Two actors from south London are starring in a new slasher horror based on the reimagined children’s tale of Winnie the Pooh – and it is no teddy bears’ picnic.

The premise of the story is that Winnie the Pooh and Piglet brutally terrorize now fully grown Christopher Robin and a group of young women at a remote house.

Marcus Massey, from Tooting, plays Colt and Jase Rivers, from Balham, plays John and the duo are part of a pack of local hillbillies who try and take on bloodthirsty Pooh bear.

When asked why they thought the film had blown up online Marcus, 51, simply replied: “Let’s be truthful – it’s outrageous.”

He added: “This film is for a particular type of person.

“If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.”

The copyright for Winnie the Pooh and all its related characters became public domain on January 1, 2022, when the copyright on A.A. Milne's 1926 book dropped – making it possible for the Blood and Honey film to be created.

US copyright law means that works of authors are available to use either 70 years after the author's death or 95 years after publication.

On Marcus’ favourite clip, he explained: “Without giving too much away, although Winnie is a mad killer – he has been betrayed.

“Christopher Robin has gone off to University and Pooh and Piglet have nobody there to feed them and he feels let down and betrayed.

“He wants to take revenge on the people that have abandoned him.

“We’ve all felt like that in one way or another – I’m not saying we go on a killing spree but there is an interesting flashback in the film.

“So within the maelstrom of blood and destruction, there is some humanity there.

“The lighting throughout the entire film is amazing. What our director of photography has managed to do is create a signature style.”

News Shopper: Marcus and JaseMarcus and Jase (Image: Jagged Edge Productions)

Jase, 53, particularly liked the scene that involved him and Marcus.

He added: “The lighting is just amazing in that. It’s just the car lights and some lamps in the woods but from a cinematic point of view it's brilliant.”

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey premieres at the Prince Charles, Leicester Square on March 10 before being released to the rest of the public.

The director of the film, Rhys Frake-Waterfield, and the production company, Jagged Edge Productions are not unfamiliar with creating similar slasher films.

Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare and Bambi: The Reckoning are also in the works by the production company as their original tales have also had their copyright restrictions dropped leaving them open to blood-filled reimaginings.

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey has received some backlash from critics and cinemagoers following the film's European and US release.

Jase explained: “A lot of people are going to watch it Honey because of the hype but what many don’t understand is that it was made with a microbudget.

“This film was originally straight to DVD and streaming services and then all of a sudden there was going to be a big cinematic release.

“People are going to the theatre and expecting this really expensive high end production horror movie.

“I have been on background shoots for other films where they have probably spent more on coffee in a day than we did making the film.

“It’s a good solid slasher even with the budget everyone was working with – they did an amazing job. but because of the hype people have forgotten it’s a microbudget film.”

Marcus added: “People are comparing it to million-dollar productions which is absurd – it’s not pretending to be Doctor Zhivago.”

Marcus first came into the acting industry around ten years ago and has starred in many similar slasher titles.

Jase came into the industry around six years ago but started off doing background work but decided to expand his skills and took some acting lessons in order to gain more front-focused roles.

However, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is the first ever horror film he has taken part in but since then he has done another five with Jagged Edge Productions.

Articles in the press and commentaries keep referring to the idea that this film was “ruining people’s childhoods”.

When asked about what they thought about this, Jase said: “This whole you’ve ruined my childhood business thing – someone has said it once and everyone has latched onto it and some people are taking it seriously.

“You can’t ruin your childhood – you either had a crappy childhood or a good childhood nothing in your adult life can change that." 

Marcus added: “It’s like thinking ‘Oh my god…is this actually what happens next in Winnie the Pooh?”