The Banana Splits Movie (2019)

The Banana Splits Movie is the kind of wickedly clever midnight thriller that takes a sunny, sing-along kids’ TV vibe and flips it into a carnivalesque slasher with real gusto. Director Danishka Esterhazy leans into the absurdity instead of apologizing for it, letting the dark humor and bright, garish studio setting sharpen the dread as the animatronic mascots turn from cuddly to catastrophic. It’s gleefully gory in a way that’s meant to make you laugh and wince in the same breath, and the cast sells the escalating panic with enough sincerity to keep the ride engaging. If you’re squeamish about bloody, sometimes nasty kills, it won’t be your party—but if you like your horror playful, mean, and memorably off-kilter, this one delivers exactly what its bonkers premise promises.

The Banana Splits Movie is clearly aiming for a wickedly fun “kids’ TV gone wrong” ride, turning bright mascot nostalgia into a gory, enclosed slasher. The problem is that once the initial joke lands, the film often settles into pretty routine chase-and-kill beats, with pacing that sags and direction that feels flatter than the premise deserves. If you’re expecting something truly deranged, inventive, or sharply written, you may end up bored between the splashes of violence. But if you just want a simple, bloodier-than-you’d-think animatronic rampage with a few decent moments and don’t mind predictability, it can still scratch that trashy late-night horror itch.