Pinocchio: Unstrung is a 2026 American-British fantasy horror thriller film directed by Rhys Freke-Waterfield from a screenplay by Rhys Freke-Waterfield. The film is set to be released in the United States on 24 July 2026.
„Pinocchio: Unstrung“" is a dark horror thriller that transforms the classic tale of Pinocchio into a sinister tale of obsession, violence, and lost humanity. The film is part of the so-called "Twisted Childhood Universe" — a shared universe of horror adaptations of popular children's characters that began with "„Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey“". The production continues the tradition of transforming familiar children's characters into terrifying monsters.
From the very beginning, the film makes it clear that it is not intended to be a fairy tale. Instead of magic and innocence, the atmosphere is heavy, dark and filled with a sense of decay. The story uses elements of the original Pinocchio image, but transforms them into something much more sinister and psychologically disturbing.
The story follows Geppetto, a lonely and mentally unstable man obsessed with creating the "perfect son." After a series of personal tragedies, he begins working on a wooden puppet that gradually transforms into something far more dangerous than a simple toy. As the story progresses, Pinocchio begins to exhibit his own consciousness and aggressive behavior. What initially seems like a lonely man's painful attempt to fill the void in his life gradually turns into a nightmarish spiral of violence and madness.
The film uses classic motifs from the fairy tale — lies, the desire to be "real," and the relationship between father and son — but presents them in an extremely dark and twisted way. The strongest aspect of the plot is the psychological atmosphere. The story does not rely solely on bloody scenes, but on the gradual feeling that something deeply wrong is happening to both Pinocchio and Geppetto.
Rhys Freke-Waterfield once again uses a low-budget but stylistically aggressive approach. The film is filled with dark rooms, cold lighting and a claustrophobic atmosphere that constantly maintains tension. The design of Pinocchio is one of the most memorable things in the production. Instead of the familiar cute wooden puppet, here the character looks deformed, almost human, but unnatural enough to cause constant anxiety. The direction emphasizes psychological horror, but there is also no shortage of brutal scenes of violence, typical of this type of horror productions. The music is minimalist and tense, and the sound design contributes a lot to the unsettling atmosphere - creaking wood, unnatural movements and muffled noises constantly remind us that Pinocchio is not just a puppet.
Robert England gives a particularly interesting performance as Geppetto. His character is presented not as a typical villain, but as a tragic figure whose loneliness and obsession gradually destroy him.
Richard Brake adds additional weight and dark energy to the story with his characteristic screen presence.
Pinocchio himself is built more through physical presence, movements, and atmosphere than through traditional acting, which makes the character even more unpredictable and frightening.
The supporting cast mainly serves the function of reinforcing the feeling of an isolated and crumbling world in which the line between reality and madness gradually disappears.
„Pinocchio: Unstrung“" is a dark and highly twisted horror interpretation of the classic tale, which is clearly aimed at viewers who like low-budget, aggressive and unconventional horror films. The greatest strength of the production is the atmosphere and the very idea of turning the symbol of childhood innocence into something terrifying and tragic. The film has no pretensions to be a sophisticated psychological horror or a large-scale production. Instead, it offers a raw, dark and often painfully strange experience that fits perfectly into the style of the "Twisted Childhood Universe". For fans of such horror interpretations "„Pinocchio: Unstrung“" will probably be one of the most curious and disturbing titles in this unusual film universe.
