My quick rating – 2.9/10. ITN Studios has jumped on the public domain horror train with this Popeye flick, giving the iconic sailor man a bloody, slasher-flick makeover. With Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey paving the way for reimagining childhood favorites as horror monsters, Popeye joins the fray—but unfortunately, he’s bringing little more than cheap makeup, giant forearms, and a bad attitude.
The film kicks off with a surprisingly charming hand-drawn intro that sets up the reimagined Popeye legend before transitioning into modern-day ghost hunters investigating the story. Of course, this being a slasher, their curiosity (and hormones) get the better of them. Apparently, no one told these councilors that horror movie survival 101 is to avoid sex because they waste no time going at it. Cue the obligatory nudity, cheap gore, and average kills.
Steven Murphy’s Popeye is less of a supernatural menace and more of an angry guy in costume, complete with oversized forearms that look straight out of a Spirit Halloween clearance bin. His kills are fairly standard, though one particularly absurd moment involves him literally bursting a victim’s boob with sheer strength—a moment that seems tailor-made to get a reaction out of the cast and audience alike. The mix of practical and digital blood effects is a slight improvement over some of ITN Studios’ past efforts, though the prop blood always seems to fire directly at victims’ faces regardless of where the actual hit lands.
Danielle Scott is the only familiar face in the cast, but this isn’t the kind of film meant to showcase strong performances. Instead, it sticks to the usual slasher tropes: a disposable group of young adults, gratuitous nudity, and a monster that doesn’t do much to honor its original source material. Unlike Blood and Honey, which at least attempted to build a twisted mythology around Pooh and friends, Popeye’s Revenge does nothing with the character’s rich history. He’s just an angry brute killing people at a summer camp.
While this movie isn’t officially part of ITN’s so-called “Poohverse” (which includes Bambi and Pinocchio horror reimaginings), it follows the same formula: grab a well-known public domain character, slap together a low-budget slasher, and hope for some viral curiosity. If that’s what you’re looking for, this delivers in the most basic way possible. Otherwise, there’s nothing particularly memorable here. It is just a forgettable cash-in on the public-domain horror trend. While the gore has its moments, the film does nothing with Popeye’s legacy and offers little beyond the usual ITN slasher formula.
To the surprise of no one, Amazon is the only place to check this one out right now.