killer more unique and disturbing. Movies likeTrick ‘r TreatandOrphanhave easily proventhere’s a market for children’s horror villains out there, so why not try to capitalize on that? The age doesn’t help the fact that Peter’s scarred face makes the character almost unrecognizable from who he’s supposed to be an adaptation of.
Thankfully, actorMartin Portlock seems to be having a lot of fun in the role. Though he may not exactly be a great adaptation of Peter Pan and he seems to have a new voice every time he speaks,he still has enough horror movie killer charm to keep viewers entertained. Megan Placito’s Wendy is also a more than capable final girl, delivering a solid performance as a sister desperate to save her brother.
Several other characters from the classic story also make an appearance in some capacity, and while this starts to dip into spoiler territory, these will probably be the most controversial depictions. One of these characters is transgender, and while it’s far from the most offensive depiction of a trans person — and the film does deserve credit for casting someone from the transgender community for the part — the fact thatthe title this character is typically referred to is often used as a derogatory term for queer individuals isn’t great. The other example is literally inserted into the story at the last second as if the filmmakers forgot this character should probably be present in a Peter Pan story.
‘Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare’ Is Far Too Reliant on Familiar Horror Tropes
Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare’s first horror set piece involves Peter in full clown makeup, trying to convince a kid that he’s a friend while he’s in a crevice on the floor. If that description didn’t make it obvious already,this is about as big of a rip-off ofItas it possibly gets,even down to Peter introducing himself to try and gain the boy’s trust. As far as cold opens go,it’s far too derivative of other horror flicks.
Again, it’s a real shame thatPeter Pan’s Neverland Nightmaredoesn’t try to capitalize more on its audacious concept. There have been so many different versions of Peter Pan over the years that there is so much inspiration to choose from. Instead, we get a formulaic, by-the-numbers movie that could have any horror slasher slotted in as a stand-in. If you were to watchNeverland Nightmareon mute without any context, it’s hard to imagine anyone would pinpoint this as a Peter Pan movie. EvenOnce Upon a Timehad a more compelling version of a villainous Peter Pandespite being so far outside the horror sphere.
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Odessa Young is outstanding in this chilling and tense film.
Admittedly,Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmarehas come a long way from themicrobudget production value of the firstBlood and Honey.There are some nice gore effects and the makeup overall is as solid as Skull Rock. The same can’t really be said for the kills, which all feel very formulaic and could be seen in just about any other horror film.
‘Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare’s Problems Aren’t Budget-Related
Making a feature-length film on any scale is a remarkable achievement no matter how you slice it. Regardless of your feelings about these films,the Poohniverse continues to grow and be moderately successful. The adverse result of a net positive like that is thatone can’t really blame the problems ofPeter Pan’s Neverland Nightmareon budgetary constraints.
Perhaps the biggest issue withPeter Pan’s Neverland Nightmareand the entire Twisted Childhood Universe is thatit takes itself far too seriously. Playing a silly and on-the-nose concept has its strengths, but only if that story lends itself to its wild and wacky concept.Neverland Nightmare’szanier moments don’t land because of its self-serious tone.EvenBlood and Honeyhas a supernatural element,which makesNeverland Nightmare’s decision to be more terrestrial even more bizarre. Instead of exploring a twisted version of a magical realm, this pseudo-trip to Neverland keeps things stuck in the real world that the kids of these stories are usually trying to escape.
Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmarereleases in select theaters on July 06, 2025.
Christopher Robin
Where it could have been a twisted dream of a childhood classic, ‘Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare’ should take the second star to the right and just keep on going.
