Pinocchio Unstrung Movie Review: A Dark Fairy Tale With Impressive Effects

"Pinocchio Unstrung" is a horror movie that was directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and featuring Cameron Bell, Richard Brake, Jude Evan Lloyd, and Robert Englund in leading roles. The movie presents an interesting horror twist to the famous tale of Pinocchio by creating an evil character out of the legendary wooden puppet. Using stunning practical effects, classic animatronics, and gore, the movie is sure to entertain audiences of all ages. However, the flawed storyline and poorly executed concepts prevent it from being a great horror movie.

Pinocchio Unstrung Movie Details

Pinocchio Unstrung Story Overview

The plot is centered around James (played by Cameron Bell), a kid who lost both his mother and best friend. Following this tragedy, he moves to live with his grandfather Geppetto (Richard Brake) who makes a new friend for him, a puppet called Pinocchio (Jude Evan Lloyd). Unfortunately, Pinocchio is not a kind little innocent wooden puppet but rather an obsessive monster. He forms an obsession with becoming James' best friend. To realize this dream of his, he starts killing all the people he considers to be bad for James or his friendship with the latter.

Pinocchio's obsession makes him interested in the anatomy of the human body. So the puppet starts collecting body parts such as skin, hair, teeth, and eyes in order to become a real boy. Once James takes Pinocchio to school despite Geppetto's opposition, all hell breaks loose. The main point of conflict is the obsession of Pinocchio with friendship, identification and becoming a human being through the use of terrible means.

Pinocchio Unstrung Review: Bloody, Strange and Surprisingly Entertaining

The biggest advantage of 'Pinocchio Unstrung' lies in the fact that it focuses on practical effects. Unlike other films which rely on cheap CGI, this particular movie employs practical methods to make its twisted interpretation of Pinocchio possible. Practical effects give the movie a more tactile and classic look. The design of Pinocchio itself also improves throughout the story because the character starts becoming more and more human.

It takes some time for the movie to get into its groove but the movie does become increasingly better with the passing time. The movie also takes some unforeseen twists towards the end and ends up acquiring its own distinctiveness as opposed to other films in the Twisted Childhood Universe. The screenplay of the movie is inconsistent as some gory scenes are successful and some are simply there to create links between different exaggerated deaths. There are also references to rebirth and immortality.

Robert Englund Steals the Show

Another outstanding feature of the movie is the presence of Robert Englund as Cricket. The character is the moral compass of Pinocchio as portrayed by the actor. Richard Brake plays the role of Geppetto, whose fit into the dark world of the movie is very natural. Cameron Bell is another actor that gives an emotional aspect to the role of James. It should also be mentioned that Jude Evan Lloyd deserves his share of recognition for his performance. The actor turns out to be a good foil for Pinocchio.

Horror and Visual Appeal

The impact of the practical effects by far exceeds any other technical element in the movie. Animatronics and puppetry make Pinocchio physically exist in a way that would have been challenging to do using solely computer-generated imagery.

Moreover, the movie features several graphic kills and impressive gore effects which should satisfy horror fans. Violence is sometimes intentionally overstated to create a campy slasher atmosphere. Finally, the lighting and visual presentation in the movie turns out to be unexpectedly impressive. Starting from a visually impressive shadow puppetry effect at the beginning of the film, the visual style gradually gains confidence.

What Are the Weak Points?

• Uneven Writing
• Half-Baked Ideas
• Weak Setups
• Heavy-Handed Messaging

Is Pinocchio Unstrung Worth Watching?

Watch it if you:

• Enjoy practical horror
• Love bloody kills
• Like twisted fairy tales
• Enjoy campy slashers

Skip it if you:

• Prefer subtle horror
• Dislike graphic gore
• Want polished writing
• Avoid dark humour

Final Verdict

‘Pinocchio Unstrung’ is a bizarre yet entertaining movie that makes good use of its practical effects and animatronics. There is definitely a lot of effort put into making a tangible and memorable Pinocchio, and the gore will please any fan of the genre. Despite that the screenplay could be better at times, there are a lot of things in the story that are not developed well enough. Nevertheless, the movie gets better along the way and comes up with some unexpected twists. It may not be a perfect film, but it is definitely an ambitious one.

Rating: 3/5

In conclusion, “Pinocchio Unstrung” is definitely a one-off horror movie that should only be watched once by fans of gory horror. The practical special effects, weird concepts, and dedicated acting performance of the actors make the movie worth watching despite the flawed writing.