Horror Movie Review: Shiver Me Timbers (2025)

Directed by Paul Stephen Mann, who co-wrote it with E.C. Segar, Shiver Me Timbers reimagines Popeye the Sailor Man as a horror character. Something hack film creators can do thanks to the character falling into the public domain. It’s a never-ending trend, but few public domain properties have seen quite as many horror films as Popeye has in the past few years.

He’s an easy character to turn into a horror villain and that has resulted in a glut of films. Some good, some bad, and some like Shiver Me Timbers, sitting mostly in the middle.

The film stars Amy Mackie as Olive Oyl, who along with her brother Castor Oyl (Brendan Nelson) and his girlfriend Cylinda (Niamh Parrington), almost runs over an elderly fisherman (David Hallows). This is Popeye, and he doesn’t like youngsters. The group drive off, meeting up with their friends to have some drinks, do some drugs, and watch a meteor shower.

Unfortunately for them, the shower comes with a mysterious effect that transforms Popeye into a buffed up and bloodthirsty manic (now played by Tony Greer). Cue blood and guts as Popeye turns his attention to Olive and the people she is with.

For me, what saves Shiver Me Timbers is the gore and how liberally it is spilled. Sure, the effects aren’t the best, but there’s a heartiness that I just enjoyed, and this version of Popeye and what he does is certainly one of the more memorable.

Alas, it’s about all that is memorable. The story lacks oomph and forward momentum disappears surprisingly fast. The issue is that something so basic was always going to feel stretched out and the writing doesn’t have enough creativity to make it more interesting. Something that also extends to the characters, who are exceptionally basic. Which, inevitably, effects performances resulting in acting that is stilted and awkward.

At its core, Shiver Me Timbers is a basic slasher horror and that proves to be a mistake as there’s far more interesting things that can be done with this character. No one should be expecting Oscar worthy stuff here, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect something a bit more creative than this.

As I said, there are worse versions of this film, and that’s important, but if you’re hoping for something that turns Popeye into an icon of horror, it’s not this.

I yam what I yam an’ that’s all I yam.