The Twisted Childhood Universe gains another ambassador in Dan Allen’s Bambi: The Reckoning, joining two Blood & Honey films and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare in the assembly of a cinematic universe. Sorry, Poohniverse.

This grisly creature feature follows a mother (Roxanne McKee) and her young son (Tom Mulheron) as they attempt to survive the aftermath of a terrible car crash. The pair flee into the woods where they are pursued by an undead mutant deer, blindly set on avenging the death of his mother. Part Cujo, part Jason Voorhees, this version of Bambi is roughly what you’d expect from the franchise, although the creature design and effects are a bit more polished than anyone could have foreseen.

Granted, this particular take on Bambi won’t do much to win over naysayers of the growing subgenre of Edgelord Childhood Characters on the Rampage. Shot in 15 days, it’s even more rough around the edges than its predecessors, and feels more like a stepping stone to a larger universe than the rest. McKee and Mulheron do solid work against the onslaught, but clunkier performances from the supporting cast (which includes Love Island alumnus Samira Mighty) let the side down. If it were an MCU joint, it’d be The Hulk; clumsy and a bit ugly, but not without its charm.

At a breezy 81 minutes, Bambi: The Reckoning moves along at a healthy pace, leaving little room for the sort of filler that usually troubles such low-budget horror films. The murky cinematography grates, but the surprisingly ambitious action sequences and gnarly gore effects impress. Enlisting a dark version of Thumper next to its titular monster, it’s a twisted fairytale with teeth – teeth that are put to use in a startlingly bracing bite.

Look, whatever you make of these films, they’re a force of nature, much like the TCU’s Bambi. The series got off to a lukewarm start with 2023’s Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey before redressing the balance with a lightly retconned sequel and a surprisingly layered Peter Pan spin-off. Deftly utilising the 1942’s already traumatic themes, this is another solid addition to the canon, confidently wreck(on)ing Disney animation with scenes of high-octane violence and carnage.

Now four films in, the Twisted Childhood Universe looks as though it’s here to stay, much like the childhood icons it uses and abuses.

BAMBI: THE RECKONING is out now in the United States. It will premiere at UK FrightFest on August 21st, 2025.