Popeye's Revenge

I always want to ask the folks who leave 1 star reviews: what were you expecting? You know the budget, you know it's going to be subpar acting. You should be hoping for some inventive kills, some semblance of a story... and maybe some nudity. ;-) This move is just that. Is it a "good" movie? Of course not! But nobody should choose a movie called Popeye's Revenge and expect some polished, well-acted, high budget masterpiece. I had fun with this one, in all its ridiculousness. It definitely had some issues... one victim gets "trapped" in a net. What follows is idiotic. If they would have had changed it to a bear trap, it would have solved about 3 problems. I also wasn't sure about the need to add the fog as a lore requirement. It wasn't necessary and it looks like they had the budget for 1 fog machine from Walmart. Other than that, it is what it is (just like Popeye).

Popeye's Revenge opens with an animated backstory to the film's killer which looks like it has been drawn by a ten year old. And not a very talented ten year old. The slipshod nature of this introduction is a very good indication of the film's overall quality: it's cheap, amateurish garbage.

The plot, for what it's worth, sees the young Popeye bullied by his peers until he snaps and retaliates with lethal force. An angry mob pursues Popeye, leaving him for dead at the bottom of a lake. Fifteen years later, a group of friends arrive at Popeye's old home to renovate the place and come face to face with the homicidal sailor.

Borrowing from A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, there isn't an ounce of originality or invention in the script: it's a series of unimpressive kills, punctuated by scenes of sheer banality, most of which feature unattractive silicone-enhanced bimbos in various states of undress.

I have no problem with dumb, brainless horror in general, only when it is executed in such an uninspired fashion. Popeye is just some dude in a cheap sailor suit, and what little prosthetic make-up has been used on the actor is so poorly applied that it can be seen dangling off his face. The writers of this trash miss the opportunity to have the killer deliver amusing one-liners, the acting all round is atrocious and the characters are all thoroughly obnoxious.

The film's kills are the biggest letdown, completely lacking in creativity and devoid of cartoonish over-the-top splattery special effects. Popeye's nautical background could have resulted in some really inventive death scenes, but the obvious lack of budget means that most of the victims are simply splashed with a bit of blood. It's all very underwhelming.

I rate Popeye's Revenge 2/10.

Of course I was not expecting much of anything from this movie, as I sat down to watch it. Why? Well, seriously? Just look at the title and the contents of the movie. Doesn't exactly scream stellar entertainment. But still, on account of it being a movie that I hadn't already seen, I opted to give director William Stead's 2025 movie a fair chance.

Writer Harry Boxley didn't really put together a particular thrilling or overly entertaining script. And basing a horror movie such as this on the work of E. C. Segar just was a far stretch. Sure, I made it through the movie, but I have to say that "Popeye's Revenge" feels like it is a movie that is mostly suitable as a background movie; you know, the kind that plays while you're doing something else and only pay half an ear and eye on the movie. There isn't a proper storyline to follow, and it feels like you just watch a whimsical Popeye going from one random scene to the next, killing whomever happens to be in that scene.

I have to say that "Popeye's Revenge" comes off more as being a comedy than an actual horror movie. Why? Well, because everything was just so comically stupid and a horror movie based on the Popeye character is just silly. It just makes no sense whatsoever that the killer had to be Popeye.

The only face on the screen that I was familiar with was actress Danielle Scott. Yeah, I've seen enough shoddy low budget horror movies to be familiar with her. The acting performances in the movie were actually fair enough.

The effects in the movie were fair, but nothing extraordinary really.

The production level of the movie was actually rather good, taking into consideration the premise of the movie in general.

"Popeye's Revenge" is not a movie that I would recommend you to waste 79 minutes on watching. It just simply wasn't worth the effort. Just like the "Winnie the Pooh" horror movies, Popeye was something that never needed to be blended in with horror.

My rating of "Popeye's Revenge" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.

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.

I had hope for this. Even when taking on the obvious low budget it place, Popeye's Revenge is so so lacking.

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From what i could tell, Popeye's Revenge borrows much from a number of other superior horror movies:

Monster (Popeye) appears with the fog - The Fog (1980) House on a lake - Friday the 13th (1980) Death by wood in eye - Zombie Fleash Eaters (1979) Car fails to start - This age old tension builder has appeared on numerous occassions.

The script is lacking. Throughout there is an overwhelming sense of down time.

I doubt we'll be seeing much of the cast in the future, although the blonde had talent.

There was something about the female who goes topless, i thought she had talent also.

The guy with the Beanie hat, he possed talent also. That's my take.

Sometimes bad horror movies can be proped up by decent death blood speial FX.

Sadly, Popeye's Revenge lacks decent blood special FX.