Sleeping Beauty’s Massacre to Be an “Utterly Horrifying” Reimagining of Fairy Tale

Move over, Winnie-The-Pooh! It’s time for Sleeping Beauty to bathe in the blood of her enemies, as ChampDog Films announced today that they will soon begin production on a horror retelling of the classic fairy tale. Sleeping Beauty’s Massacre joins the recently-announced Cinderella’s Curse in an expanding field of public domain childhood characters who are being given the slasher treatment following this year’s Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, which earned $5.2 million at the box office against a paltry $100,000 production budget. Sleeping Beauty’s Massacre will be produced and directed by Louisa Warren (Cinderella’s Curse), according to Bloody Disgusting. Jasmine Ebony Thomas is set to write the screenplay.

While Winnie-the-Pooh just recently fell into the public domain, prompting quick-thinking horror filmmakers to take advantage of the silly old bear for their own twisted stories, both Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty have been in the public domain for years. It seems likely the inspiration for ChampDog’s timing is nothing more than the success of BLood and Honey.

“This film will flip everything as you know it on its head,” Warren told Bloody Disgusting in a statement. “It is savage, dark and utterly horrifying. I am setting out to create the most uncomfortable horror experience to date. There will be lies, gore and a big massacre. If you look back at the original material there is so much to play with.”

Here’s the official synopsis, also from that same Bloody Disgusting article:

In the film, “The beautiful Princess Thalia is thrown to ruins after her father’s mysterious death. She lives with Prince Edison who she is in love with but can no longer marry since losing her status. Queen Velma wants the kingdom for herself and will use her dark powers, and use of the occult, to take over at any means necessary.

“Velma casts Thaila into a deep sleep to never wake, till one day she does and her web of lies start to fall around her. A violent twist after twist with gory and graphic deaths will ensue.”

Lora Hristova will star in Sleeping Beauty’s Massacre as Princess Thalia, along with Lila Lasso, Leah Glater, Robbie Taylor, Sophie Rankin, Charlotte Coleman and Judy Tcherniak.

According to the report, the plan is to start production in August, and have a completed movie ready for a late 2023 release, although obviously we’ll see what happens with a timetable that tight.