Nicholas Woodeson Archives

Review: ‘Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare,’ starring Martin Portlock, Megan Placito, Kit Green, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Charity Kase, Teresa Banham and Nicholas Woodeson

January 15, 2025

by Carla Hay

Martin Portlock in “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” (Photo courtesy of ITN Studios and Iconic Events Releasing)

Directed by Scott Chambers

Culture Representation: Taking place in England, the horror film “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” (loosely based on characters created by J.M. Barrie) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some black people and Asians) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Peter Pan is a serial killer who murders boys, and his accomplices are Tinkerbell and Hook.

Culture Audience: “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” will appeal primarily to people who don’t mind watching poorly made horror movies that are based on characters from children’s literature.

Peter DeSouza-Feighoney and Martin Portlock in “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” (Photo courtesy of ITN Studios and Iconic Events Releasing)

“Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” serves up more dreck from the Twisted Childhood Universe. This wretched horror movie (about Peter Pan as a serial killer who targets boys) is boring and full of idiocy. Tinkerbell and Hook are mindless caricatures. The Twisted Childhood Universe franchise is a series of horror movies based on children’s book characters that are in the public domain. All of the acting performances in these Twisted Childhood Universe movies so far are unimpressive, ranging from mediocre to terrible.

The Twisted Childhood Universe began with 2023’s “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” and continued with 2024’s “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2.” “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” was written and directed by Scott Chambers, who starred as Christopher Robin in “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2.” Based on these Twisted Childhood Universe movies so far, there isn’t much thought that goes into these horror movies, beyond taking characters that were harmless in the original books and turning them into murderous, one-dimensional villains in these horror flicks.

“Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” (which takes place in England and is based on characters from J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan” books) begins by showing children’s book-styled animation in a short sequence. Voiceover narration from Peter Pan (played by Martin Portlock) explains that Neverland is a children’s island, where every joy and every wish could be granted by fairies. Peter also says that he is the ruler of Neverland and makes sure that only “the best children” can be invited. When he talks about “children,” what he really means are “boys only,” since Peter Pan is only interested in abducting and murdering boys.

The scene then reveals that Peter, who is a grotesque-looking creep, is telling this story to a boy whom Peter has captured. The boy, who is about 9 or 10 years old, is perched fearfully on Peter’s lap, as Peter is sitting a throne. The way that this scene looks, it’s strongly implied that Peter is a child molester. The movie then shows that the boy is named Nevel Curly (played by Mason Gold), and he is on a missing-person flyer.

Peter works as a circus pantomime, which gives him an easy way to find new victims. During one of Peter’s performances at the circus, he sees a boy named James (played by Lucas Allermann) in the front row of the audience. Peter’s black-and-white pantomime makeup makes him look sinister (similar to The Crow comic book character) instead of a kid-friendly entertainer. It makes you wonder what kind of circus would think Peter would be appealing to kids who might get frightened just by looking at him. Peter gives James a hand-made balloon toy. And it’s at that point you know that Peter is going to kidnap James.

The next scene shows that Peter has somehow found a way into a trap door on the floor of James’ bedroom. While James’ single mother Roxy (played by Kierston Wareing) takes a shower one night, Peter partially emerges from the trap door and tries to lure James into the trap, by telling James that Peter can take James to Neverland, where kids can play all they want without parental supervision.

Just as Peter is taking James’ hand to bring him down the trap door, Roxy walks in the room and sees this attempted kidnapping. A vicious fight break out between Roxy and Peter. And because James ended up being kidnapped by Peter, you already know that this fight will not end well for Roxy. Most the fight scenes in the movie are actually quite dull because they look so unrealistic and repetitive.

What’s so awful about this fight scene (and many of the movie’s other fight scenes) is that when Roxy manages to escape at one point, she doesn’t think about calling or going for help. She just goes back in the house to continue fighting Peter on her own. There are other scenes in the movie where Peter’s targets could call for help but they don’t.

“Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” then fast-forwards 15 years after James was kidnapped. It’s the birthday of a mopey boy named Michael Darling (played by Peter DeSouza-Feighoney), who’s about 13 or 14 years old. Michael lives with his 18-year-old sister Wendy Darling (played by Megan Placito) and their single mother Mary Darling (played by Teresa Banham) in a small middle-class home.

Michael and Wendy have an older adult brother named John Darling (played by Campbell Wallace), who lives in another household. (In the “Peter Pan” books, John Darling is actually the middle sibling.) The movie never reveals what happened to the father of Michael and Wendy. (In the “Peter Pan” books, the kids’ father is alive, and his name is George.)

Wendy works at a beauty salon and is considering taking a gap year because she and her boyfriend Ronnie (played by Callum Hymers) have been thinking about moving to London together. Mary would rather that Wendy not take a gap year and instead enroll in a university. Wendy’s best friend at the beauty salon is her co-worker Tiger Lily (played by Olumide Olorunfemi), who mildly scolds Wendy for being habitually tardy for work.

Michael is introverted and somewhat of an outcast at his all-boys school. His only friend is a schoolmate named Joey (played by Hardy Yusuf), who is the younger brother of Tiger Lily. Joey is more outgoing than Michael and suggests that they celebrate his birthday by going to the movies later. Michael readily agrees.

“Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” drags with monotony over things that have no real bearing on the plot. Michael is teased by some boys at school because he’s wearing a button that says Birthday Boy. Wendy worries because she hasn’t heard from Ronnie in a few days, and she thinks he’s actively avoiding her.

Meanwhile, Peter is seen killing a store manager named Lee (played by Eddy MacKenzie), just because Peter wants to get a scary face mask to hide his equally scary face. The next thing you know, Peter is driving around town in a red van that has the words “Let’s Go to Neverland” on the back and a back window bumper sticker that reads “Lost Boys.” Peter might as well have spray painted the van with the words “Child Kidnapper.”

Apparently, this is how Peter has been kidnapping kids for years. But somehow, this creepy man in this creepy van hasn’t caused any suspicions because this is a stupid horror movie. Parts of “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” look like inferior ripoffs of the 2022 horror movie “The Black Phone,” starring Ethan Hawke as a serial killer who worked as a magician and abducted boys by wearing a horror mask and driving around in his work van.

Peter’s easy access to kids through his circus job also doesn’t make him a person of interest, even though plenty of people saw him give a balloon toy to James. Peter is never questioned by police, even though Peter does a lot that would attract police attention in real life when there are child abductions/missing kids in a neighborhood. It’s just another example of how “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” is a sloppily written movie that treats viewers like idiots.

After Michael’s school sessions are done for the day, Wendy is supposed to pick him up from school in her car. Michael decides instead to ride his bike in a remote wooded area, where Peter and his van just happen to be too. And just when things couldn’t get more cliché and contrived, Michael falls down on his bike, near Peter. And you can easily guess what happens next.

“Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” is a mishmash of ideas that are never cohesive enough to make the story suspenseful or interesting. For example, after Michael is kidnapped, Wendy suddenly acts like a private detective and tracks down Stephen Carter (played by Nicholas Woodeson), the father of a child named Timmy Carter (played by Holden Smith), who had been kidnapped from the area about 30 years earlier. Wendy interviews Stephen to see if she can get any clues about who kidnapped Michael.

Stephen tells Wendy that Timmy was really a transgender girl. What does that mean if Peter is only interested in kidnapping boys? That answer is revealed in the last third of the movie, which has undertones of homophobia and transphobia for how it portrays any LGBTQ characters in the movie. The word “fairy” is used with a double meaning in this movie, and one of the meanings is meant to be derogatory to queer people.

Peter lives with a decrepit-looking Tinkerbell (played by Kit Green), who knows about the kidnappings and murders but does nothing to stop these crimes because Tinkerbell seems to be very afraid of Peter. Tinkerbell and Peter have some kind of violent co-dependent relationship where Peter is the dominant one, and Tinkerbell is the submissive one. Tinkerbell doesn’t do much except lurk around and sometimes use a needle to inject herself and Peter with “pixie dust.”

The character of Hook (played by Charity Kase), also known as James Hook, is so far from what the original James Hook is (he’s a captain pirate in the “Peter Pan” books), it’s really an atrocious use of this character. Hook has a hook for a hand, but that’s as far as the resemblance is to the original Hook character. “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” makes Hook a run-of-the-mill humanoid creature.

Worst of all, the movie’s title character is just an abyss of “boogeyman” stereotypes. Not much is revealed about Peter’s past, except for briefly showing childhood Peter (played by Oscar Hastings) in a meaningless scene. In another scene, adult Peter mentions that his mother abused him when he was a child. Peter has bloody mutilation marks on his body. And in a scene where he strips naked, it’s shown he has no genitals.

There’s a real disconnect between what this Peter Pan has to do with the original Peter Pan, except that they both talk about Neverland, a place that is never shown in this horrible movie. There are no references to this movie’s Peter Pan being eternally a boy, when he’s clearly well past the age of puberty. “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” is just a pathetic excuse to use well-known literary character names in order to sell what is essentially a substandard slasher flick that doesn’t do anything that’s very scary or creative.

ITN Studios and Iconic Events Releasing released “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” for a limited engagement in select U.S. cinemas from January 13 to January 23, 2025.

Review: ‘Firebird’ (2021), starring Tom Prior, Oleg Zagorodnii and Diana Pozharskaya

May 27, 2022

by Carla Hay

Tom Prior and Oleg Zagorodnii in “Firebird” (Photo by Herrki-Erich Merila/Roadside Attractions/The Factory)

“Firebird” (2021)

Directed by Peeter Rebane

Culture Representation: Taking place primarily in Estonia and Russia, from 1977 to 1983, the dramatic film “Firebird” (which is inspired by a true story) features an all-white cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Two men, who begin a secret love affair while they are in the Estonian military together, continue their love affair even after one of the men marries a woman and has a child with her.

Culture Audience: “Firebird” will appeal primarily to people interested in stories about closeted gay people, but the movie is frequently dull and has questionable acting.

Regardless of the sexualities of the characters in the drama “Firebird,” this monotonous film glorifies a relationship as romantic, when it’s really a doomed love affair where one person in the relationship is very selfish and manipulative. Viewers with common sense can easily see that the love triangle depicted in “Firebird” is not true love. It’s a story about someone taking advantage of two vulnerable people who deserved a better love partner. It doesn’t help that some of the acting in “Firebird” is very stilted and awkward, which makes a lot of the movie very emotionally unconvincing.

Inspired by real events, “Firebird” was directed by Peeter Rebane, who co-wrote the “Firebird” screenplay with “Firebird” star Tom Prior. The movie takes place from 1977 to 1983, in Estonia and Russia, with homophobia and the military ban on homosexuality serving as the reasons why the two men in the love triangle have to keep their affair a secret. “Firebird” isn’t the first movie to cover this topic, but “Firebird” unfortunately and mistakenly tries to make the liar and cheater in the relationship look like some kind of tragic hero.

In the beginning of the “Firebird,” it’s 1977. Sergey Serebrennikov (played by Prior) is a military private in his mid-20s at Haapsalu Air Force Base in Soviet Union-occupied Estonia. Sergey does well in the military, but his real passion is in creative arts. He’s an enthusiastic photographer, and what he really wants to do with his life is become an actor. Sergey’s closest friends at the Air Force Base are Siderov Volodja (played by Jake Henderson) and Luisa (played by Diana Pozharskaya), who are about the same age as Sergey.

Siderov is a slightly rebellious type who has a knack for getting away with some mischief. The movie’s opening scene shows Sergey, Siderov and Luisa taking a swim in a lake at night when they’re supposed to be in their sleeping quarters on the Air Force Base. Two security officers who are patrolling the area hear the commotion in the lake, and one of the officers shines a flashlight and threatens to shoot. While Sergey and Luisa hide, Siderov comes out from the shadows and identifies himself.

One of the security officers says to Siderov, “You again?” Ultimately, the security officers do nothing and walk away after telling Siderov to go back to the base, although one of the officers mutters to his co-worker, “Next time, I’ll shoot him.” Siderov’s confidence in being able to break the rules is in marked contrast to Sergey, who is terrified of getting himself and other people into trouble. It’s one of the reasons why Sergey stays too long in an on-again/off-again relationship with the deeply closeted man who ends up taking more than he gives in their relationship.

Sergey never explicitly states what his own sexuality is in the entire story. In the beginning of the movie, he has a massive crush on Luisa. Sergey gets secretly upset when Luisa dates other men. Luisa has firmly put Sergey in the “friend zone,” although sometimes she flirts with Sergey too. Siderov tries to give Sergey confidence-boosting talks on how he can win over Luisa, but Sergey seems to know that Luisa will see Sergey as nothing more than a close friend.

One day, a good-looking fighter pilot named Roman Matvejev (played by Oleg Zagorodnii), who’s in his late 20s or early 30s, arrives at the Air Force Base. The first time that Sergey sees him, Sergey is outside with his constant companions Luisa and Siderov while trying to take a “selfie” group photo of the three of them. Roman walks up to the trio and offers to take a picture of the three pals instead. Roman looks at Sergey in a way that suggests that he might want to do more to Sergey than take a picture of him.

Roman has been recruited to the Air Force Base because it will be his duty to prevent a B-52 bomber with a thermonuclear device from slipping through an air corridor to Leningrad. Roman’s immediate supervisor is Major Zverev (played by Margus Prangel), who is every worst stereotype of a homophobe. Major Zverev reports to Colonel Kuznetsov (played by Nicholas Woodeson), a tough but fair-minded supervisor, who believes in Roman’s talent and seems to want to be Roman’s mentor.

Because of Sergey’s interest in photography, he encounters Roman on some occasions when Sergey is developing photos in the photo darkroom on the Air Force Base. During their conversations, an unspoken attraction grows between Roman and Sergey. Roman, who is older and more experienced, makes the first move when he and Sergey kiss each other for the first time. It isn’t long before Roman and Sergey are sneaking off together for sexual trysts, including a hookup in the same lake where Sergey and Luisa were almost caught with Siderov.

At some point, Sergey decides that he would be happier being an actor than a military person, so his request to be discharged is granted. Sergey, who grew up on a farm, plans to go to Moscow to pursue his dream of being an actor. Roman and Sergey both share an interest in live theater, and they even go see a theater show together on a date. During a secret rendezvous, Sergey half-jokingly tells Roman that they should run away to Moscow together. Considering that Roman wants to stay employed by the military for as long as possible, the idea of Roman and Sergey living in bliss together for the rest of their lives is a pipe dream at best.

Someone at the Air Force Base must have seen Roman and Sergey together, because Major Zverev gets an anonymous complaint that Roman is having a same-sex affair, which is grounds for a dishonorable discharge and a prison sentence. Roman is ambitious and want to rise through the military ranks, so his response to the accusation is entirely expected: He denies everything.

Major Zverev doesn’t really believe Roman, but Colonel Kuznetsov is willing to give Roman the benefit of the doubt, especially since the complaint was anonymous, and the complaint did not have any proof. “Firebird” has a few tension-filled scenes where a suspicious Major Zverev tries to find proof that Roman is having a sexual relationship with a man. Meanwhile, Roman becomes paranoid and tells Sergey to stop talking to him in public. Sergey, who is about to leave the military in the near future, is crushed by this rejection.

It sets the tone for their relationship though. Every time Roman thinks that he will be “outed,” he distances himself from Sergey, who gets emotionally hurt, but then is willing to take Roman back when Roman is ready to resume their affair. Sergey is in love with Roman and wants to do whatever it takes to please him. And here’s the thing that makes Roman an even more despicable lout: Roman decides he’s going to marry Luisa, knowing that Sergey was kind of in love Luisa too, although Sergey’s romantic feelings for Luisa are not as strong as how Sergey feels about Roman.

Luisa, who has fallen deeply in love with Roman, has no idea that Sergey and Roman have been secretly hooking up with each other. Roman is not in love with Luisa. He’s only marrying her so that he can stop any speculation that he might be gay, and because he knows that having an image of being a heterosexual married man can benefit his career. Meanwhile, an emotionally tortured Sergey has to pretend to be happy for Luisa and Roman getting married, so that Luisa won’t get suspicious. Sergey even attends the wedding. Roman and Luisa eventually have a son together.

“Firebird” is an often-dreary slog of this very dysfunctional love triangle that has Roman calling all of the shots. Even after Sergey relocates to Moscow and tries to move on with his life without Roman, the chronically deceitful Roman finds a way back into Sergey’s life. In real life, a lot of people fall in love with people who are no good for them. It doesn’t mean that a movie has to make this type of toxic relationship look like true love. It isn’t true love. It’s a train wreck waiting to happen.

Making matters worse for “Firebird,” the movie is very disjointed in how it tells this story. In the first third of the movie, there’s too much time spent on Sergey and his fellow conscripts going through boot camp-styled harassment, led by a homophobic and sadistic bully named Sergeant Janis (played by Markus Luik), who is physically and verbally abusive. Sergeant Janis particularly likes to target underlings whom he likes to accuse of being gay, if they can’t do what he tells them to do.

Most of the supporting cast members are adequate in their roles. The credibility problem is with the two “Firebird” lead actors. In the role of Sergey, Prior (who is British in real life) is never completely believable as someone from Eastern Europe, since his Eastern European accent is shaky at best. Meanwhile, as Roman, Zagorodnii gives the worst performance in the “Firebird” cast. Zagorodnii’s wooden acting drags down the film, and it makes viewers speculate that he must have been cast in this role mainly for his good looks.

And really, after a while, it’s hard to see what Sergey sees in Roman besides those good looks. Sergey is a loving and unselfish partner, but Roman is not treating Sergey as the great love of his life who deserves to be respected. Roman is treating Sergey like a “side piece” that Roman wants when it’s convenient for Roman. Viewers with enough life experience can see this mismatched relationship for what it is. These viewers won’t buy the “Sergey and Roman are soul mates” fantasy that “Firebird” is desperately trying to sell.

Roadside Attractions released “Firebird” in select U.S. cinemas on April 29, 2022. The movie is set for release on Blu-ray and DVD on June 3, 2022. “Firebird” was released in Estonia in 2021.