‘Bambi: The Reckoning’ Review
Stars: Roxanne McKee, Samira Mighty, Nicola Wright, Tom Mulheron, Catherine Adams, Russell Geoffrey Banks, Joseph Greenwood, Alex Cooke, Adrian Relph, Ewan Borthwick, Luke Cavendish | Written by Felix Salten, Rhys Warrington | Directed by Dan Allen
The reimagined tale at the heart of Bambi: The Reckoning, the latest horror entry in the “Twisted Childhood Universe”, trades nostalgia for brutality, offering a savage reinterpretation of a once-innocent woodland icon. The story flips expectations, turning a symbol of gentleness into a merciless force of nature. As with others in this trend of corrupted folklore, it’s less about honouring the source material and more about pushing it into grotesque, sometimes laughably extreme, territory. Depending on your appetite for this kind of genre fare, it will either strike as a wild bit of pulp fun, or an uninspired attempt to wring attention from familiar childhood memories. Unfortunately, this one leans more toward the latter.
Things start with a surprisingly stylised prologue, suggesting for a brief moment that the film might be aiming for something a bit more atmospheric or thoughtful. It’s a promising lead-in, but quickly gives way to a lean, very familiar chase narrative. The central plot is bare-bones: a grieving creature, warped by loss, begins to stalk a stranded woman and her young son through the forest. There’s very little nuance or suspense to be found – just a relentless pursuit and a string of gruesome encounters.
What’s perhaps most frustrating is the half-hearted attempt to inject emotional depth into the proceedings. The screenplay tries to balance visceral thrills with personal drama, but ends up doing a disservice to both. The interactions between characters feel forced, and their choices often defy logic. The tone wavers between grim and strangely sentimental, which doesn’t quite gel. There’s a hint that the monstrous presence might have once been something more, something tragic or confused, but this thread never gains traction and is quickly swallowed up by the film’s need to keep moving.
In terms of execution, the film is surprisingly competent in places. The title creature itself is well-realised, crafted with more care than expected. The design and movement of the beast are unsettling in the best ways, and the set pieces deliver some impressively grisly moments that will likely satisfy those watching for carnage alone.
Clocking in under an hour and a half, Bambi: The Reckoning never overstays its welcome, but it also never quite delivers anything memorable beyond its premise. There are flashes of creativity and a few bold visual touches, but overall, the result feels like a missed opportunity. For fans of low-budget horror with a twisted sense of humour, there’s enough here to pass the time. But for anyone hoping for a deeper or more cohesive experience, this is a path that leads to nowhere in particular.
** 2/5
Bambi: The Reckoning is out now.
