New ‘Pinocchio: Unstrung’ Trailer Is a Blood-Soaked Blast of Practical Effects and Puppet Horror! [Exclusive]

EXCLUSIVE: We have the brand new trailer for Pinocchio: Unstrung, the latest twisted take on the classic story, and it’s packing far more gore, violence, and practical creature chaos than you might expect.

What’s most surprising about Pinocchio: Unstrung isn’t the body count; it’s how good the movie actually looks. The trailer evokes the offbeat menace of Lucky McKee’s May while channeling the gleefully mean-spirited chaos of Leprechaun… and even a bit of Child’s Play.

What really sells it, though, is the tone. The film commits completely to its premise, playing everything with a straight face while pushing the violence and absurdity to outrageous extremes. The result looks like a wildly entertaining blend of brutal horror and over-the-top fun. The practical effects are impressive, the digital work appears surprisingly polished, and the gore is absolutely relentless. This feels like the kind of movie best experienced with a packed crowd of horror fans, and based on this latest trailer, Pinocchio: Unstrung could end up being one of July’s biggest horror surprises.

In the film, Pinocchio wants to be a real boy so badly that he’ll go on a gory, murderous rampage to get there. In theaters from Viva Pictures, it hails from ITN, the company behind 2024’s micro-budget smash hit Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.

Pinocchio: Unstrung stars Richard Brake (31, The Strangers) as Geppetto, Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) as a terrifying Cricket, and Cameron Bell as James.

The dark coming-of-age reimagining of Pinocchio follows the iconic puppet’s disturbing journey toward becoming real: “A chilling reimagining of the familiar fable, Pinocchio Unstrung unfolds inside an elite London prep school. Influenced by a sinister Cricket (Englund) and created by Geppetto (Rihard Brake), Pinocchio launches a violent crusade to carve himself into a real boy like his brother James, one piece at a time.”

Emmy winner Todd Masters oversees the practical animatronics, which look phenomenal. Jagged Edge Productions is behind the production.