Pinocchio: Unstrung

It plays better than it reviews — the watch lands harder than the write-ups suggest.

• “For a story that is old enough to be public domain, Pinocchio: Unstrung is, at its core, a timely revisionist take on the vigilante genre.”

  Michael Talbot-Haynes, Film Threat · 90

• “Pinocchio Unstrung balances gore and whimsy, delivering on everything the Twisted Childhood Universe should be — no lie.”

  Matt Fowler, IGN · 70

• “Pinocchio: Unstrung is never especially frightening, and even its jump scares are oddly muffled, but it is abundantly gross and grisly in all the ways a cheap-and-cheerful slasher should be.”

  Guy Lodge, Variety · 50

• “It’s a nasty piece of work. Cheerfully nasty, in fact, as it goes for black comedy laughs by bumping off characters in grisly drop-a-dumbbell-on-your-face scenarios. But it’s not-so-nice nasty as well, by being smirking and unpleasant; the kind of film that makes a joke out of the overweight kid puffing on an inhaler.”

  Cath Clarke, The Guardian · 40