Showing posts with label Popeye. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Popeye. Show all posts

Wednesday, 26 August 2026

Popeye: Resurrection Film Review



For some odd reason even tho film makers have been struggling to give this character a feature length film since the eighties Popeye now has just as many horror films under his belt as Mickey Mouse does. Fair enough the cartoons made Popeye more popular but Mickey Mouse is one of the most popular cartoon characters in the world yet it's this one sailor that has just as many cheaply made and poorly done horror films with there being another one to add to the list with this film being released around about the same as Popeye: Requiem and even being a direct sequel to that film and so then join me as I review the film that doesn't have that much Popeye in this Popeye themed horror movie with the film in question being called simply just "Popeye: Resurrection" enjoy.

The plot of this film is some time after the events of the previous film Cassie finds herself being stalked by a cult that is hell bent on bringing Popeye back to life and it's up to Cassie to defeat the cult and it's leader who holds a strong connection to Popeye. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really bad. The fact that this films plot is as bad as it is is something that is to be expected from these Popeye sequels as all of them do have really bad plots to them with the none of them having plots that are good in a so bad it's good kind of way. While there is some effort to tell a decent plot with this film it's to little to late as alot of people myself included would have been turned off after the second film with this films carrying on a franchise tradition with them not really starting the plot of the film until about half way into the film itself with this making it feel like that the plot of this film is more of an afterthought compared to literally anything else as there is more thought into having some classic Popeye characters outside Popeye and the Bluto knock off that they had in the previous film be apart of this film then there is into actually making this films plot good, with this films plot being at best really laughably thin as it does get hard to tell just what the main plot of the film is even meant to be for large portions f the films running time with this films plot not even being really rather entertaining and nor is is really rather rather engaging either in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this film is Lara Sas as Cassie , Steven Murphy as Popeye , Ruth E Maku as Maya and Victoria Pym as Olive Oyl. Also starring in this film is Arthur Wilde as Paul , Fitim DeStena as Dylan , Rachel Page-Molloy as Melissa , Rene Vrabel as Joe , Oliver John Lee as Ben , Clarisse Félix as Racheal , Charlotte Bhattacharjee as Cult Member Junkie 1 , Espen Wiken Lund as Cult Member 1 and this films wrier Craig McLearie as Cult Member Junkie 3.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really bad. Much like with the films plot this is a very common thing in these Popeye sequels and is something that we do have to expect is going to be a thing walking into the film with the film not for obvious reasons being able to afford the best actors but even with that in mind the actors that they do get do a passable enough job in this film to make you forget that the film that your watching isn't that good of a film in the first place, With the best actor in this film being Lara Sas as Cassie as at times it does feel like that she is the only actor who is actively trying to turn in a good performance with her also having the advantage of being one of the few actors that have been in alot of these films and therefor does have a good handle on her character with her doing her best to make Cassie seem more likable and warm in this film with her playing to her own strengths as an actor that being said tho there are times in this film where she could have done with another take just t help make her performance be all the more better however that was never going to be the case given the fact that this film does have a really small budget which might have been spread across the over sequels as well with her adding her own natural charm to the role that really does shine through in her performance. With the acting that's in this very film not really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so bad as it gives none of this films actors absolutely anything to work with interms of what it is that there actual characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.


Character wise again much like with the previous three films this films characters are all really bland and very one note. With none of this films characters being all that interesting as the returning characters are still being written poorly with the only one that gets a chance to show of her personality of being goofy at times being Cassie with her even going from a camp councilor to a stay at home nurse which is fitting given the fact that the previous two films have shown Cassie to have some basic medical skills and therefor it's a huge leap to see her become this stay at home nurse but at the same time tho there is still nothing about her character as she just does what the plot of the film demands that she do regardless of if its something that her character would do. With none of the films new characters being all that memorable with Maya being the typical best friend character that is just there to be killed off an while the film does try to do something new with her character by having her be in league with Olive the film undoes all of that by having her realise that Olive was lying to her when it would have made her character much more interesting is she remained not fully evil but someone who is easily influenced by people and while Olive herself isn't technically a new character as she did appear in Popeye's Revenge seeing her take on the role of a cult leader just felt wrong for her character even taking into account that she is a kids character that is being turned into the villain as while yes this version of Olive does still love Popeye here they are brother and sister yet it makes no sense as to why she brings him back in this film and never did the same thing for Popeye: Returns with her character just being that of a generic cult leader which just makes her a dull and boring character to watch in the first place.


Unlike alot of two part films there is usually one flowing storyline throughout all of the films with this being something that makes both parts worth watching. Here tho not only with this film but this entire trilogy of films there is no flowing story as while Returns and Requiem have a flowing plot with the army and Cassie trying to survive and then kill Popeye they did that at the end of the third film therefor there was no need for this film to be made as the story was all wrapped up with the plot element that the third film didn't wrap up that being the secret formular that made Popeye in the first place yes playing a part in the film but it doesn't get resolved as outside of one scene near the end of the film it's something that is never brought up in the film. Heck even Dylan who was basically there version of Bluto is relegated to a cameo near the middle of the middle of the film where Cassie imagines Popeye coming to kill her only to get saved by Dylan and that's that when it would have been alot more interesting if the film had picked up on the plot threat of Dylan having taken the same drug that made Popeye and shown us how it's effecting him as that's something that we never got to see in any of the other films heck we never even get to find out Bluto into this films world even stands for bottom line here being that there are alot of plot points that needed to be addressed to give this franchise some form of closure and yet they weren't, when this is something that all multipart films need to as they are all telling one big story and part of that does include wrapping up any and all plot points it doesn't need to be in a major way it could just be something that's gets mentioned in one line of dialog from any of the characters and it would work just as well and yet they don't do it which just makes the makers of this film seem lazy as they don't even bother to wrap up the story that they themselves are trying to tell.

In what was kind of a shocking move this film does feature Popeye talking for the first time in this series. With him saying "I Yam What I Yam" which is not the title of a song from the first and so far only great theatrically released Popeye film but it's also the nae of what is technically the first Popeye cartoon as it is the first in the Popeye series of cartoon but it wasn't the first to feature Popeye as that honor goes to a Betty Boop cartoon called "Popeye The Sailor" therefor it was oddly fitting to see this film make that reference as it does show that the makers of this film do know there Popeye lore but at the same time tho it does feel weird that they would wait until this film to do something like that as all of the other Popeye sequels had no other major references to anything that's to do with Popeye and yet this film seems to be the one that got alot of them. With the only thing that was missing being a more dark and twisted version of the classic Popeye theme song as if you going to include alot of things from the Popeye lore then why not go all out ad heck why not show the character eating Spinach the one food that he is known to love these are things that are yes campy and corny but given the fact that this film has two beloved kids characters as the main villains doing something that's serious was thrown right out of the window say what you will about the Blood And Honey films but they at the very least accepted the fact that there corny and campy films and yet this film seems to by ignoring the fact that it's based off of a comic strip and cartoon character when leaning into those aspects of the franchise would have made the film alot more fun to watch with the makers of this film then being able to include more nudges and winks to other aspects of Popeye lore be it characters like the Burger loving Wimpy or more lore from the character of Popeye himself.


Whilst the first film Popeye's Revenge did have Olive in it she was more of a side character in that film where as here in this film she is straight up the main villain. With her being the one to convince these people to bring Popeye back to life and even being the one to tell Popeye to go and kill one of the people that helped to bring him back to life in the first place this is all a very good idea but it makes Popeye feel like a side character in this own movie as the titular resurrection doesn't happen until near the end of the film with the rest of the of the early part of the film being spent of showing us what Cassie has been up to since the events of the previous film which is all well and good but this is a Popeye horror film therefor we want to see Popeye not the final girl. With Olive not even taking the time to explain not only how she knew that her brother had died in the first place but also why she's bringing him back in the first as both of those things that are things that should have been explained either in a credits scene at the end of the previous film or at the very least in the opening of this film and yet we get neither which just makes Olive's plan feel less thought out as we don't know what she wants to do with Popeye once he's brought back to life with this being something that makes her feel less threatening as a villain when Popeye's Revenge made out to be someone who yes loved her brother dearly but was also really insane both of which are things that would have made for great jumping off points for the makers of this film and yet they don't do which just makes her character feel like a waste of a good idea as like it or not having Olive Oyl be a villain in a horror film no matter if it's good or not is a good idea and its something that could be great if its done well which sadly in this film it just isn't done all that well.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and fifteen minuets and fifty two seconds. Which actually makes this film around four minuets longer then the previous film but even so this is a film that really didn't need to be that long as you could have cut down alot on the stuff with Cassie at the start of the film and alot of the early stuff with the cult as none of that effects this films plot with all feeling like padding with those scenes then being able to be replaced by scenes that not only add things to this films plot but also help to wrap up things from the previous films like why isn't Dylan in this film yes it's hinted that he died not long after his fight with Popeye but it's never said to be the case and having him help Cassie out would have been a nice way to include the character with this film just about having enough plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place. However tho despite this film being about four minuets longer then the previous film this film still doesn't use its running time all that wisely use to the fact that this film really does doesn't take the time to fully develop it's plot ad there are exactly no scenes in this film that add anything to the plot of the film and that help it feel more fleshed out when this is something that the makers of this film really should have taken the time to do as this is the film that needed it's plot to be really fleshed out and well developed with the makers of this film putting more and thought into giving us an obscure reference to Popeye media then they are into giving us a well developed plot. This is something that does also effect the films character development as well as even tho Cassie has been the main character of these sequels we only just now find out what her last name is and that's it as we find out nothing else about her character and heck we find out noting about any of the new characters either with none of this films characters getting the chance to grow and ending the film in the exact same place that they started in with the makers of his film putting alot more thought and effort into making sure that we know that Olive is the main character on this film then they did the films character development but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a slasher film that really does mean that I have to actually talk abut the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty OK at best. With the films kills being the best part of the film which is really saying something about the rest of the film as out side of one kill around the mid way point of the film and one at the start of the film it takes to near the end of the film for us to actually see some kills in this film which if this film was near two hours long wouldn't be a bad things as then you could argue that the makers of this film were just pacing themselves when it comes to the kills yet this film is barely a feature length running time therefor we do need to be getting to the kills alot more quicker then that. With the best kill in the film like with the previous film being the death of Popeye as after brutally killing of Olive we get to see Cassie just go nuts on Popeye hitting him several times with what might be a machete with some really impressive looking blood getting spilled all over her with the whole thing coming to end when Cassie beheads Popeye which for a low budget film such as this did look really good with the kill itself being something that really makes Cassie out to be a complete and total bada*s as she straight up takes on two killers all by herself and while she really only just wins she still wins with the rest of the films kills being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall finally this series of Popeye films is done and Frenchie Films can make some other terrible movie as while this film isn't as bad as Popeye Returns was it's also not as good as the previous film was with this film being a lackluster end to a lackluster series of films in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 0.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally sued in his very review from Tenor , Amazon . Co . Uk and IMP Awards . Com. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images simply because Google Images actually has images from this film really are up and on Google Images and plus pretty much much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we end this review as we always do with really our one and true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams.

Sunday, 23 August 2026

Popeye: Requiem Film Review



For some odd reason Popeye of all characters seems to be the in character to give a cheaply made horror film to this is despite the fact that an official big screen take on the character has been hard to pull off since the eighties. As now we have part two of a three part series of sequels with the final part also out right now and yeah if you've seen either Popeye's Revenge or Popeye Returns then you pretty much no what it is your going to be getting with bad film as even the worst of the original Popeye cartoons is better then this film and so then join me as I review the film that has a predictable reveal with the film in question being called simply just "Popeye: Requiem" enjoy.

The plot of this film is mere moments after being captured at the end of the second film Popeye once again escapes the military and it's up to a few survivors from the previous film to try and not only survive this latest attack but also call of a military air strike. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this film was in all honesty really bad. With this films plot at best being laughably bad and at it's worst just straight up not there with the films plot not even being so bad it's good it's just bad as it does feel like that the makers of this film had no idea of what kind of story that they wanted to tell and where just throwing stuff at the wall with none of it sticking. Heck the film doesn't even focus on it's plot alot of the time which does make the films plot feel secondary to the fact that they have a beloved kids character as the main villain which even then given the fact that there is a shockingly high amount of Popeye themed horror films doesn't even work as we the audience could just watch quite literally any of the other Popeye horror films and get a better plot therefor there really should have been more of an effort to give this film a better plot as this the middle part of a three film story and there's no story reason for this to be the case as what little plot there is in not only the previous film but also this film doesn't warrant being told over multiple parts with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 


Starring in this film is Lara Sas as Cassie , Steven Murphy as Popeye , Fitim DeStena as Dylan and Danny Sains as Oscar. Also starring in this film is Marie Ann Watson as Dr. Bernard , Juliette Smith as Lindy , Arber Prendi as Questel , Christopher Morley as O'Brien , Graeme Muncer as Donnelly , Jack Hyde as Mendoza , Nathan Geering as Deitch , Amy Gibbons as Tina , Will Middleton as Malcolm , Mark Tunstall as Derek and Jessie Vinning as Kitty.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this film was in all honesty really bad. Look the fact that this film has as bad of acting as it is has is something that we do have to expect from these films not just the Popeye films but also films like The Mouse Trap and Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare as they all do have bad acting in them and the same thing is true for his film with even the actors that are returning from Popeye Returns and are or going to be in Popeye: Resurrection not being all that good in this film. With the best actor in the film being Lara Sas as Cassie as while she doesn't get to do a whole lot in this film especially when compared to the previous film she is still in the film alot and alot of her scenes in the film are decently acted and while her acting in this film isn't that good when compared to the rest of the films actors however it does come off as being alot more better as you can tell that she is trying to turn in a good performance with her treating the film like it's going to be a big break for her when it's obviously not as no one is going to be seeing this film and it will just get lost in the shuffle of all the Popeye themed horror films out there therefor there was no need for her treat this film as if it's going to lead to something bigger with her natural charm shining through in her performance. With the acting that's in this film not really being helped by he fact that this films script is just so bad as it gives none of this films actors absolutely anything to work with interms of what it is that there actual characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.


Character wise this films characters are just as bland , dull , boring and forgettable as you'd think that they would be. As all of them are badly done characters which for the new characters is fine as they are just there to serve as victims for Popeye but it's also the same thing for the returning characters as none of this films characters have anything interesting about them that makes you want to like and want to get to know more about as the film doesn't take the time to let you get to know and to let them become more then then trope that they are hoping to be as Dylan is still the hold over character from Popeye's Revenge and Cass is still just a blank slate that does whatever the plot tells her to do even if it's against what little character she has in the first place. To be frank it does feel like that the writers of these films spent a weekend writing up all of the scripts as the characters are that bare bones with this being something that makes it obvious that the makers of this film didn't care about making a genuinely good film they cared more about making a cheaply made cash grab of a film with that being something that does shine through in the films characters as they very easily could have fixed this films characters by doing a rewrite of the films script as then they would have the chance to fix any and all issues with both the script and its characters and yet due to the fact that they didn't care about that they just left the characters as bare bones characters and while yes alot of the slasher films of eighties also did exactly that those films were making those tropes in the first place and not following them with even alot of them having fun with those tropes once they started to become popular whereas here tho it does feel like that they just weren't that bothered to make interesting characters and were just hoping that people will like the film because of the fact that a beloved kids character is the main villain.


This film is the middle part of a three part storyline and it really didn't need to be three films long as unlike Avengers: Infinity War or any two part film this film as well as Popeye Returns and Popeye: Resurrection don't have a story that is worth telling across as three film. With the whole point of doing a multipart film being to tell a story that can't be told in one film and yet you could very easily tell the stories of these films in one film as the story being told what little there is isn't big enough to demand multiple films yet for some odd reason the makers of these Popeye sequels thought that this is a story that does demand alot of films all of which being released very close together to tell there story and it just makes you wonder what they were thinking when they came up with that idea. With this film being the middle part of the story and yet there's nothing in this film that raises the stakes of the story and that makes you want to watch part 4 as while they do start something with the military almost bombing the area where the main characters are the character do end up stopping that when that is is something that could make for a great hook for part 4 with the one of the few decent things in the film being the fact that the film doesn't waste anytime in setting up things for Popeye: Resurrection which is something that is very easily could have dine and is something that alot of two part movies do do with there first part and yet this film dose still come of as being really bad despite the fact that it's not one long trailer or the next film as it's clear as day that due to the fact that all of these films were filmed together that all of the best or hopefully best stuff is going to be in the final film by which point it will be to little to late as no one would have cared enough about the characters to see all of the good stuff as the makers of this film didn't give us a reason to care for there characters in the first place.

For some odd reason this film pretty much stops about half way threw after it's killed off alot of the army characters to introduce to us these new characters. Which does come out of nowhere with alot of there early scenes adding nothing to the film with them being this family that have gone on a camping holiday and that's literally the only thing we find out about them other then the fact that one of them is dating an American girl and it's just weird that the film would replace these decent but not good characters with these new characters that they then have to rush in setting up this wouldn't be an issue if they were appearing in the fourth film but the only one that survives this film isn't even going to be in the next one. This is something that does make there inclusion in this film feel all the more pointless as there early scenes in the film feel like a completely different movie when compared to the rest of the film heck given how the first half act of the film goes it feels more like an ending to Popeye's Revenge then the opening of this film which begs the question why not just put those scenes in that film and get that film up to one hour and thirty minuets and then start this film with a small time jump before then getting into the rest of the film with the family surely that would have been alot more better then cramming in more characters into this film and making this film feel very over stuffed with characters as all this ends up doing is making sure that no one in the audience can like any of the films new characters as they all have to fight for screen time with each other and heck even the films central villain Popeye disappears for a large portion of the film because of the fact that the film now has to set up who these new and quite frankly boring new characters are. 


There is a really painfully obvious reveal in this film that when it first got hinted at and I saw the look of Dylan I knew right away what was going to be happen and sure enough it happens. The film introduces this new injection that the military have been working on to make soldiers stronger called Bluto and the second that it wa brought up in this film and you see the Dylan looks alot like Bluto from Popeye you just know exactly what's going to happen and sure enough in the films third act he injects himself with it and fights Popeye this was such a predictable reveal that it's quite honestly laughable as they do make the actor that plays Dylan look roughly like how we expect Bluto to look with them both having big beards and a hatred of Popeye and therefor when it does happen it's not that shocking as you already knew it was coming with the other plot reveal being one that does actually work even tho it was that you kind of work out when the scene is going on as the film does strongly hint at Dr. Bernard being Popeye and Olive's mother as yes Olive Oyl is meant to be Popeye's sister in these films it was something that they did back in Popeye's Revenge and the character is meant to be showing up in Popeye: Resurrection as they do say that there mother got pregnant with them after being exposed to some chemicals with Dr. Bernard saying that she should have killed Popeye when he was in the womb which does all but confirm that she is his mother and going by Google it does seem as if he did have a mother called Irene but she only appeared in alternative comic book backstories therefor it's not out of the realm of possibility that this version of Popeye also has a mother with that reveal actually being better done then he reveal of Dylan basically transforming himself into Bluto to take on Popeye one on one.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and eleven minuets and thirty seconds. Which yeah is never a good sign when the middle part of your trilogy is not even a feature length running time as there is so much story that could have been covered in this film and so much that needed to get done to make the next film work and yet due to how short that both this film and the previous film is none of that leg work can be done with even the next film having a very similar running time to it all of this does hit home the fact that the makers of this film just didn't care enough to make these films as good as they could have because if they did then they would have given the films a longer running time heck even Darbie's Screamhouse is longer then this film is and that film was meant to be bad with this film just barely having more then enough plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place. With thus film not even using it's running time all that wisely as the film doesn't take the time to fully develop it's plot due to the fact that the film not only barely focuses on it's plot with the film being more bothered about focusing on this new family for literally no reason but the film also barely has a plot to begin with this is something that really could have been fixed if the makers of this film did a re-write of the films terrible script with the makers of this film being more focused on shoving this random family down our throats then they are in giving us a well developed plot. This is something that des also effect the films character development as this is the film where all of the returning characters except for Popeye should have gotten some form of character development and yet none of them do with all of the films characters ending the film in the exact same way that they started the film with the makers of his film being more focused on not giving us alot of Popeye rather then giving its characters some actual character development but I really will admit that this film really does gave some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a slasher that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. With us getting to see alot of the kills in this film and while granted none of the kills look all that impressive that is more due to the films tiny budget then anything else with the one thing that lets all of the kills down in this film being the fact that two characters survive getting stabbed in the back by Popeye one of which was stabbed in the back with a harpoon gun this is something that shouldn't have happend as all it does cheapen wat could have been a really good kill all for no reason whatsoever. With the best kill in the whole entire film being the death of Popeye as a fully transformed Dylan takes on Popeye one on one with the pair of them having a pretty decent fight for its budget with all the while Cass and Lindy are trying to escape this empty military compound so that they can tell the military not to bomb them all the while Popeye and Dylan are still fighting each other with neither one really getting the upper with it only being when the fight nears its end that Dylan does finally get the upper hand and crushes Popeye's skill in with some impressive make up being put to good use and while this is a much more funnier kill in the film that kill is only funny due to how bad it is whereas the death of Popeye is just so cool to look at and while it doesn't redeem the film at all it does make the ending more then worth watching with the rest of the films kills being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 


Overall whilst this film is nowhere near as bad as Darbie's Screamhouse was this still a really bad film and that the fact that there's one more of these films out does make you wonder how bad that that film is going to be as this is film that close to being bottom of the barrel trash in my freaking opinions anyway / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 0.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as or where I personally got all of the images hat I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Tenor , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images simply because Google Images actually has images from this film really are up and on Google Images and plus pretty much much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we end this review as we always do with really our one and true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams.

Tuesday, 14 July 2026

Popeye Returns Film Review



Just when you thought that the days of very cheaply made horror films that happen to have a cartoon character as the villain were gone we get another one. With this oddly enough being a sequel to the film Popeye's Revenge and what's more then that is the fact that there are further TWO sequels to this film already in post production and are coming out some time this year and so then join me as I review the film is just a big load of nothing with the film in question being called simply just "Popeye Returns" enjoy.

The plot of this film is eight years after the events of the of the first film Popeye starts targeting the one lone survivor from the first film whilst also being hunted down himself by a group of government army men who want to keep him locked up. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really bad. Look to be real this films plot is just so bad as even tho it is a very extremely thin plot alot of the time it does feel like that the film doesn't have a plot to begin with with it feeling like the film is just a bunch of scenes loosely tied together. Popeye's Revenge for all of it's faults at the very least had a plot yes granted it was a bad plot but it was still a plot with a beginning , a middle and an end here we barely get a beginning before the film ends which makes it more baffling as to why the makers of this film decided to stretch this thin plot over THREE films when doing it in just one film would have worked all the more better, there is nothing redeemable about this films plot as it is a very lazy plot that the makers of this film should feel ashamed about and while yes granted these B movie horror films never have te best of plots to them in the first place but they still will nine out of ten have a plot to begin with and when this film can't even do that right then it right away is a huge red flag as now we the audience have no reason to get invested in the films plot as the makers of the film themselves aren't even bothering to make it good in the first place with the plot of this film not really being really rather entertaining and as well as not really being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 


Starring in this film is Ashley Bedford as Dave , Jodie Bennet as Milly , Fitim DeStena as Dylan and Harriet Hope as Jen. Also starring in this film is Jack Hyde as Mendoza , Celine Mandy Kosch as Mindy , Olivia Lennox as Alice , Bannister Doll Heist star Christopher Morley as O'Brien , Skullhunter star Steven Murphy as Popeye , Ever After star Lara Sas as Cassie , Liz Stef as June and Jenna Wilson as Alina.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really bad. Again you do expect these types of films to have bad acting in them as the main reason to watch these films is never the acting it's always what they are going to be with the cartoon character that they are turning into the main villain and that's that which is fair enough but there still needs to be some amount of effort put into the acting to make it worth while as while yes alot of this films actors are indeed trying to turn in a good performance they are let down by poor directing from this films editor and director William Stead with the only actor who really can't take any blame as it is her first proper acting job being Celine Mandy Kosch. With the best actor in this film being Steven Murphy as Popeye as he is the only actor reprising his role from Popeye's Revenge therefor he does have a good grip on how best to perform as this character which is a skill that does put to great use in this film with him having a certain charm about him does make you wonder what it is that this character can really do which is something that really does shine through in his final performance. With the acting that's in this very film really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so bad as it gives none of this films actors absolutely anything to work with interms of what it is that there actual characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.


The films characters much like pretty much everything in this film are really nothing to write home about. As all of this films character are for lack of a better word forgettable as there is nothing about them that makes them stand out as they all feel like character tropes and not fully formed characters with this being something that does make sense as this film would have been cheaply and quickly with the other two films but there still should have been more time spent in making these characters appear to somewhat memorable as the only character who is slightly memorable is Cassie and even then it's due to the fact that she's the main final girl of the film and not due to anything she says or does in the film itself. As none of her friends are that memorable infact they all just blend into one and Alice herself due to the share nature of character can't be that memorable of a character with the only character who is memorable is rightfully the films title killer Popeye and even he doesn't get alot of screen time in this film with him feeling like a side character in his own movie and yet what little screen time the character does have in the film he does do something that's more memorable then the rest of the characters and heck it could even be argued that Popeye is the films best character as while there isn't all that much to him as a character there is still an attempt to make him a decent character whereas with any of the films other characters it felt like that they were there just so Popeye had people to kill and not because of the fact that they added anything to the films story, these characters are the kinds of characters that you would expect to see in the first draft of a script and while this film might not have had the budget to do a re-write it really did need one just to fix up how poorly handled alot of this films characters are even when not being compared to Popeye.


As was mentioned at the very start of this review this film is a sequel to the film Popeye's Revenge however you don't have to see that film as the film spends a good few minuets early on in the film playing alot of the third act final battle from that film. This was just such a stupid thing to do as all it does is make it more obvious that the makers of this film didn't really have much of a plot and are just using those scenes not to catch up with the plot as the girl who is meant to be a survivor from those attacks wasn't even in the film in the first place and there those scenes just feel like they were added to the film so that the makers of this film could truly market this film as a sequel as there is nothing from that film that appears in this film outside of having the same actor playing Popeye and one reference to the previous film at the start of the film and that's it. For all of the hate that Silent Night Deadly Night 2 gets for just being a glorified clip show of the first film they still made a logical attempt to connect the two films together where as here there is none of that as it does feel like that the makers of this film had no idea on what to do for a sequel and therefor they just came up with the laziest thing over one night and called it a day, now I admittedly haven't seen Popeye's Revenge since it first came out therefor my memory on the ending is a little hazy but it there might have been away to do a direct sequel to that film and still have it play a bigger part in the bigger plot that they are trying to tell just by having the survivors of the previous film be the runs that are helping these new characters out as given the fact that the apparent lone survivor is meant to be related to the main character of the previous film it does make sense that she would come back to help her out in this film whilst also hinting that there are bigger things at play by having Popeye not only trying to kill these character but also working on Spinach that would help him stronger and more insane that right there connects the two films together and sets up a bigger plot better then what this film actually does.

Let's take a second to talk about the editing because of you thought that William Stead made for a great editor then you'd be wrong. As this film is edited so poorly with us barely being able to make out anything that happens as there are alot of cuts going on in any given scene with no scene being given the room that it needs to breath and for us the audience to truly soak in what's happening which does make alot of this film a very confusing mess to follow and heck even the ending to Popeye's Revenge is edited in a way that it does make it look like one of the characters in this film was the main character from the previous film when a simple search of Google tells you differently the only thing that could have made the editing in this film be all the more better was if William Stead just took his time in certain scenes and not rush or cut them to the high heavens as all this does is leave your audience confused as to what's actually happening in the film. Something that was also mentioned at the start of this review is the fact that this film has two other sequels coming out and yeah you really can tell as the film doesn't even properly finish telling it's own story is just fades to black before a "To Be Continued" card pops up with this film quite literally being nothing more then set up for the other two films which wouldn't be a bad thing if this film was actually good in the first place but it's not therefor people are less likely to watch films 3 and 4 in this Popeye's Revenge franchise as the first two films have made it clear as day that they are bad films and yet if the makers of this film put in alot of thought and effort into making this film not only good but also stand on it's own without the need for the other 2 films then people what be excited to watch the other two films as they would have seen just how good that the makers of this film can be.


While the previous film at the very least made an attempt to connect it self to the Popeye lore by also giving us a more Harley Quinn-esque version of Olive Oyl. Here we only get one reference to Bluto at the start of the film this might be because he could be playing a bigger role in one of the sequels with his name being shown to us here as a way to set up that that name could becoming back later on down the line which is fair enough but there still needs to be more of a tie to the Popeye lore then just having Popeye in it like maybe they they could have Whimpy show up granted this isn't much but it would be better then nothing at all but in all fairness the idea of having Bluto play a bigger role in one of the sequels does make sense given the fact that in the original comics and cartoons he and Popeye are meant to be enemies. This film is just one big helping of nothing as that's exactly what happens for alot of the film nothing happens to the advance the plot of the film , the characters are poorly done and the editing is terrible granted its not as bad as it was in Taken 3 but it is still pretty bad and while we do need to give these films more of a leeway when it comes to how they are made as these films are usually made cheaply and quickly but we still do need to call them out when they do something that's just flat out bad like for example the film does build up a mystery over who this guy is that appears at the start of the movie but then disappears for so long that you actually forget that he's in the movie with film making us think that he's either tied to one of the characters in the previous film due to how certain scene are edited or the fact he is Bluto only for it to be revealed that he's jus a guy which makes that entire subplot feel pointless as the makers of this film very easily could have said who he was right away instead of having him appear once and then forgotten about for at the very least forty minuets to only then reveal that he's not that important of a character.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and eight minuets and twelve seconds. Which for any film let alone one of these low budget horror films is such a short amount of running tike for the film to have and given the fact that the film does send more time on setting up things for the third and fourth films then it does in actually telling it's own story altho in saying this maybe the film being this short is a blessing in the disguise as it does mean that we get to be out of this film in alot less time but this film still should a longer running time just to flesh out alot of its own ideas and alot of it's characters and not just have them pushed to the side to set up the other two films with this film no even having enough plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place. With the film not even using what little running time that it already has very wisely as the film doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot as the plot of the film as very very wafer thin at best with it feeling more like the plot to someones bad fanfiction only now it's the plot of a film and what's worse is the fact that if this film did deed dedicate more time to its plot and fully developed it then it could have worked but its made clear as day that the makers of this film cared about giving us pointless flash back scenes that they did about giving us a fully developed plot. This is something that does also effect the films character development as due to the fact that the films opening flashback to the previous film eats up a good three to five minuets and the fac that we get a pointless flashback to the eighties which eats up five minuets on its own then this films character are not only fighting for screen time due to there being far to many characters for a film this long to have in the first place but it does also mean that none of them can get any sort of character development with the makers of this film making it perfectly clear that they are more interested in setting up the sequels instead of giving us well thought out and developed character but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a slasher film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really bad. It's in the films kill where we really do get to see just how small that this films budget really was as they all commit that single biggest sin that any slasher film can commit when it comes to there kills and that's the fact that alot of this films kills happen OFF SCREEN we will see Popeye raise a weapon to kill people with but then the film cuts away just as he is about to land the finishing blow which is something that would be fine for one or two kills but no all of this films kills are like. Heck this happens to so often that the film can't even have a best kill because we never get to see what it is that kills them off in the first place and yet even alot of the really bad horror films still let us see what it is that kills of there victims granted this might be the case because of the fact that the other two films were being made at the same time but if your going to be making a slasher film then you need to show us the kills that is slasher film making 101 with the closest thing to a kill that we actually see being in the opening scene where a girl gets her head trampled by Popeye which is a cool kill but even that one we don't get to see all that much of and therefor we really aren't scared for the rest of the film with the rest of the films kills being just as bad as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Overall it really is telling when the best live action filmed version of Popeye the one from 1980 never got a sequel and yet one of the many Popeye horror films not only got a bad sequel but is also getting two other films with this film not really does a good job of getting you excited of the third film in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 0 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boy and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Tenor , Amazon . Co  Uk , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images simply because Google Images actually has images from this film really are up and on Google Images and plus pretty much much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we end this review as we always do with really our one and true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams.

Monday, 7 April 2025

Shiver Me Timbers 2025 Film Review



For some weird reason young horror filmmakers are obsessed with turning Popeye into a slasher villain as this is now the third slasher film to be released this year that has Popeye as the main villain. With this hopefully being the final one this year as out of all three that have been released so far only one of them was actually good and hint it's not this one with this one being the only one that I was actively looking forward to as I hadn't heard of any of the others and so then join me as I review the film that turns Olive Oyl into a goth for literally no reason whatsoever with the film in question being called simply just "Shiver Me Timbers" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when her and her friends go camping to see a comet flying by Olive and her friends suddenly find themselves being stalked by a sailor who is bent on killing them. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not tat bad but at the same time tho this films plot isn't all that good either as it's just so generic with the plot of the film basically being the same plot as quite literally any eighties slasher film that's set at a summer camp only remove the fact that there not going there for the summer and you'd basically have the plot of this film heck Popeye The Slayer Man had a better plot then this film did as the plot of that film at least had thought and effort put into it and while there is some effort put into the plot of this film it's something that just doesn't work as it's something that we've all seen done better in other and better movies with it once again becoming very clear that the makers of this film only put alot of effort into making sure that you know that a beloved kids character is the main villain when what they should have done is put just as much if not more effort into giving us a plot that not only suits the Popeye character but is also new and different as well with the plot of this film not really being really rather entertaining and not really being really rather engaging either in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in this film is Amy Mackie as Olive Oyl , Murdo Adams as Skits and Stephen Corrall as Lt. Lang. Also starring in this film is Paul Dewdney as Homeless George , Ross Dillon as Trent , Keith Hewitt as Detective Montgomery , Yu Heng Li as Monique , Seb Lord as Spike , this film writer , editor , one of this films producers and this films director Paul Stephen Mann as Detective Zanaletto , Donnamarie McCusker as A Mother , Joel McDade as Stevie , Ty Moore as Caller Wes , Brendan Nelson as Castor Oyl , Niamh Parrington as Cylinda , Leona Roberts as Lizzy , John Ryder as The Narrator and DJ Bruce , one of this films producers Alastair Statham as Detective Holmes , Alexa Wright as The Little Girl , David Hallows as Skinny Popeye and Tony Greer as Popeye.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty about as bad as you'd expect it to be. As the acting in one of thee films is never that good and will never be that good and that is something that does sadly continue with this film as well as all of this films actors are a bunch of unknown actors and so it would have been foolish of anyone watching this movie to expect good pr perhaps even great performances out of them with this films actors giving us performances that while there not that bad there just passable at best which to be fair is alot better then alot of the acting that's usually found in these types of films with it also being made perfectly clear that this films writer , editor , one of this films producers and director Paul Stephen Mann not only doesn't know how to direct to his actors and get the best performance out of them as he possibly could have done or that he put alot more focus on the fact that Popeye is the main killer of the film and so just did one take of every single scene of the movie as that's what this films acting feels like it feels like the kind of acting that you'd get on the first take of any scene with the acting that's in this film not really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so bad as it gives none of this films actors absolutely nothing to work with interms of what it is that there respective characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does hurt the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.


To say that this films characters are just the bogstandard slasher characters would be a huge understatement. As there really is nothing to any of this films characters including the muscle bound version of Popeye as all of the kids have the same personalities that were present in alot of summer camp slasher eighties movies with nothing new added to them outside of the fact that the makers of this film chose to make Olive Oyl a goth for literally no reason whatsoever with this being made when you take into account that none of this films characters outside of the obvious Popeye and Olive Oyl have nothing that make them stand out and feel unique to each other so much so that you could literally swap alot of the characters lines around and give them to other characters in this film and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference as that's just how badly written this film and it's characters are and while it does somewhat make sense that the makers of this film wouldn't spend alot of time developing these characters as the main star of the film is obviously going to be Popeye you still have to write them well and make us the audience care for them as if you don't do that then it means nothing when they do get killed off as us the audiences were never given a reason to care or even like these characters for that matter and this is something that alot of these types of films just don't seem to understand as there more focused on making money quick then they are in creating something that people will actually like and that is something that does more damage not only to there films but to this film as well.


Tog vie this film at the vert least some form of credit it does do something that none of the other Popeye horror films have done and that's actually use one of the titles of one of the original Popeye short films as the main title for your movie. Which to be a fair is a pretty good move as it does show that the makers of this film do have some understanding of what kind of film that there making so much so that they actually do in some comedic moments in this film not even to make it a straight forward horror comedy but enough to make sure that us the audience know that they know what kind of film that there making and that there just going to have fun with it sadly tho none of there jokes are actually funny as all alot of them are are just references to other and better horror movies with the movie even ending on a reference to the post credits scene from the 2013 remake of Evil Dead which just felt weird and out of place with there only being one laugh out loud intentionally funny joke as when we first the comet head towards earth it's this massive thing only for it to be revealed that it's the size of a pebble when it lands in a pre-muscular Popeye's pipe with there being another moment later on in the movie that whilst it was funny it's something that clearly wasn't to be funny as for one of the kills in the film Popeye kills an old man except all you see of the kill is the characters shadows just doing the same motion over and over again while the same sound effect plays over it which was just something that was so bad to see that it was funny to watch because of how bad that it was in the first place.

While this film does get alot of credit for also using a lesser known Popeye character in Castor Oyl the film still doesn't take full advantage of the fact that it's a horror film based on Popeye. With there being none of the other Popeye characters outside of Popeye , Olive and Castor that appear in this film as while the film does hint at the start of the movie that the pre-muscular Popeye is going to be Pappy they quickly get rid of that and while the film does have a character who does look like Bluto the film very quickly kills him off with the character not even being called Bluto with the one thing that would have made all of these Popeye horror films all the more better would have been if they did use the other characters from Popeye and even use the Sweet Heaven name as the main location as that then would allow you to put a horror spin on more then just the most well known character of the bunch and it would have been funny to see Wimpy still just eating a cheeseburger even when all of the characters are being killed which in something like Popeye's Revenge wouldn't have worked as they were playing the story straight but here it would have worked due to the films more comedic and light hearted nature and yet they don't do any of that as they instead play it safe just by having the most well known character in this case Popeye be the main villain which is great to clicks on the internet but it also makes the film alot less fun to watch because of it when if you did include more things from the lore of Popeye as they don't even include a scene with him eating a can of Spinach it would also show that the makers of this film not only knew what kind of film that that there making but that they knew that it was going to be bad film and just decided to have with it anyway.


For some strange reason the makers of this film chose to make Olive into a goth character which is just something that doesn't fit not only the original character but also this films version of her. As they don't really give a reason as to why she is the way that she is and why she dresses the way that she dresses outside of the fact that she's the smart one of the family and that's really it and that's not really enough to justify this change and heck all you'd need to do to justify this change is have one dialog where she says that feels like an outsider and that's why she dresses like she's a goth and heck this would even give her some form of connection to this film take on Popeye who goes from being a sweet old man just looking to do a spot of fishing to being mutated into this killing machine but for one reason or another the makes of this film chose not to put in any actual effort when it comes to explaining why the characters are the way that they are outside of Popeye as even tho the previous Popeye film showed that you can have all of the effort put into making sure that people know that this beloved cartoon character is your main villain and still have a good film with decently written character just by giving them just as much time and attention as your main lead gets and yet here the makers of this film only half did that as while characters like Olive and Popeye get some attention and to a lesser extent Castor does as well but none of the others do and what little attention the Oyl siblings get doesn't tell us much about there character and who they are as people with this being made all the more worse when you take into account that Olive is meant to e this films final girl.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and thirteen minuets and twenty nine seconds. Which even for one of these horror films which usually clock in at around one hour and thirty minuets is such a short amount of time as this film really does have more then plot there to cover not only it's current running time but also a slightly longer one as well as the film spends way two much on time on Popeye before he starts killing people with the first kill not happening until the thirty to thirty five minuet mark which given just how short that this film is the film needed to get to the kills by no longer then the ten minuet mark but for some strange reason the makers of this film chose not to use it's running time all that wisely be developing it's characters and instead just giving us a long and pointless scene with them dancing for literally no reason whatsoever which wouldn't be a bad thing if this film was one hour and thirty minuets as then you could get some character development out of it by having the characters just talking to whoever there dancing with at the time but because of the fact that the film isn't that long it makes that incredibly long and pointless sequence feel all the more pointless as that's screen time that could have been better spent by getting to the films kills alot quicker which is something that this film really did need to do and it's something that this films editor really should have done but given the fact that he was also the director , the writer and one of the producers it means that we are stuck with a pointless dancing that does nothing for the characters as it tells us nothing about who these characters are as people but I really will admit that this film really does have some really bad pacing to it tho.


So now then as this is a slasher that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty the true highlight of the film. Not only because alot of them are really good and really entertaining but because of the fact that the one with the old man is just so bad that's laughable which really did make the film alot more entertaining to watch in the first place with this film having alot of really impressive kills that do take advantage of the fact that Popeye is meant to be super strong and because of that we get kills where het quite literally punches a person so hard that there head explodes upon impact with alot of this films kills being really over the top and goofy and while the best kill of the movie does oddly enough go to Popeye himself because of the fact that it's a really over the top and goofy kill as during the final fight with Olive she gets out what can only best be described as a souped-up chainsaw and just slashes at him which was fun to see in this film but at the same time tho what does let alot of this films kills down by quite alot is the fact that they do rely far to much on CGI blood which wouldn't be a bad thing if it wasn't all that noticeable but no it's something that you notice from the very first time that they use it and it's something that does make all of these fun and cool kills somehow seem less fun and less cool and more fake to watch in this very film in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 


Overall out of the three Popeye horror films that are out there this is the most average one as while it's not as good as Popeye The Slayer Man was it's also not as bad as Popeye's Revenge was as there is some effort to make this film good and watchable it just has a few issues that could have been fixed with a longer running time and that's really it in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad thigs that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really that does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 4.5 out 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Tenor , the official Popeye fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images simply because Google Images actually has images from this film really are up and on Google Images and plus pretty much much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we end this review as we always do with really our one and true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams.

Clayface Film SPOILER FILLED Film Review

Horror and superhero films are things that don't usually go together all that well and when they do it's more often a fifty fifty on...