This is the second public domain slasher flick I’ve seen this year starring Popeye. Sure, it’s not as consistently entertaining as Popeye’s Revenge, but it has its moments.
The year is 1986 and people are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Halley’s Comet. A group of teens hang out and party on the beach hoping to get a glimpse of the comet. When it finally streaks across the sky, a scrawny old sailor accidentally smokes a bit of the comet in his pipe (I guess there wasn’t any contaminated spinach around) and he turns into a musclebound killer.
Things kick off with a nice little homage to the opening of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Characters also quote Ferris Bueller, Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein, and Army of Darkness. However, it takes more than referencing other movies to make a compelling one of your own. It’s also annoying that the characters talk about horror movies but in the way that today’s kids do. I mean even though it’s set in the ‘80s, nobody really looks, dresses, or acts like they came out of that decade. It just feels… off.
Another issue is that the filmmakers don’t really take advantage of Popeye. He resembles the character we all know and love (although he’s curiously lacking his trademark forearms) and says, “I yam what I yam” and “Well, blow me down”, but that’s about it. Hell, he doesn’t even eat spinach. I did like that the hot goth girl was named Olive Oyl though.
At least the gore is plentiful, which makes it worth sitting through. Popeye puts his fist through a guy’s face, tosses another into a vat of toxic waste, and crushes a teen’s head. The standout death comes when he rips off a dude’s head and shits down his neck… literally. The over-the-top ending that owes more than a little to Army of Darkness is fun, but it’s ultimately too little too late. It also doesn’t help that the CGI blood and effects are mostly awful.
Even the short running time is a mixed blessing as the film is often choppy, and the pacing is erratic. You also have to sit through long scenes of the teens partying and tripping balls. The set-up for a sequel could work though. That’s only if the filmmakers learn to embrace the quirkiness of the character and utilize him to his full potential.
No comments:
Post a Comment