Barney: Love and Dismemberment

Barney: Love and Dismemberment
Teaser poster
Directed by	TBA
Written by	TBA
Produced by	Alex Brow Maddison Grey
Music by	TBA
Production companies	EtherGlass Pictures Echo Vale Entertainment
Distributed by	Seismic Releasing
Release date	2028 (2028)
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	$500,000

Barney: Love and Dismemberment is an upcoming psychological horror and slasher film produced by Alex Brow and Maddison Grey. The film is a twisted reimagining of the character Barney the Dinosaur, based on the public domain elements of early 1990s children's programming and folklore. It is the fifth entry in the Distorted Innocence Universe, a shared horror franchise focused on corrupted nostalgia and analog nightmares.

The film follows a group of documentary filmmakers who attempt to explore the ruins of a defunct children’s TV studio where "Barney the Dinosaur" was originally shot — only to uncover a cult that believes in the return of the “Purple Father,” a monstrous being who claims to "love you to pieces." The project is currently in pre-production with a planned 2028 release.

Premise

The film opens during the final recording day of a Barney-style television show in the late 1990s. As cameras roll on what should be a cheerful finale, the entire crew is suddenly and brutally murdered on-set in a gruesome killing spree. The actor inside the Barney costume is left severely wounded but alive — crawling for help as the studio burns around him. No one comes. Abandoned, disfigured, and forgotten, he disappears.

Decades later in 2028, a young team of documentary filmmakers returns to the same ruined studio to uncover the truth behind the incident. What they find is more than a mystery — it's a dormant hatred that has been festering beneath the costume, waiting to love again… violently.

Production

Development

Following the box office success of previous entries in the Distorted Innocence Universe, including Play With Me and The Teeth Under My Pillow, the franchise announced a new film focusing on Barney in June 2027. The character entered the creative commons under modified parody and derivative work protections in the United Kingdom, allowing a version of the costume and themes to be adapted without the use of trademarked songs or logos.

Producer Alex Brow stated the film will “take the slogan 'I love you, you love me' and weaponize it into a cultist death chant.”

In a later interview, Brow described the film as “the darkest thing we’ve done by far,” and confirmed the opening massacre isn’t random: “It’s not about a killer showing up — it’s a betrayal. This man gave joy to kids for years and got left to die. Now he just wants to be remembered. And that’s when things get twisted.”

Marketing

In August 2027, a viral teaser poster for the film was released depicting a child’s drawing of Barney holding hands with headless stick figures. Below it was the tagline: *"I love you... to pieces."* The marketing campaign is expected to include analog-style trailers, lost episode segments, and an interactive “Fan Club” ARG leading up to release. A teaser is expected to feature the opening bloodbath as a cold open, ending with the time jump to 2028.

Connection to the DIU

Barney: Love and Dismemberment is part of the second wave of films in the Distorted Innocence Universe, serving as a standalone side entry while building on the reality-warping themes introduced in Coloring Book: Chapter One. Easter eggs within the script will reportedly link back to “The Archivist” and “Memory Leak”, including an appearance of a redacted VHS tape and distorted footage tied to “The Purple Father” myth.

Release

The film is scheduled for a 2028 release, with the exact date to be announced. It will premiere following the release of Memory Leak and before The Archivist.

See also

• Barney & Friends
• Analog horror
• Distorted Innocence Universe
• Slasher film
• Cursed media
• Public domain horror