The burgeoning subgenre of public domain character-inspired horror films gains another curious addition with Steven LaMorte's Screamboat. This endeavour plunges viewers into an unsurprisingly bizarre scenario: a late-night Staten Island ferry becomes the hunting ground for a vengeful, mutated mouse bearing a striking resemblance to the iconic Steamboat Willie. While the central concept teeters on the edge of outright absurdity, Screamboat cleverly sets itself apart from its contemporaries by adopting a distinctly self-aware and comedic tone. The film wholeheartedly embraces its inherent ridiculousness – the spectacle of a classic cartoon character reimagined as a bloodthirsty killer – and this commitment to its outlandish premise serves as its greatest strength. Screamboat operates as a proudly campy B-movie, revelling in its own absurdity while enthusiastically indulging in its horror elements.

 

Although far from a flawless cinematic masterpiece, Screamboat just achieves its primary goal of being an undeniably entertaining experience. Within the recent surge of films mining the public domain for horror potential, Screamboat distinguishes itself by prioritising and successfully delivering on the fun factor. Bolstered by the involvement of some of the creative team behind the notoriously gruesome Terrifier films, Screamboat heavily emphasises practical effects and an abundance of gore to realise its satisfyingly over-the-top kills. While certain visual effects employed to integrate the miniature, menacing mouse with its human prey occasionally fall short, the film benefits from surprisingly decent cinematography and an overall polished presentation, particularly when considering its likely modest production budget. Furthermore, the strategic decision to film on a genuine Staten Island ferry lends Screamboat a significant boost in production value and authenticity compared to many of its low-budget horror counterparts.

 

David Howard Thornton, an actor becoming increasingly associated with largely silent, menacing roles, once again embodies this archetype within the mangy costume of Steamboat Willie, delivering a gleefully sinister performance. The appropriately unsettling details of the rodent's costume contribute effectively to the film's tone. Crucially, the entire ensemble cast appears to have grasped the film's intended comedic horror sensibility, fully committing to their respective performances, despite many of the performances leaving much to be desired overall. Allison Pittel anchors the film with a solid lead performance, establishing believable chemistry with Jesse Posey, who portrays Pete, an unassuming deckhand thrust into a position of reluctant responsibility as the events escalate onboard. Inevitably, references to Disney's intellectual property are sprinkled throughout the film, most notably through a group of inebriated women, led by Kailey Hyman of Terrifier 2 fame, who are humorously costumed as Disney princesses and stumble their way through a series of predictable yet amusing death sequences (one can only imagine the careful navigation around potential legal challenges from Disney during the writing and filming process).

 

Despite a runtime that feels about fifteen minutes too long and a noticeable lack of genuine suspense or tension, Screamboat proves to be a largely enjoyable experience, primarily due to its consistently comedic sensibility. This is, after all, a film that features inventive and gleefully absurd death scenes involving forklift impalements, graphic decapitations, the severing of male genitalia, and explosively messy head trauma. In conclusion, Screamboat ultimately emerges as a flawed yet undeniably fun and frequently odd ride, an experience that would undoubtedly be enhanced when shared with friends, accompanied by the consumption of beers and pizza.