Bambi: The Reckoning (2025)

Director: Dan Allen

Starring: Roxanne McKee, Russell Geoffrey Banks, Samira Mighty

After a mother and son get in a car wreck, they soon become hunted by Bambi, a mutated grief-stricken deer on a deadly rampage seeking revenge for the death of his mother.

I must be honest, I didn’t really expect much from this movie. I guess I watched it because I was in the mood for a ‘bad’ B-movie at the time. Well, this independent British horror really surprised me, and will probably be just as memorable (for me) as ‘Rippy’ and ‘Cocaine Bear’.

This Bambi ain’t no fairytale, and the film interestingly also has a very powerful message. Here, nature has had enough of Man’s inclination to destroy everything to their advantage, and now the forest fights back. When toxic waste contaminates the forest water, the animals turn into blood-thirsty monsters. The rabbits were far more creepy than Bambi, and one scene in particular will make your skin crawl!

For some reason, I initially found it difficult to connect with the characters, but luckily they grew on me, and the plot also thickened during the third act, which made the movie even more captivating. The film’s heroin is Xana, who along with her son Benji, goes to visit her husband Simon’s family for Thanksgiving. On the way there the taxi they are traveling in is being attacked by Bambi. Xana and Benji manages to reach the house, but Bambi is on their trail…

The film delivers some incredible attack sequences, and the visuals aren’t too bad either. There’s more than enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat and some of the jump scares will make you jolt in your seat! The unapologetically gory kill scenes sent shivers down my spine and I was really surprised by how well they were done (considering this to be a very low budget film).

I didn’t fully understand the senile Grandmother’s connection to Bambi, but she ended up being a really cool character. There are twists towards the end, and the film also ends on a very unpredictable note that lingered with me long after the credits rolled.

For me, ‘Bambi: The Reckoning’ is a highly entertaining fantasy horror, which I loved for its unpredictability, strong sequences, and powerful message. I bet you might even reach for the tissues at the end…

Would I watch it again? Yes.