The Banana Splits Movie (2019) Horror Evil Robots

The Banana Splits Movie (2019) - Being a child in the late sixties, early seventies I remember the Banana Splits variety show fondly. Fleegle the beagle dog, Bingo the ape, Drooper the Lion, and Snorky the elephant were a regular part of my childhood viewing. It was a variety show based a bit in structure like the show Rowan and Martin's Laugh In. The guys in animal suits who were musicians in a pop band by the same name also introduced different cartoon and live action segments. My favorite as I remember it was Danger Island. It was all good childhood fun as far as I was concerned. Designed by the famous Sid and Marty Krofft the costumes were similar to those I saw on another kids show, H.R. PufnStuf. The Banana Splits was fast paced and filled with commercials, the primary sponsor was Kelloggs cereal I am sure it did not muddle my brain too much. When I heard there was going to be a movie based on the show and that it was a horror movie I was thrilled. The Banana Splits costumes could be seen as a bit creepy, in fact a lot of what the Kroffts did was a bit "far out" (as we said in the 70s). So the idea of a horror movie featuring the quartet is not so unbelievable.
  In the film set in modern time is a world where the Banana Splits is still a show being aired on television, since 1969 and is still a popular show with kids. Harley (Finlay Wojtak-Hissong) is a kids who loves them and loves Snorky the best of all. He may be a bit old for the show but has yet to grow out of it. An isolated kid who is fatherless after a death he does not have many friends. The show seems to be his life. His family is dysfunctional, with his Mom Beth (Dani Kind) who has had a 11 year relationship with Mitch (Steve Lund) he is a bit of an ass if you ask me. Not really bought into the idea of somebody else's children as his even after more than a decade. She chose a safe route after her husband died and will regret it soon enough. The nineteen year old Austin (Romero Carere) is her other child who has a good heart but sees right through Mitch. For Harley's birthday the family goes to see a Banana Splits live taping and that is the setup to where things go horribly wrong.
  Unlike the real show in this reality the Banana Splits characters are not men in suits but instead complex robots who perform the show. We see early on that a failed software update in Drooper leads to him having little red lights in his eyes. This can only mean evil right?  The software command when they turned that color was "The Show Must Go On!" which also gives an indication as what it to follow. Added to the mix is the character Stevie a human adult who sort of plays the foil for the robots. He hates his job and when he learns that the show is being cancelled he seems elated. After setting up some stuff about getting backstage to meet the robots and introducing the peripheral characters, um victims we move into what is essentially a slasher film. 
  When the computer virus spreads to all the robots it is just a bit of time before the show ends and it is time for the meet and greet you start to get the idea that those in that group are going to be in some trouble. The slashing and smashing starts behind the scenes with isolated characters getting offed by the robots. The character driven story features Harley and his family it is shaped just enough to get you through the slasher movie. It all works for what it is, but possible it could have been possible to get a bit more humor into the script. Its a tough line though between the tension of a slasher and trying to hit the comedic notes that the show would bring into play. There is some pretty decent special effects including decapitation, characters being run over, cut in half etc. It all culminates with the defective robot making the show go on in the most deadly way. Beth works hard to protect her children and end the killing learning that although she can't save everyone she can use her agency in the time of crisis.
  I don't want to say to much more since this is sort of a fun feature especially for anyone one who loved the original show. It is amazing how creepy those big suits are when they are just a little bit aggressive. Writers Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas hit a lot of great notes balancing the slasher aspects of the film with the family melodrama. Both writers have an imdb pages full of children's and preteen writing gigs and I love the idea that they had these dark thoughts about what was a wholesome, cereal selling cartoonish characters. The Director Darnishka Esterhazy really gets the tension in a slasher and keeps the pacing solid throughout the film. So viewers young and old will probably enjoy this film and I certainly recommend it.