Ever since Disney lost the exclusive rights to Steamboat Willie back in January 2024, every entertainment medium from small game studios to low-budget film production companies have been rushing to peddle out flicks featuring the now-public domain black and white mouse. This includes DeskPop Entertainment who has partnered with Iconic Events to bring Screamboat home with a physical release alongside video-on-demand.
Written and directed by Steven LaMorte, who previously attracted attention for his How the Grinch Stole Christmas horror adaptation, The Mean One, Screamboat follows some New Yorkers taking a late night ferry ride, only for it to turn sour as an evil mouse is aboard looking to cause havoc, even if it means ending the lives of some passengers.
Beyond the involvement of LaMorte, well-established special effects company, Quantum Creation FX, which has worked Tron: Legacy, The Predator, Boogeyman II, and more, had a hand in Screamboat's designs. The film also stars David Howard Thornton from the Terrifier franchise as well as The Mean One.
Other actors linked to the film include Stream's Allison Pittel, The Mean One's Amy Schumacher, Selena's Jesse Posey, Cobra Kai's Jesse Kove, Terrifier 2's Kailey Hyman, Hightown's Rumi C Jean-Louis, George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead's Jarlath Conroy, and The Exorcist III's Charles Edwin Powell. Meanwhile Tyler Posey, Brian Quinn, and Joe DeRosa make guest appearances.
Of course, this is far from the last time we'll see horror-laced public domain IP, with Bambi: The Reckoning, Pinocchio: Unstrung, and Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare all on the docket. This all comes after the general success of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, and its subsequent sequel.
Here's the official description, as well as some its trailer if you've never spotted the flick in the past.
“‘Screamboat’ follows a group of New Yorkers on a late-night ferry ride that turns deadly when a mischievous mouse begins a rampage, targeting unsuspecting passengers. The unlikely crew must band together to thwart the murderous menace before their relaxing commute turns into a nightmare.”
Of course, this is a slasher film, so it's gonna be pretty intense, but also not taking itself too seriously, this is a parody of something that was child-friendly at the time. At least with a home release you can sit back, relax, not pay $15 for popcorn and $7 for a soda, and enjoy the movie on your own TV when the slasher heads to VOD, DVD, and Blu-Ray on May 2.