'Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey' director subjected to death threats for 'corrupting' the classic tale

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey director Rhys Frake-Waterfield has revealed himself to be the subject of criticism and death threats from the fans of the family-friendly harmless bear featured in tales by AA Milne.

The Winnie the Pooh tales were first introduced as children's classics worldwide by AA Milne, inspiring films such as Christopher Robin.

Rhys Frake-Waterfield, powered by Jagged Edge Production, has decided to put a dark and evil twist to the innocuous tale.

According to Daily Mail, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is a horror reimagining of a story that follows Pooh and Piglet going on a murderous streak.

Speaking to the news agency AFP, Waterfield shared, "Look, this is mental, I've had petitions to stop it. I've had death threats. I've had people saying they called the police."

He added, "I really believed in the idea. Other people didn't... and now it's doing all right."

The creative take on the classic has only been made possible after the rights to the Winnie the Pooh stories were put in the public domain in January 2022. 

As per Daily Mail, Mexico premiered the horror film on January 26 whereas the UK is set for a major release on March 10.