Screamboat: La Masacre Del Ratón

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.

I have to admit that I harbored zero expectations to this 2025 horror comedy titled "Screamboat", given all the crap that has been released recently with the likes of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Popeye, etc. But still, I hadn't watched this movie already, and given my love o all things horror, of course I had to check it out.

Writers Matthew Garcia-Dunn and Steven LaMorte put together a pretty straightforward script. It wasn't particularly outstanding, but I will admit that the movie was actually oddly entertaining for the cheesy thing it was, pardon the pun. There was something oddly enjoyable about the movie, which I suppose was because it was so far out there.

The only one on the cast list that I was familiar with was David Howard Thornton, and he was portraying the mouse. It should be noted that the acting performances in "Screamboat" were fair.

Sure, "Screamboat" is by no means a cinematic gem in the horror genre, but it was actually an entertaining enough off-beat slasher horror comedy.

And there was actually enough blood and mayhem to keep a seasoned gorehound such as myself sated.

My rating of director Steven LaMorte's 2025 movie "Screamboat" lands on a five out of ten stars.

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.

I'm pretty sure this movie had a budget of three dollars, seventy-five cents, and a stick of gum.

What were they thinking when they decided to make this cinematic mess-if we can even call it "cinematic"?

Honestly, I have no idea. Have people really lost their creative sense to this extent?

My review of the film:

It felt like I was watching a cheap movie from the 80s.

Oh my God, the effects!

The acting? I swear, it felt like the actors had zero experience. I don't even know where they found them-maybe at a Sunday flea market or something!

And the dialogue? Where do I even begin?

DDDVVVDDD.

There have been quite a few "children's movie character" horror adaptations in the meantime, but this was one of the worst.

After 45 minutes I didn't feel like watching any more, but I did watch it to the end.

There is absolutely no common thread or any kind of logic in this movie. The scenes are often wildly thrown together or strung together, often without sense or reason. The whole movie has neither wit nor tension and the actors are just as bad. Please, do everyone a favor and stop producing such "wannabe" horror movies that are just plain bad.

Even 4 stars is still too much for this crap! Two hours of wasted time!