With Popeye the Slayer Man, you get an actual Popeye story, not just Friday the 13th with a new mask.

While there’s a great mystery concerning who these movies are for, the reality is blunt: we now have two Popeye slasher films in circulation, and they both stink.

It’s hokey, it’s goofy, but darn-it, he is what he is.

**_Prosaic and predictable slasher featuring the iconic spinach-eating mariner_** In the Northeast coastal town of Anchor Bay, a group of 20-somethings make the mistake of breaking into a defunct canning factory at night to make a documentary on the legendary “sailor man” who supposedly haunts the rundown facility. "Popeye the Slayer Man" was one of three low-budget horror flicks to take advantage of the cartoon character entering the public domain in 2025; the other two are England’s "Popeye's Revenge" and Scotland’s "Shiver Me Timbers." This is the American rendition and pretty much on par with “Popeye’s Revenge” (I haven’t seen “Shiver Me Timbers” yet because the trailer and promo pics don’t look very interesting). While this is too pedestrian and predictable, it is entertaining to have Popeye as the antagonist and there's no eye-rolling wokeness to be found. The inclusions of Wimpy, Olive Oyl and Sweet Pea are a plus. In addition, the filmmaking is proficient for low-budget fare; and I like the abandoned factory milieu, even though it makes the proceedings one-dimensional. Meanwhile, the no-name cast is serviceable despite glaring woodenness. Speaking of which, the female cast is good with Elena Juliano standing out as brunette Olivia. There’s also redhead Mabel Thomas as Katie and blonde Marie-Louise Boisnier as Lisa. I suppose "Popeye's Revenge" is slightly better on…