Producer Scott Chambers on Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 2

It was one of the most anticipated films of 2023. The idea of everybody’s favourite bear with very little brain turning psycho in Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey grabbed the public imagination and, while the micro-budget horror received a critical thumbs down, a sequel was already on the way.

Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 2 arrives in cinemas this week and, while most of it is a closely guarded secret, we spoke to the film’s producer, star and self-confessed horror fan, Scott Chambers, about what to expect. Below, he talks about some of the film’s bloodier moments and its new faces, as well as his own fear threshold and the perils of being both producer and star.

We’ve not seen the film yet, but there has been a premiere. How did the film go down with the audience?

Incredible! I’ve never been to anything like it. The horror scenes really are disgusting – there’s one that involves a dishwasher and an eyeball and another that involves a bear trap and the snapping of limbs and people were really reacting. It felt so good.

The budget’s bigger than last time, although it’s still very low, but I think that horror fans will love it.

It’s definitely a bigger budget and the cast is much bigger than last time. You’re  playing Christopher Robin this time as well. What’s tempted you back in front of the camera?

I didn’t want to do it to start with and there were two reasons. When you’re a producer, you wear a lot of hats on set and when something goes wrong, you just have to get on and find a way through. But ultimately I agreed to do it for Reese [Frake-Waterfield, director] and it saved on the budget. But just two days before the shoot began, the costume designer/set designer pulled out and we learnt quickly that they hadn’t done any work, so instead of prepping my character, I was sat in a café ordering costumes online. There’s a grave scene with about 60 or 80 extras and they’re all in bondage-esque outfits and I had no idea about how to dress female bodies – I thought I could just order Small, Medium or Large! I had to order props for a hospital scene as well and by day one, when I was shooting my first scene, I was just so ill. It wasn’t flu, it was just stress. I felt so rough!

So it was like your own horror movie?

It was so predictable. I’d said from day one that this was what I was worried about happening, so we got everybody organized and things were planned months in advance – and then two days beforehand, this happened!

As well as Christopher Robin, there’s another Winnie The Pooh stalwart in the trailer, and that’s Tigger. He wasn’t in the first one. What’s the reason for him being in this film and what’s he going to be like? Presumably not the bouncy Tigger that we’re all used to?

Tigger’s my favourite character in the film. He reminds me of Freddy Kruger – he taunts his victims before they die and he’s really horrible. He’s got some nice nails as well! He’s the most fun. He wasn’t in the first one because the character wasn’t in the public domain at the time, but that changed this January, so we could include him.

How easily do you scare when you’re watching horror movies?

I don’t any more. I go to the cinema and it’s so hard. I wish I had some of it back because that was one of the things that drew me to horror when I was younger. But now I’m just so numb! If I do get scared, it’s usually by French cinema and I think that’s because they’re really gritty films and the performances feel so real. There’s an element of documentary filmmaking in that you’re very much in the moment. A lot of American films don’t work for me because they’re very stylized. I like things a bit messy so they catch you off guard and I like gritty performances where you can see actors are in the zone.

Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 2 is released in UK cinemas on 26 March. 

Find out more about Chambers’ world of fairytale horrors in our video interview with him where he discusses horror versions of Bambi, Peter Pan and Cinderella.