Nerdly » ‘Popeye’s Revenge’ Blu-ray Review

06th May2025

‘Popeye’s Revenge’ Blu-ray Review

by Jim Morazzini

Stars: Emily Rose Mogilner, Connor Powles, Bruno Cryan, Karolina Ugrenyuk, Fyn Phoenixx, Danielle Ronald, Steven Murphy, Kelly Rian Sanson | Written by Harry Boxley | Directed by William Stead

The stream of public domain horror continues, this time it’s E.C. Segar’s iconic sailor Popeye who gets turned into a killer. The script by Harry Boxley, who has already scripted a trio of similar films, Piglet, Mouse of Horrors and Cinderella’s Curse re-imagines him as a boy born with huge forearms and freakish strength who accidentally kills one of his tormentors leading to the death of his parents and the young lad seemingly drowning.

Years later we find out he’s still alive as he kills off a trio of obnoxious YouTubers. From there we join Tara (Emily Rose Mogilner; 500) who is about to inherit the land where the house stood so she along with her boyfriend Dylan (Connor Powles; Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival, Deadly Swarm), Nick (Bruno Cryan; Treeline Essex Girls), Kathy (Karolina Ugrenyuk; My Bloody Galentine, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2), Max (Fyn Phoenixx) and Donna (Danielle Ronald; The Legend of Jack and Jill, Croc!) go to check the property out.

It doesn’t take long until they run into Popeye (Steven Murphy; Relentless, Skull Hunter) and his friend Olive Oyl (Kelly Rian Sanson; Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, Bad Nun 3). Not even spinach can save them now.

As with his previous ventures into public domain territory Boxley, doesn’t keep much of the source material beyond the character names, and in the case of Popeye, the character’s appearance. This time around Olive certainly doesn’t look like a Shelly Duvall. Popeye also doesn’t speak, which not only means we don’t get to hear “ I yam whats I yam” after kills but combined with his alleged drowning as a child means Popeye’s Revenge is basically another Friday the 13th knock-off and director William Stead (Children of the Night, Sound and Vision) handles it accordingly, delivering the blood and boobs one would expect from a vintage slasher. The fog that precedes his appearance gives things a creepy edge and lets cinematographer Vince Knight (Spiders on a Plane, Mancunian Man: The Legendary Life of Cliff Twemlow) deliver some beautiful, if ominous, shots.

With Popeye’s Revenge being a slasher the focus of most viewer’s interest is, of course, on the kills and there are plenty of them. While not as bloody as I would have liked, there are some good kills, with eyes popping out, a head ripped off and a guy trying to rub one out regrets it when Popeye takes an anchor to the wanker. There’s also a Jason takes Manhattan-inspired fist fight and a Fulci-esque eye impalement thrown in for good measure. The practical effects are solid if unspectacular, however a CGI burning looks absolutely laughable.

The cast is fairly large and provides plenty of potential victims. Unfortunately, none of them have much in the way of character development making them interchangeable cannon fodder that it’s hard to care too much about when they meet their bloody demise. Which I suppose is fitting since it is a Friday the 13th knock-off, with a touch of The Burning or maybe A Nightmare on Elm Street depending on how you look at things.

I have to admit I wasn’t expecting much when I sat down to watch Popeye’s Revenge and my interest was mainly due to my having enjoyed Children of the Night and hoping Stead could deliver another surprisingly good film on a minuscule budget. He not only did that he delivered an above-average slasher and the best of the public domain horror films so far, admittedly that’s not a very high bar to clear, but considering how few of them are even watchable, making a legit good one deserves recognition.