Another beloved children’s story has entered the public domain, and in 2024, that can only mean one thing —a slasher knock-off is on the way. This time around, you’ll want to make sure everything isjust rightbefore Goldilocks and the three bears come knocking on your door. Today, courtesy ofVariety, we have our first glimpse of the film,Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Death and Porridge, after it was reported to have closed a handful of deals at the European Film Market in Berlin. The project has been billed as having a similar aesthetic to otherhorrortitles likeThe Strangers, a parallel that can definitely be seen in the first-look image which features a woman in a frilly light blue dress donning an unsettling mask and holding a gun to her hostage’s head. Next to her stands one of her three co-conspirators wearing a bear costume that also includes a set of overalls or a cooking apron. Hard to say, but we’re intrigued by the bear’s outfit!
The project was directed byCraig Rees, who previously brought audiences the 2019 possessed doll flick,Annabellum: The Curse of Salem, which essentially combined the story ofAnnabellewith witches. Starring inGoldilocks and the Three Bears: Death and Porridgewill be a group of predominately new faces includingOlga Solo(To Happiness),Abigail Huxley, andJulian Amos(Get Millie Black). Rees, who also holds one-off acting credits on shows likeFriendsandThe X-Files, will also appear on-screen.
In thefairytalethat many of us will remember from our long-gone youths,Goldilocksis a young girl wandering the woods when she comes across an empty house. With no manners whatsoever, she lets herself in (lock your doors!) and helps herself to things like porridge and a nap on one of the empty beds. When the anthropomorphic bears return from their afternoon away, Goldilocks wakes up and runs off into the trees. Shaking things up a bit, the slasher instead places Goldilocks and the three bears living, laughing, and loving together. When some nosy strangers come poking around their home, the quartet has no decision but to stand their ground and protect their home.
Let’s face it, when it was announced back in 2022 thatRhys Frake-Waterfieldwas seizing the opportunityof the beloved story ofWinnie-the-Poohentering the public domain and turning it into a horror film, we were all interested. It was something new and fresh and a project that no one could’ve seen coming. Now, two years later, the market feels a little oversaturated withGoldilocks and the Three Bears: Death and Porridgebeing the latest title to make us question, “Who asked for this?”
If there was something that we should have learned from the blunder ofWinnie the Pooh: Blood and Honeyit’s thatnot every children’s story needs to be shoved through the grinder and into the horror genre. Nevertheless, they persisted with a handful of other films featuring characters likePeter Pan,Bambi,Sleeping Beauty, andMickey Mousetaking a terrifying turn, witha sequel toBlood and Honeyalso on the way.
No release date has been set forGoldilocks and the Three Bears: Death and Porridge,but you can check out the first image above.
