Brutal Trailer for ‘Pinocchio: Unstrung’ Dark Horror Take on This Tale

by Alex Billington
March 2, 2026
Source: YouTube

“I’m going to be a real boy. I’m going to be just like James!” Jagged Edge Productions has revealed the first official trailer for their latest totally ridiculous B-movie horror riff called Pinocchio: Unstrung. From the same company behind the trashy public domain horror movies – they’re still at it bringing us more. A dark coming-of-age slasher reimagining of Pinocchio, made by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, this unsettling tale follows the iconic puppet’s disturbing journey toward becoming real. The 5th installment of The Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU) – a horror retelling of Carlo Collodi’s original 1883 novel “The Adventures of Pinocchio.” With Richard Brake as Geppetto, Robert Englund as Cricket, & Cameron Bell as James. They explain their take: “We built Pinocchio as a fully practical animatronic because I wanted him to feel real. This is a twisted coming-of-age story told from the puppet’s perspective: a creation struggling for autonomy while being manipulated by the sinister forces around him.” This looks utterly disgusting, extremely stupid, and especially cheesy but that’s exactly what they’re going for hoping some people will watch it. Tread carefully.

Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s Pinocchio: Unstrung, from YouTube:

A dark coming-of-age reimagining of Pinocchio, this unsettling tale follows the iconic puppet’s disturbing journey toward becoming real. Geppetto (Richard Brake) introduces his grandson, James (Cameron Bell), to a magical doll called Pinocchio, who develops a friendship. However, unaware of Pinocchio’s naïve nature, James introduces him to the world, resulting in the doll going on a crusade to eliminate all things bad. Pinocchio: Unstrung is written and directed by British B-movie director Rhys Frake-Waterfield, director of The Area 51 Incident, The Killing Tree, Firenado, and Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 1 & 2 previously. Produced by Scott Jeffrey and Rhys Frake-Waterfield. Made by Jagged Edge Productions. This Pinocchio: Unstrung film is a part of the “Twisted Childhood Universe” of public domain horror movies, including Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare and Bambi: The Reckoning, too. ITN will release Jagged Edge’s Pinocchio: Unstrung in theaters sometime in late 2026 – stay tuned for updates. Look any good…? Or not?

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