Rhys Frake-Waterfield, British Indie filmmaker extraordinaire, has not only a fertile imagination but also a knack for giving childhood tales a dark turn. His 2023 movie "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey", a playful horror riff on a beloved bear, was entertainingly eccentric enough to scoop up a handful of Razzies and spur a passionate following.

Now, he has spun another tale from his unique Twisted Childhood Universe. Welcome to "Pinocchio: Unstrung", where giggles meet grumbles, shadows loom large, and fairy tales are all but sweet memories.

A horror flick wrapped around the iconic "Pinocchio" might feel less far-fetched than the curious thought of a sinister Winnie-the-Pooh. After all, Pinocchio’s original narrative by Carlo Collodi was more spine-chilling than its Disney makeover. Yet, Frake-Waterfield's 'Unstrung' puppet, as he delights in literally unmasking his victims, finds a way to intensify the macabre.

Borrowing Pinocchio's rough and rustic puppet look from Guillermo del Toro's 2022 Oscar-winning animation, he embeds a surprising depth of proto-realism into the puppet. This version of the wooden boy, created by old-school puppetry and animatronics, would send chills down the spine of any Netfix-bingeing viewer looking for a deliciously dark twist on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Frake-Waterfield delivers the gore and grotesque with a flair, making a twisted delight to behold in “Pinocchio: Unstrung”. What begins with a dollar and a dream ends up not with an adorable puppet, but with a creature whose eerie existence ensures we'll never look at childhood classics in the same way again.

In this bizarre retelling, Geppetto is a wealthy British inventor, bordering on mad scientist territory. He's played with devious glee by "Game of Thrones" alum Richard Brake. His creation, Pinocchio, becomes an unwitting sibling to another adopted boy, James. When Pinocchio, hidden in James's backpack, witnesses James' bullying and rather distressing dental work, it's all splatter and horror.

While Frake-Waterfield’s semi-coherent plot leaps between a sequence of grisly set pieces, the script warns watchers to be prepared for more slashes than laughs. The film's climax set in a school gym features a fiendishly inventive death scene illustrating Pinocchio’s reprehensible revenge. A considerable break or two from a logical narrative doesn't detract from the gruesome entertainment one bit.

The main highlight is hearing horror veteran Robert Englund as Jiminy Cricket, an endearing surprise in a film filled with bloody twists and turns. Despite the occasional flailing and lackluster sound, "Pinocchio: Unstrung" carries a certain element of style and creativity.

Rhys Frake-Waterfield is carving out his notable niche as a maverick of horror cinema deglazed with a sprinkling of his signature humor. His childlike fancy with a touch of the grotesque, although polarizing, shows that he's more than a flash in the pan in the indie horror genre.