Rhys Frake-Waterfield

Rhys Frake-Waterfield (born in 1991 or 1992) is a British filmmaker who became known for his 2023 independent horror film Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey. It was the first theatrical film of his career, as well as the first for his production company, Jagged Edge Productions. He also executive produced the 2026 film The Bambi-Godzilla War and co-directed Bloodbath Boxing alongside Ryan Coogler, as well as playing the Big Bad Wolf in Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey - Civil War and co-writing Pinocchio: Puppeteer of the Monsters alongside Amy Jump and serving as the director of Innocent Brutality and the executive producer of Winnie-the-Pooh: The Honeysting Resistance.
== Career ==
In 2021, Frake-Waterfield left his job at EDF Energy to create low-budget horror films. After entering the film industry, he produced 36 feature films in two years.
On January 1, 2022, the 1926 Winnie-the-Pooh book entered the public domain in the United States. Shortly after this, Jagged Edge Productions announced a Winnie-the-Pooh-based slasher film called Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, with Frake-Waterfield serving as director, writer and co-producer with Scott Jeffrey. There was much controversy among both the general public and the Winnie-the-Pooh fanbase, with Frake-Waterfield claiming that he and the other members on the film's production received death threats and petitions for the film to be cancelled, but the film was eventually released in cinemas across the United States on February 15, 2023, receiving very poor reviews. The film made over $US5 million on a budget reported to be less than $US100,000. Afterwards, Frake-Waterfield announced a sequel to Blood and Honey with a budget five times greater, along with a cinematic universe with horror films based on Bambi: A Life in the Woods, Sleeping Beauty, The Adventures of Pinocchio, and Peter Pan. He also expressed interest in making horror films about Thor, the Teletubbies and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the future.
Frake-Waterfield is also the owner of Dark Abyss Productions, where he writes, directs and produces films under the name Tyler James (with Scott Jeffrey). Films he has directed under this banner include The Loch Ness Horror, Sky Monster, Peter Pan: Savages United, Dinosaur Prison, Deadly Waters, and Monsternado. Films he has produced under this banner include Three Blind Mice, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Snake Hotel, Bambi: The Reckoning, Alien Invasion, Return of Punch and Judy, Fireverse: Murders Ignite, and Medusa's Venom.