This April, horror movie fans will get to see a version of Mickey Mouse unlike any they've seen before. Based on the classic 1928 animated short film Steamboat Willie, the official debut of characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Screamboat features none other than Art the Clown himself, David Howard Thornton, taking over as this menacing mouse.
On January 13, Variety exclusively shared a first look at Thornton in his menacing mouse getup, and it's... interesting. It's hard to make a mouse look scary, I guess. Because even though he's wielding a bloody harpoon, Thornton still looks kind of cuddly in his furry outfit.
Screamboat was initially supposed to come out this month, but Iconic Events Releasing has moved the release date to April. Iconic is also distributing the Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU) film Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare, which started playing in select theaters on January 13. The two films are not connected despite both being based on beloved public-domain characters.
Writer/director Steven LaMorte spoke with Variety, noting that Screamboat will be a "sinister, yet comedic twist on the classic."
He describes the movie and the work of special effects team Quantum Creation FX as "nothing short of amazing," noting that Thornton's portrayal of the killer mouse is "hilariously and murderously entertaining."
So, what's the plot for a movie like this one? Well, it is a twist on the basic premise of a murderous mouse on a ferry. Set in New York City, a group of passengers are attacked by the cruel rodent as he causes chaos and all kinds of bloodshed. Apart from Thornton, the film stars Teen Wolf actor Tyler Posey and Kailey Hyman, who starred alongside Thornton as Brooke in Terrifier 2 and 3.
Funnily enough, Screamboat isn't the first horror movie based on Steamboat Willie. The second the short film entered the public domain, several filmmakers started working on their ideas. Last year, we saw the first of the bunch, The Mouse Trap, which played out as a serious slasher movie and was largely panned by critics and viewers. It sounds like Screamboat will lean more into the comedy-horror angle.
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