Popeye's Revenge (2025)

**_Cabin-in-the-woods in England/Scotland with Popeye the slayer man_** A teen girl’s mother has inherited the home of a dead outcast kid, nicknamed Popeye. She and her friends go there to renovate it into a haunted house attraction. Unfortunately, when the fog rolls in, so does Popeye. “Popeye’s Revenge” (2025) was the first of three low-budget horror flicks to take advantage of the character entering the public domain; the other two would debut 5-7 weeks later, namely “Popeye the Slayer Man” and “Shiver Me Timbers.” This one was produced by the same company that released the Poohverse movies in the last couple of years, such as “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” and its sequel. While it has a different director and writers, it’s cut from the same cloth and is pretty much cookie cutter. For instance, it opens with the same sketch illustrations to tell the backstory and, later, there’s a hot tub sequence with the most alluring female in the cast buying the farm. Still, it is entertaining to have Popeye as the antagonist and there’s no eye-rolling wokeness to be found. In addition, the filmmaking is proficient for low-budget fare and the no-name cast rises to the challenge. Meanwhile, the scenic mountain landscapes are a plus. As for the feminine cast, redhead Atlanta Moreno stands out as Sky, but there’s also Eva Ray as Cherry and Danielle Ronald as Donna, amongst one or two others, like blonde Karolina Ugrenyuk as Kathy, who smacks of haughtiness. Regrettably, I didn’t find the story as compelling as other low-budget cabin-in-the-woods flicks, such as "Lurking Woods," "The Lake on Clinton Road" and "Crazy Lake" (all from a decade ago). Nevertheless, if you’re in the mood for cabin-in-the-woods horror, this fills the bill in a run-of-the-mill way. I can’t compare it with the two contemporaneous Popeye flicks, however, since I have yet to see them. It runs 1 hour, 19 minutes, and was shot in England and Scotland (more specific locations are elusive). GRADE: B-/C+