Off the back of a worldwide reaction, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey finally arrives on UK shores at Glasgow Frightfest this month.
We caught up with Amber Doig-Thorne to talk about recreating a classic animated character as a slasher villain and the excitement building ahead of its UK premiere.
What can you tell us about the audition process for Blood and Honey?
I’d previously worked with the production company on another film “Return of Krampus” and I saw the casting call for Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey. I’ve always been a huge fan of the horror/slasher genre and have been very fortunate to play leading roles in over 20 horror feature films over the last few years, so I was really excited at the prospect of being a part of Blood and Honey! I applied and was offered the role of Alice – who is one of the lead characters in the film.
How much did you know about the film going in?
I thought it was an amazing idea! Creating a horror spin off of such a popular childhood character is something I hadn’t seen done before, and nowadays it’s so rare for a film to be made around a genuinely unique idea – so as soon as I read the script I knew I would love to be involved.
The title alone has created hugely publicity all over the world, has this been overwhelming for you?
It’s certainly been overwhelming, in the best possible way. There was a great atmosphere on set – I think everyone could sense that we were making something special and that there was great potential for the film to really go somewhere, but I don’t think any of us anticipated just how much interest there would be in the film! When the stills and trailers started going viral last year I was blown away by the response. It was mind blowing and incredibly humbling to see global outlets like The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, Variety and Rolling Stone writing articles about our little independent film.
The film recently had its first releases in Mexico and the US, are you excited about the upcoming screening at Glasgow Frightfest?
I’m very excited to be attending Glasgow Frightfest for the UK premiere – I have Scottish heritage, so it will be lovely to go to Glasgow and get back in touch with my family roots! I’ve always wanted to visit Mexico so it was fantastic to travel to Mexico City for the World Premiere, and the European Premiere was in Amsterdam on Valentine’s Day – which was also a wonderful experience.
Do you feel the Frightfest audience is the ideal audience for Blood and Honey?
I think the Frightfest audience will absolutely love this film. The concept of making slasher films based on children’s characters is really great because it always sparks a debate! People grew up with these characters so of course it’s strange to see them in a slasher film scenario – as some people say“ruining people’s childhoods’ ‘, however I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for these characters to be redefined for adults to enjoy them in a horror setting. I think anyone who loves 80s slashers will really enjoy Blood and Honey as the film takes a lot of inspiration from those classics.
What can you tell us about the shoot, how weird was it seeing Winnie and Piglet as homicidal maniacs?
It’s certainly something I didn’t think I’d ever experience! I grew up reading the Winnie the Pooh books, playing the game and owning the toys so being terrorised by Pooh was quite strange! My character has some interesting scenes where I’m being terrorised by Pooh – there was one moment where Pooh has kidnapped me, I’m tied up and Pooh is standing over me ominously. He’d just been eating from a honey pot, so as soon as he leant over me the honey kept dripping in my eyes! It was so hard to keep a straight face because it was such a funny scenario to be in, but at the same time it was actually scary!
What can you tell us about Craig and Chris’ performances?
I remember the first time I saw Craig in his costume and wearing the Winnie The Pooh mask – it was so strange, seeing Pooh as this 6ft creature built like a house instead of the small cuddly bear we see in A.A Milne’s books. It was very intimidating – which made it a lot easier to get into character and really feel the fear when we were being tormented and chased by Pooh! It was always so funny seeing Craig and Chris in their masks and costumes – off set they’d be joking around and having normal conversations with us, but as soon as the cameras started rolling they would turn into cold blooded killers and it was genuinely terrifying. Their performances were fantastic.
How does Alice fit into the plot of Blood and Honey?
Alice was such a fun character to play – she’s confident, caring and brave, but she’s going through a really tough time with her girlfriend who isn’t quite ready to come out of the closet yet, so there’s a lot of underlying anxiety that she’s struggling with throughout the film as she tries to work on their relationship. Alice goes through a real journey throughout the movie – Piglet kills her girlfriend Zoe (she’s the one who gets hit in the head with a sledgehammer in the pool in the trailer), so Alice then dedicates herself to seeking revenge on Piglet. Alice is the only human character to successfully take on Pooh or Piglet in the film, and I’ve been sent so many videos of cinema audiences around the world reacting to my standoff with Piglet, and the response has been amazing! It was definitely my favourite scene in the film, it was so much fun to shoot – and Chris was such a great scene partner!
There has already been talk of more spin-off of well-known properties, are you down for more?
There are so many characters which I’d love to see as a horror spin off, my favourite fictional characters are those by the Brothers Grimm (mainly Snow White, Rose Red, Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella and Rapunzel just to name a few). I’m a huge fan of the comic book series “Fables” by Bill Willingham (and the subsequent video game “Wolf Among Us”, which is based on the comics). The story is set in the modern day and follows popular fairytale characters who were forced to move to New York after their homelands were conquered many years ago. It’s very noir, and deals with a lot of dark issues as the characters struggle to adapt to a “normal” life whilst dealing with their magical fairytale problems – so I could easily see these characters in a horror spin off, and it would be a dream come true to have the opportunity to play one of these iconic roles!
Bloody Flicks 