Screamboat

Since a few years we are bombarded with rancid, extremely gory, and pretty idiotic trash-horror movies revolving around the legendary cartoon characters we all grew up with, like Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and Popeye. Why is that? Well, because those nostalgic figures are now so old that all copyrights are expired, and they ended up in the public domain. One might hope that there is still more than enough respect left not to touch these iconic figures - let alone ridicule them - but that is of course not taking into account a lot of untalented horror directors nowadays.

"Screamboat" is not the first horror movie about Mickey Mouse (there are also "Mickey's Mouse Trap" and "Mouseboat Massacre") but I honestly think this is the best of the three. Of course, though, you have to take "best" with a serious grain of salt in this case. There were competent people working on this production - more specifically the producers of "Terrifier" - and there are certainly a handful of inventive & deliciously raunchy kills in it, but all in all it remains an indescribably silly experience to watch in the cinema.

On the nightly ferry back and forth to Staten Island, New York, a monstrous rodent wakes up and promptly begins a massacre. The crew of the ferry and all the other weird characters who take the nightly journey are horrendously slaughtered. "Screamboat" starts off energetically, and especially the first half of the film is shamelessly entertaining thanks to the over-the-top gore, the tongue-in-cheek humor, and the surprisingly subtle references to a whole lot of other Disney classics (Cinderella, Tarzan, Frozen, ...). But then, for some inexplicable reason, things go wrong entirely. The psychotic mouse turns into a melancholic lover in search of his lost Minnie, the kills become bland and repetitive, and the final act seems to last forever. Perhaps the funny effect of a murderous Mickey Mouse wore off quickly, and the energy and good atmosphere on the set was short-lived. One thing is for sure, I'm glad Walt Disney isn't around anymore since many years, so he never had to see this.

This film is passable, if you've seen the trailer or know what this is even about, you'll be getting exactly what you were probably expecting - a bunch of purposely expressive characters you'd wanna see killed in true slasher fashion. This is a goofy, extremely self aware film that delivers on just that - if you're expecting anything serious or anything on the aspect of plot that isn't purposely cliche, then you're not watching the right film. Some complaints lie with the pacing, as well as how rushed the end began feeling and looking. Some kills could have gone farther with the hype of people being behind Terrifier, but worry not, this film delivers in its own special take on that; filming in some spots feels jarring and even blurry, some cheap spots. Some genuinely good moments of laughs and self aware dark humor, along with some really fleshed out and decent scenes. This is much better than some other films in this joke wave, however it's far from anything spectacular or good. Memorable? A good film to watch with friends and even catch in theaters for an experience? Yes. This film is serviceable at the very least, I'd recommend if you know exactly what you're walking into - which you should.

I really wanted to like this but it was just so cringe. I don't feel like I heard one laugh actually hit. The budget felt too small, the mouse nothing like steamboat which was daissopiinting. The Disney princesses were a fun idea but then it didn't finish the joke as in none of them were killed in the fashion of the princesses they were. Also the acting.. Really took me out of it. Better than Mouse Trap, but that is not saying much.

The Disney nods didn't entertain me, the film feels like an eternity, the kills just aren't good largely due to the fact a rat is doing them. The lighting is abysmal, the performances are terrible and it felt like a chore to get through. The rat design is laughable, obviously the budget is low so there are limitations but I just couldn't get on board with this. I'm sure there's a crowd out there that will like it tho so please go form your own opinion.

This movie is terrible. Absolutely terrible. The acting is horrible. It feels like they just pulled random actors off the street without an audition. The storyline is damn near a nonexistent. It's a pathetic attempt at anything I mean I hope and pray people didn't waste their money watching this in theaters. It's funny at times which is why I gave it three stars out of 10, but that's not enough to make up for just a complete lack of anything good in this film. The lead actress is terrible. In fact, the entire cast is horrible except for the mouse actor. This should have been a comedy. It should've been marketed as a comedy and any attempt that seriousness should have been avoided. The budget was high enough that they could rent out a Staten Island ferry, but not high enough that they could avoid using terrible looking green screenshots. The costumes were horrendous. Things were shoehorned in that made no real contribution to the storyline like they were ticking boxes. Complete waste of time. Box office flop this movie should've gone straight to streaming it never should've reached movie theaters and for that reason I'm out.

I went to see Screamboat on opening night, and to my surprise, I actually kind of enjoyed it. I don't usually watch low-budget films in theaters, but the strong online marketing-along with the fact that Terrifier's David Howard Thornton was in it-pulled me in. I was also intrigued to see how they would take the story of Mickey Mouse's first cartoon and twist it into a horror film.

Having watched the Terrifier series last year, I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into with Screamboat. While I generally enjoyed the story, the film had the feel of a '90s TV horror movie. That said, the setting was a highlight-being trapped on a slow-moving ferry added a real sense of claustrophobia and tension, making the characters' predicament feel even more desperate.

As for the cast, performances were a mix of good and bad. Some moments felt a bit cheesy and over-the-top, but I particularly enjoyed Allison Pittel and Jesse Posey as Selena and Pete. Their chemistry kept the film engaging and gave the audience characters to root for.

Director Steven LaMorte did a decent job bringing this low-budget horror film to the big screen. The gruesome kills and jump scares will definitely satisfy horror fans. However, there were a few drawbacks. Willie's costume design felt too amateurish and comical to be truly scary. Additionally, the film ran about 20 minutes too long-certain scenes felt repetitive and could have been trimmed to improve pacing.

Despite these issues, I was entertained from start to finish. Screamboat is far from perfect, but if you enjoy gory horror, it's worth a watch.

Final Rating: 5.5/10.