‘Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare’ Review : Pop Culture Leftovers

‘Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare’ Review

January 6, 2025 1:59 pm |

Scott Chambers’ Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare is the third entry in the Twisted Childhood Universe and manages to become the best yet, being an outlandish reimagining full of delusion, drugs and brutal kills.

For those unfamiliar with this recently established universe, we were treated a few years ago with a Winnie-the-Pooh horror film titled Blood and Honey as soon as the popular character hit public domain. The first film, while I sped out to the theater to see it, was a daunting task to sit through, although back then we called it “The Room of Horror”. Not surprisingly the film was a box office success during its limited event release and a sequel was spawned the year after. The sequel, appropriately titled, Blood and Honey II was a major improvement over everything the first did and where the first ended with a 3% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the sequel satisfied with a 47%. Some of horror’s most prestigious fail to crack the “Fresh” barrier such as 2004’s Saw (50%), Jennifer’s Body (46%), and Final Destination (36%). Blood and Honey II reincarnated an allotment of classic horror personalities and placed them inside the world of the Hundred Acre Wood and with this trajectory it’s hard to say how crazy this universe can get. Which leads us here to Neverland’s Nightmare and the introduction of the one and only Peter Pan…

Martin Portlock’s Peter Pan is genuinely horrifying, fluctuating between a voice with childlike wonder and the deep scornful voice of a killer. His costume design fully embodies that of what a true Peter Pan lunatic would wear, with tattered clothes a size too small and an eerie mask that adds an extra touch of fear.

Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare follows titular Peter as he prepares multiple children for their voyage to “Neverland”. One of the unlucky children Peter chose happens to be the brother of Wendy, who attempts to locate and rescue her younger brother. It’s a simple premise, one that many horror fanatics should be used to. Megan Placito’s take on the familiar Wendy transforms from a friend of Peter with a taste for the fantastical in the commonly known telling, to a gore-covered final girl seeking vengeance with satisfying fanfare. While there are serious changes to the aforementioned Peter and Wendy, audiences aren’t prepared for Chambers’ distressing take on Tinkerbell.

The brash change of genres from the J.M. Barrie tale is able to capture an effective level of horror that only indie features will be able to produce. With its minimal budget (unfortunately most indie slashers will be compared to the legendary effects of the original Terrifier), the film isn’t quite as in your face brutal as it desires to be. Not to say there aren’t some brutal killings sprinkled in, but they’re not as violent or plentiful as what would be expected from the universe of Blood & Honey II.

Wildly, Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare atmospherically engineers the film with instances comparable to Danny Boyle’s 1996 Trainspotting and Scott Derrickson’s 2021 The Black Phone. With a villain with levels of temperament and a home base that appears sickly to the touch. This comparison, along with many other homages to familiar horror classics will naturally give you a mixture of deja vu and a nostalgic smile. With each installment has been progress and it’s easy to look forward to the lunacy that lies ahead in the Twisted Childhood Universe.

Simultaneously Published on Cinefied.com