“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share on my Own.”
Odds are, as a kid, you watched the 60’s children’s’ series “The Banana Splits’, even if the episodes were reruns. Now, Warner Bros. is gearing to release a horror film by the same name.
The Banana Splits Movie offers a new terrifying take on the classic characters and centers on a boy named Harley, his friend, and his family as they visit the studio to watch a live taping of his favorite show on his birthday. What is meant to be a day that makes Harley’s dreams come true quickly becomes a nightmare as the bodies start piling up.
Dani Kind stars as Harley, a kid who gets teased a lot for being different. After Harley’s friend gets sick his mom invites Zoe to the studio in hopes that she and Harley will become friends. Along with his mom (Dani Kind), and his brother Austin (Romeo Carere) Harley’s dick of a dad (Steve Lund) want to make his day extra special.
This gore-filled flick features the Banana Splits robots on a murder kick thanks to an error during updating. When one of the characts shoves a giant lollypop down a guy’s throat it’s clear that no one is safe.
There are a ton of graphic murder scenes, unfortunately, a lot of the special effects look cheap and far from real. But that is just a little sample of what went wrong with this movie. I was left scratching my head when it came to the Banana Splits themselves. While on stage their movements were extremely fluid but when off the set they moved like robots played by humans. If you are going to put a guy in a suit, leave him one way or the other. When you do both it just looks weird. I will say this, the kill scenes were creative and something we haven’t seen 10,000 times.
The child actors were great, especially Maria Nash. She’s stinking adorable and had this big personality that you can’t help but like. But she was not the main character, Finlay Wojtak-Hissong was. While there was an attempt made to get viewers interested in Harley, they just did not go big enough. Yes, he’s different, yes he’s got a douche for a dad, and a super supportive mom and brother, but we don’t learn enough about him to become truly invested until the end.
The movie was a good idea that just got lost along the way. It’s not a bad movie, but it also isn’t as great as it could have been. The villains are based on iconic characters, however, the show came out in the 1960s. If it were more treasured characters relevant to those born after 1980, it might have been more disturbing. You want to get scary? Think Teletubbies on a killing spree. That shit would be insane!
While The Banana Splits Movie isn’t horror gold, it’s still worth a watch even with all of its flaws. That’s why I’m going to give it a 2 out 5. Pick up or rent your copy of The Banana Splits Movie on Digital August 13th and on Blu-ray August 27, 2019, from Warner Bros.
