Banana Splits Movie, The |
USA • 2019 • 89m •
   • Directed by: Danishka Esterhazy. • Starring: Dani Kind, Steve Lund, Celina Martin, Finlay Wojtak-Hissong, Sara Canning, Romeo Carere, Maria Nash, Naledi Majola, Richard White, Kiroshan Naidoo, Keeno Lee Hector, Lia Sachs, Lionel Newton..   A boy named Harley and his family(brother Austin, mother Beth, and father Mitch attends a taping of The Banana Splits TV show, which is supposed to be a fun-filled birthday for young Harley and business as usual for Rebecca, the producer of the series. But things take an unexpected turn -- and the body count quickly rises. Can Harley, his mom and their new pals safely escape?
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Review:
It was way more cynical than that. They really wanted to make a Five Nights at Freddy's movie but lost the rights to Blumhouse. Warner Brothers said to hell with it. We're going to do something similar but we will use an obscure Hanna-Barbera show from the 60s in its place. What?! Usually when an idea like this comes down the turnpike, cocaine is to blame. Now I'm not so sure.
This is quite the oddity. It takes some time to get into the groove of it. It is also not trying to be scary in any way. It is goofy and over the top. But of course it's goofy and over the top. It's a killer kiddie show. It has to embrace it's wild roots. Silly cartoon voices for the robot characters. Glowing red eyes to indicate when they've switched to the dark side.
The gore set pieces are cartoonish in exaggeration. We've got them making use of a giant lollipop. We got the good old fashioned saw someone in half magic trick. They run the obstacle course. Death in the ball pit. They are supposed to be robots but they basically move like people in costumes. The weapons are flimsy. You laugh at it. You have to laugh at it at least a little bit.
The best part is the last twenty minutes or so. The movie takes the entire Banana Splits show and starts to make it grungy and dirty and nasty. They descend into the bowels of the studio into a hidden theater to uncover the robots have taken over everything and are unleashing gory hell. It is a magical moment. Those last twenty minutes really helped this movie get over the lack of atmosphere that permeates the beginning of the film. It is a flat looking movie until then but you can tell they made this movie quickly and for cheap. No problems here.
The acting is atrocious. The concept is goofy and laughable right from the get go. It bears all the tell tale hallmarks of a rip off. But once the Banana Splits start killing off members of the audience and the crew, it becomes a good time. The show at the end with the producer who is canceling them enacting their namesake is a treat to behold. I give this movie a C. It is worth checking out if you like your horror on the comedic side.
Review by getconedproductions09 from the Internet Movie Database.
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