'Pinocchio: Unstrung' Review: Great Puppet, Shaky Script
SkimNews Take
The split between standout practical effects and a slipshod script reflects a common micro-budget trade-off: one marquee visual asset carries the marketing role while narrative polish remains optional overhead.
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- Rhys Frake-Waterfield directs 'Pinocchio: Unstrung,' the latest entry in his so-called Twisted Childhood Universe following 2023's 'Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey,' with the review noting his provocations now feel 'more spirited, and less calculated for viral impact' than his previous work
- Richard Brake stars as Geppetto, reimagined as a wealthy British inventor and 'mad scientist' rather than humble carpenter, who builds Pinocchio in a deliberate effort to create artificial life
- Cameron Bell plays James, Geppetto's orphaned grandson who bonds with Pinocchio and smuggles the puppet to school in his backpack, where the puppet begins killing bullies and witnesses a dental appointment
- Robert Englund appears as a 'particularly cursed (and nameless) incarnation of Jiminy Cricket,' adding a notable horror-casting moment
- The film's puppetry and animatronics are singled out as its standout technical achievement, with craggy, splintery, handmade Pinocchio showcased further in behind-the-scenes footage running through the closing credits
- Pinocchio harvests human organs he believes will make him human — a motivation the film explicitly links to Geppetto's failure to give him 'manhood' — fueling brutally bloody setpieces including a gym-set kill by treadmill and falling weights
Why it matters: Frake-Waterfield is settling into a recognizable style as a B-horror auteur whose provocations are goofy but feel less calculated for viral impact than his earlier work, with the standout puppetry suggesting his Twisted Childhood Universe may yet evolve beyond meme-stunt origins — though uneven writing, muffled jump scares, and a muddy sound mix keep 'Pinocchio: Unstrung' from rising above cheap-and-cheerful slasher fare.
