In an animatic prologue, we learn that Popeye was once a deformed, outcast child who, in a fit of rage, killed a classmate. In response, the residents of Sweetville attempted to burn him alive, but he escaped the pyre and drowned in a nearby lake. In the aftermath, the townspeople were tormented by nightmares urging them to rebuild Popeye's home. Now, decades later, the child of one of the original lynch mob members invites friends to renovate the property, intending to turn it into a tourist trap. Cue the blood.
The setup borrows a bit from Freddy Krueger, but at its core, this is Popeye as Jason Voorhees. Judged on its own merits, the movie isn't terrible-the characters are serviceable, the acting is decent, the makeup and effects are solid, and it has a nice atmosphere.
The real issues lie in the script, particularly in how it handles the comic strip characters. Popeye's backstory feels like a missed opportunity-if they were going to give him a tragic origin, lifting from I Know What You Did Last Summer would have made more sense, at least justifying his sailor costume and seafaring ties. Instead, we get a bizarre, illogical premise where a grown man somehow returns after dying as a child. Yes, the same thing happened to Jason, but logic was never that franchise's strong suit. Meanwhile, Olive Oyl's backstory is downright ridiculous, and she barely has anything to do.
Compared to other public-domain horror cash-ins from ITN Studios (Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey), this is a step up, but it still feels like a retread. The only real selling point is that it's the first public-domain slasher take on Popeye. And unfortunately, the characters deserve better.
