Screamboat

Screamboat is an interesting case. I never thought it’d come to the UK, never mind a local cinema.

It is a public domain horror movie. Public domain horror movies have become a reasonably welcome trend in the world of cinema. The idea is simple and, by all accounts, more accessible than most other subgenres of horror. When a franchise’s copyright ends and they enter the public domain, eager filmmakers - who are majority independent - put forward their pre-prepared screenplays and position themselves to ruin the legacy with a slasher flick. Or improve the legacy, as the case may be.

The most popular example of a public domain movie is Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, which was released in 2023. Although the movie itself was panned, and is generally considered to be one of the worst movies of all time, it hit my niche perfectly and got me thinking about which properties could suffer a similar fate in the future. Other franchises, such as Peter Pan and Popeye, followed on with scary film adaptations earlier this year.

Screamboat is a horror adaptation of Steamboat Willie, the first appearance of Mickey Mouse. What could you possibly do to change the tone of that little short around?

Essentially, in this film, members of a late night ferry boat ride in New York are soon at the mercy of a bizarre, crazed mouse being. I seriously can't describe it better than that.

I had no way to gauge the tone of Screamboat going into things. I refrained from watching trailers, never expecting the movie to release in the UK. Was the movie going to try and be humorous? Purposely or accidentally? Were they going to legitimately try and terrify people? I just didn’t know. 

My lack of knowledge of the film only became a hundred times more complex when I found out the team behind Terrifier 2 was working on Screamboat, which is unbelievable. A team that can work wonders on a miniscule budget working on a public domain horror movie? It should be the best of both worlds! There was also the matter of similar movies, like ‘Mouseboat Massacre’ and ‘The Mouse Trap’ being announced at around the same time. They are, in fact, different. There are quite a few Mickey Mouse horror movies out this year, it’s easy to get confused. Some even have different names depending on territory.

In the end, it's a competently-made thrill ride that's immensely cringe in one scene and enjoyable in the next.

David Howard Thornton shines, and is fast becoming an enigma in the horror scene. Familiar to many as Art the Clown of the Terrifier franchise, Thornton glides into a new and unfamiliar role of a mutant, 100-year-old mouse with ease. He's perfectly at home in a dirty, gritty horror movie of this status.

Other than David, the acting and scripting go hand in hand. They're as of a variable quality as each other. For example, there are a group of girls who are introduced fairly early on as some of the passengers on the ferry ride, where the majority of the film takes place. While the focus isn't on them, they outstay their welcome very quickly. They're the most blatant example of body count fodder that I've ever seen in a movie of this type.

When the script isn't busy being toe-curling and surprising, it's full to the brim with digs at Steamboat Willie and Disney as a whole. Sometimes, it works out.

“Some of the parts are the same. Everything gets recycled, over and over again. To save money.”

Sometimes, it doesn't work out so well. It can be forced and eye-rolling.

“Our bodies would go into hypothermic shock in minutes. We'd be frozen. Let it go.”

I’m baffled by the conception of this movie. Even basing whatever wasn't filmed in a studio in and around New York. The costs, the paperwork, the logistics versus the concept of the movie. My only question is how they pulled it off!

There's some real love here. All things considered, what they've achieved here is remarkable. The fact it's appeared in screenings as deep as somewhere like Norwich up-ends all stereotypes of the film industry as we know it today.

There are some shocking revelations and lore, particularly regarding the origin of Thornton’s murderous mouse, which are both surface level and racked with emotion. It's a strange blend.

But there are some glaring things, such as the reluctance to reveal the budget, that leave me with some mental reservations.

It's definitely an acquired taste. It's the direct-to-dvd movie that wasn't on DVD. The Syfy Original that wasn't originally on Syfy. An anomaly. My only question is… will we see more?