Bambi: The Reckoning

Bambi: The Reckoning is a 2025 British independent horror film directed by Dan Allen, and written by Rhys Warrington. It is the fourth installment in The Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU) and is a horror retelling of the 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods. The film stars Roxanne McKee, Tom Mulheron, Nicola Wright, Samira Mighty, Alex Cooke, Russell Geoffrey Banks, and Joseph Greenwood. It follows a mother and her son who become hunted by Bambi after his own mother's death.

First announced in November 2022 as a Bambi-based horror film, the film was subsequently revealed to be set in the TCU shared continuity. It started production in London on 6 January 2024 and wrapped twenty days later.

Bambi: The Reckoning was theatrically released on 25 July 2025 in the United States, and received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

In the past, a young fawn named Bambi lives happily with his mother until a poacher kills her. Bambi grows up alone; he meets a doe named Faline, who becomes his mate and gives birth to a fawn. They teach their offspring about the world including the dangers. Unfortunately, Faline is fatally run over by a truck carrying toxic waste from a local pharmaceutical company, Wibexr Pharmaceuticals, and Bambi's offspring disappears in a panic. Devastated, Bambi drinks contaminated water from a river, which mutates him into a ravenous creature, determined to get his revenge.

In the present, mother Xana and her son Benji take a taxi to visit Xana's husband Simon and his family—his dementia-stricken mother Mary, his brothers Andrew and Joshua, Andrew's wife Harriet, and their teenage son Harrison—although Simon himself cannot arrive due to work schedules. On the way, Bambi attacks the taxi and kills the driver while Xana and Benji manage to reach Mary's house.

Meanwhile, Michael, Tyler, and Eddie, three hunters hired by Wilbexr, prepare to hunt Bambi. Joshua leaves the house only to be accidentally shot dead by Tyler. Harrison annoys Benji and Mary. Mary starts acting strange, knows Bambi's name, and has made several drawings of Bambi around the house. Bambi attacks the house and kills Harriet, forcing the family to flee to a caravan. They drive into the forest and temporarily lose him, only to find a log blocking the way. Andrew tries to remove it, but Benji panics upon seeing Bambi and drives off with only Xana and Mary inside; Andrew is accidentally dragged behind them to his death on the road. Harrison flees from Bambi and gets lost in the forest, where he is caught in a trap and mauled to death by a group of mutated rabbits.

Xana, Benji, and Mary abandon the caravan after it runs out of gas, run from Bambi again, and find Michael, who takes them to a den where they meet Simon and his co-worker Jo. Simon reveals himself as the one who killed Faline and dumped toxic waste into the river. During the conversation, Benji finds a garage where Tyler and Eddie have caged and mistreat a young fawn. Xana also learns that Simon plans to trap Bambi and kill him, not caring how many lives may be lost along the way. Tyler goes to urinate and ends up being decapitated by Bambi. When Eddie goes to investigate, Bambi rips off his legs and his head.

Benji frees the fawn and runs away; Xana and Simon go after him while Mary encounters Bambi, who tries to kill her. Jo sacrifices herself and shoots a gas canister to kill Bambi, but Bambi survives. Benji eventually reunites with Xana and Simon, only for Michael to arrive too, threatening them with gunpoint and demands the fawn. Bambi drags Michael into the forest before approaching Benji. Simon abandons Xana and Benji and tries to flee, but gets killed by a mutant rabbit inside his car. Realizing the fawn is Bambi's offspring, Xana and Benji return it to him. However, a bloodied Michael arrives and fatally shoots Bambi, only to get shot dead by Mary, who has recovered from her dementia. Bambi bleeds out in front of Xana, Benji, and his own offspring.

Cast

• Roxanne McKee as Xana
• Tom Mulheron as Benji
• Nicola Wright as Mary
• Samira Mighty as Harriet
• Alex Cooke as Simon
• Russell Geoffrey Banks as Andrew
• Joseph Greenwood as Harrison
• Catherine Adams as Jo
• Ewan Borthwick as Eddie
• David Ambler as Rob
• Luke Cavendish as Joshua
• Adrian Relph as Michael
• Big Tobz as Tyler

Production

In November 2022, a live-action horror film based on Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten was announced as being in development with the title Bambi: The Reckoning. Dan Allen was named as director, with Rhys Frake-Waterfield serving as a producer. Originally, it was planned to be directed by Scott Chambers, alongside Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare, before he decided to focus on the latter film, as he felt it was more of his type. The film was produced by Jagged Edge Productions. Chambers described the film as "an incredibly dark retelling of the 1928 story we all know and love. Finding inspiration from the design used in Netflix's The Ritual, Bambi will be a vicious killing machine that lurks in the wilderness." The film is set in the same continuity as Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) and its sequel, being teased in the latter film.

On December 15th, 2023, Roxanne McKee, Nicola Wright, Tom Mulheron and Samira Mighty joined the cast. Mighty originally auditioned for the role of Xana, but was deemed "too young". On December 18, Joseph Greenwood revealed that he was cast as Harrison. Around the time of auditioning, Greenwood was unaware that Jagged Edge Productions was the same studio behind Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey until being informed by the public. Upon realising this, Greenwood knew that what he had signed on to was a "much bigger thing than [he] had initially realised."

Principal photography was originally slated to commence on 31 January 2023 in London, England, with Vince Knight serving as cinematographer, after working on Blood and Honey. Filming was later rescheduled to begin on 6 January 2024 in England, which Chambers confirmed via his social media. Filming wrapped on 26 January 2024.

Release

Bambi: The Reckoning was theatrically released on 25 July 2025 in the United States by ITN Distribution. The film was originally set to be released in late 2024. The film was released on VOD platforms, including Amazon Prime, on 29 August.

Reception

Box office

Bambi: The Reckoning grossed $172,187 in the United States, and $361,843 in various international territories, for a worldwide total of $534,030.

External links

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