One of horror’s more divisive trends continues in the Screamboat teaser trailer. The movie hails from director Steven LaMorte, who previously made a name for himself by directing 2022’s The Mean One, a slasher horror twist on Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Screamboat will center on a group of New Yorkers who come under attack by a figure who looks akin to Mickey Mouse aboard a late-night ferry, with the project entering development after Steamboat Willie entered the public domain.
Now, some eight months after the movie was first announced, Iconic Events Releasing has debuted the first Screamboat teaser trailer.
The video, as seen above, offers a brief glimpse at the upcoming slasher horror movie, largely keeping the killer twist on Mickey Mouse offscreen while instead focusing on the various potential victims of the film. The footage does, however, offer a quick tease of the killer’s design, with a shadow of the figure and child-like feet being seen in brief moments.
Screamboat Isn’t The First (Or Last) Steamboat Willie Horror Project
While the initial reaction to the reveal of a Steamboat Willie-based horror movie may draw some initial division from fans of the Disney short film, it’s actually not the first horror adaptation of the classic Mickey Mouse short. As soon as it was reported that the short would enter the public domain, many artists took to developing a variety of twists on the Disney mascot, which has thus far included video games, redubbed cartoons and multiple movies.
The reportedly first released Steamboat Willie adaptation was the short film entitled The Vanishing of S.S. Willie, a found footage-like horror short about the reported disappearance of the titular ship and turned both Mickey and Minnie Mouse, though unnamed, into deranged killers. This would be followed by The Mouse Trap, originally entitled Mickey’s Mouse Trap, that released in August 2024 to dismissal from critics and panning by audiences. Screamboat marks the third major effort to come from Steamboat Willie, with more attention paid to it due to the involvement of David Howard Thornton, best known for playing Terrifier‘s Art the Clown, as the movie’s killer.
Thornton also starred in The Grinch parody horror movie The Mean One, directed by Screamboat‘s Steven LaMorte.
Looking beyond Screamboat‘s scheduled January 2025 release date, there are currently only two other Steamboat Willie horror adaptations announced, one of which being an animated horror movie entitled The Return of Steamboat Willie and Mickey vs. Winnie, a crossover in the vein of Freddy vs. Jason. Despite this surge in twisted takes, though, no filmmaker has yet to turn the short into a horror franchise in the way of the Poohniverse, though with audiences seemingly becoming decreasingly disinterested in the horror trend, it seems likely Screamboat may be one of the last if it performs poorly.
Source: Iconic Events Releasing
