“I yam what I yam” is the classic catchphrase of Popeye the Sailor Man and one of the few lines uttered by Popeye in the latest entry into the public domain horror subgenre, “Popeye the Slayer Man.” The second of two Popeye horror flicks to debut in 2025, “Popeye The Slayer Man,” arrived in select theaters and on VOD on March 21, 2025.
Of the two films, this was the one I was most interested in seeing since it had a rather unique premise about a a group of friends who sneak into an abandoned spinach canning factory to film a documentary on the legend of ‘The Sailor Man,’ who is said to haunt the factory and local docks. I also appreciated that Popeye’s character design leaned heavily into his classic cartoon appearance.
Directed by Ryan from a screenplay by John Doolan (Remains), “Popeye The Slayer Man” stars Sean Michael Conway, Elena Juliano, Mabel Thomas, Marie-Louise Boisnier, Jeff Thomas, Steven McCormack, Angela Relucio, and Sarah Nicklin, with Jason Stephens playing the title role. The film wastes no time getting to the kills and opens with Nicklin’s character, Adrienne, fleeing from a pair of coke dealers that she apparently stiffed after her last score. The duo eventually catches up to her in the abandoned spinach canning factory and prepares to do their worst, but Popeye quickly disposes of all three of them before they get their chance. The pre-credit scene doesn’t offer much to the film’s storyline but instead acts as a quick way to showcase the sheer brutality of “The Slayer Man.”
Once things get moving, the film’s focus revolves around amateur filmmaker Dexter (Conway) and the group of friends he’s enlisted to help uncover the mystery behind the abandoned cannery and the local legend of ‘The Sailor Man’ before the property is demolished. Within the group is Dexter’s mysterious love interest, Olivia, played by Elana Juliano, who gives one of the strongest performances in the film; Katie (Mabel Thomas), who’s abused by her boyfriend throughout the film, acts as a catalyst to celebrate his brutal demise late in the movie. Dexter’s best friend Lisa (Boisnier) and her boyfriend Seth (Jeff Thomas) are your typical slasher couple fodder, who meet their demise together, but how it happens makes for two of the funnier deaths in the film.
“Popeye The Slayer Man” is a slasher, so of course, the body count is high once they’re in the cannery, and the blood flows freely as the jacked sailor eliminates the filmmakers one by one. The film features plenty of gore, and while some of the kills are things we’ve seen before, Popeye has a few unique moves of his own that will have slasher fans cheering.
As I noted early on, one of the interesting things about the film is that they opted to give Popeye an appearance inspired by the cartoon, complete with a prominent jaw, oversized forearms, and a corn cob pipe. The film does a good job explaining this bizarre appearance, and while there are moments and scenes where you know you’re looking at prosthetics, I think the look, for the most part, works, and the effects team did a good job trying to make the appearance feel believable.
Popeye fans will also appreciate some pretty apparent nods to the original cartoon, particularly from a character seen early on trying to offer up an IOU for something to eat.
The film ends with a plot twist that most seasoned movie watchers will probably see coming, but how it plays out gives a movie that could be just another public-domain slasher a bit of heart and has you rooting for the killer in the end.
Overall, “Popeye the Slayer Man,” like the character himself, is what it is. It’s a B-movie that took a 96-year-old IP about a sailor who eats spinach to get jacked and turned it into a slasher. It’s bloody, it’s fun, and it doesn’t take parodying the character or the source material too over the top to the point it is campy or too serious to the point it’s miserable to watch. I enjoyed it, and if anything I wrote here today intrigues you, I’d say it’s probably worth watching.
