The new Splits have split from the old Splits, which may split Splits fans. Because this time the Splits aren’t just sidesplitting.

Translation: “The Banana Splits Adventure Hour” was a Saturday morning children’s variety show that ran on NBC from 1968-1970. It featured four furry, mascot-sized members of a fictional rock band called the Banana Splits — Fleegle the beagle, Bingo the ape, Drooper the lion and Snorky the elephant — who sang silly songs and took goofy trips to amusement parks.

But now, a half-century later, the Splits aren’t quite themselves. A little less silly, a little more murder-y, they’re the gleefully sinister villains in the new “Banana Splits Movie,” a darkly comic R-rated horror film that includes death by lollipop . (The movie was made available to buy through multiple online platforms on Tuesday and will air on Syfy in October.)

Some fans of the sugary original are sure to balk at the change of sensibility. But for the creative team behind the movie, the logic was obvious.