SCREAMBOAT: Exactly What You Think It Is

SCREAMBOAT (Blu-ray)

2025 / 102 min

From Deskpop Entertainment

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

We horror fans are a hopeful bunch. 

Of course, we always hope a movie will be scary, but also know not every director is John Carpenter, not every movie is The Exorcist. Sometimes all we can hope is that whoever’s behind the camera is competent enough to keep it in focus. That's how I approached Screamboat, the latest in the recent spate of low-budget, public domain raiding slasher flicks.

I haven’t seen the likes of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and its ilk, but based on damn near every review, Walt Disney must be rolling in his grave. Still, I try to review every movie with an open mind, even if it reeks of an opportunistic, budget-conscious cash grab.  

At the very least, Screamboat is competently made. A blood-drenched parody of Disney’s first Mickey Mouse short, Steamboat Willie, this one is set onboard the Staten Island ferry, where Willie (David Howard Thornton) is a monstrous, oversized rodent gleefully slaughtering his way through most of the cast. The film is mostly played for laughs, and actually earns a few here and there. There are also plenty of references to other Disney movies, some clever, some eye-rolling.

Willie reads his reviews.

For the most part though, Screamboat is exactly the movie you think it’s gonna be. Depending on the viewer, that’s either a glowing recommendation or a warning to stay away. The movie exists solely because the original cartoon recently became public domain. With broad caricatures and perfunctory performances by a batch of no-name actors (save for Day of the Dead’s Jarlath Conroy), it’s largely driven by its concept and gory death scenes…some of which are kind of amusing.

At 102 minutes, Screamboat is way too long for what’s basically a one-joke movie. It ain’t great, but as cheap & sleazy cash-grabs go, I can't honestly say it's disappointing. And while Walt definitely wouldn't approve, at least director Steven LaMorte manages a bit more than simply keeping the camera in focus.