By Mike Lera
Since the release of the 2023 British slasher Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, we have seen a slew of dark, twisted film versions of the cute, cuddly characters of our childhood that are now fair game in public domain, including the recent Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare.
Popeye the Slayer Man, a new horror-slasher based on the famous pipe-smoking, spinach-eating comic/cartoon character, is no exception.
Unlike the 1980 live action movie/musical Popeye starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall, Slayer Man’s sailor is more than just “strong to the finich” – he’s sinister to the core! Decked out in his classic Navy outfit and flashing his iconic bulgy, anchor-inked arms, this Popeye most definitely is what he is – a rampaging, pirate-like deformed monster (whom Bluto aint got nothing on) who relies on contaminated canned spinach for his brawn with which to pulverize anyone daring to “risk his fisks”.
Devoted fans of the popular ninety-six-year-old character will be especially delighted as Slayer Man has plenty of cool “easter eggs” and nods to the old school cartoons (the 1930’s/40’s Max Fleischer films particularly), as well as Popeye’s lesser-known 1920’s/30’s comic strip from his creator, E.C. Segar.
Our tale begins with a team of small-town college students exploring an abandoned spinach canning factory rumored to be “haunted” by a mysterious sailor man, the team’s leader Dexter creating a documentary of their investigation (a la Blair Witch Project). After setting up cameras and other tech equipment throughout the factory, Dexter and his accomplice, Olivia,
begin finding “things” that piece together the sailor’s backstory, all the while, their fellow teammates are being “smoked” one by one.
For what it is – a schlocky, low budget indie movie joining the current trend on horror-izing kiddie flicks – Popeye the Slayer Man actually packs a decent punch, mainly due to it not being a horror-comedy (which it could have easily defaulted to) and ending up utterly ridiculous. Instead, we get a darker, more distorted side to the rough and tough sea man who, for some fans, was always an outlandish, dangerous brute to begin with. Although Pops is shown a liiittle to much throughout the film and would have fared better if fully exposed more sparingly, the overall aesthetic of Popeye is done pretty well, presented with a somewhat believable physical and psychological abnormality from an over-consumption of a toxic veggie. Another cool, clever element of the film and throwback to the older Popeye toons is how our “hero” does a lot of damage up front without his green “power leaf” and turns to it only when his energy runs low and he “can’t stands no more”.
While many B-movies never intend to make the Oscar cut, the dialogue and acting in PTSM can sometimes be, in (cartoon) Popeye’s ineloquent words, “embarrassking” throughout the film. The storyline also tends to suffer and is in dire need of narrative spinach during the third act, its payoff and reveal slapped together like a sloppy “Wimpy burger” and, like (cartoon) Popeye’s speech, lacks clarity. And though Slayer Man’s kill count is executed with terrific practical effects and skill – Popeye squishing victims’ heads like grapes or squashing their faces with 300-pound anchors – the shock value becomes predictable and repetitive.
Nevertheless, Popeye the Slayer Man is what it is – a fun, entertaining alternate universe of a childhood favorite. Only for Slayer Man, you’re hoping he doesn’t eat his spinach!
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