# Screamboat
**Screamboat** is a 2025 American horror comedy film directed and co-written by Steven LaMorte, in which a monstrous version of [Steamboat Willie](https://www.edgepedia.org/steamboat-willie), the mouse from Disney's 1928 cartoon short, stalks passengers on a late-night [Staten Island Ferry](https://www.edgepedia.org/staten-island-ferry) in New York City.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat) The film stars [David Howard Thornton](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-howard-thornton), known for playing Art the Clown in the *Terrifier* films, as the killer rodent, alongside Allison Pittel, Jesse Posey, Amy Schumacher, and Jesse Kove.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat) • [2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/screamboat-steamboat-willie-horror-movie-review-2025) It was one of the first theatrical films built on the *Steamboat Willie* version of Mickey Mouse after that character design entered the United States public domain on January 1, 2024.[3](https://cspd.law.duke.edu/mickey/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Steven LaMorte, directing and co-writing with Matthew Garcia-Dunn[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat) |
| Lead | David Howard Thornton as Steamboat Willie, reimagined as a murderous mutant mouse[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat) • [2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/screamboat-steamboat-willie-horror-movie-review-2025) |
| Release | Limited US theatrical release April 2, 2025; streaming May 2, 2025[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat) |
| Runtime | About 102 minutes[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/screamboat-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi4oda1) |
| Production | Kali Pictures and Fuzz on the Lens Productions; US distributor Iconic Events[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat) |
| Reception | 54% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (35 reviews) with a 79% audience Popcornmeter; 44 on Metacritic; 4.1/10 on IMDb[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/screamboat/critic-reviews/) |
| UK rating | Classified 18 by the BBFC for strong bloody violence, gore, and sexualised violence[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/screamboat-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi4oda1) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and production
The story follows a late-night ferry ride in [New York Harbor](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-harbor) that becomes a fight for survival when a seemingly harmless mouse transforms into a dangerous monster and hunts the passengers.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat) The setting is the Staten Island Ferry, and the victims include commuters, ferry crew, and a bachelorette party of women dressed as parody Disney princesses.[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/screamboat-steamboat-willie-horror-movie-review-2025) • [6](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/movies/screamboat) LaMorte and producer Amy Schumacher, who also appears in the film as EMT Amber, rode the Staten Island Ferry 15 to 20 times in a single day to scout locations.[7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/screamboat-2025)
**Casting and creature design.** Thornton plays the mouse largely without dialogue, and reviewers singled out his physical performance. Brian Tallerico, managing editor of RogerEbert.com, wrote that the creature design renders the villain as a CGI cartoon that never convincingly shares the frame with the actors, burying Thornton under heavy make-up.[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/screamboat-steamboat-willie-horror-movie-review-2025) [The Irish Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-irish-times) critic Tara Brady called Thornton's performance energetic and noted the film includes an animated parody sequence and a cameo from a character called "Walt".[8](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/review/2025/05/01/screamboat-mickey-mouse-as-a-violent-psychopath-is-no-classic-but-gory-twist-on-disney-knows-its-audience/)
## Public domain context
The 1928 short *Steamboat Willie*, directed by [Walt Disney](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney) and [Ub Iwerks](https://www.edgepedia.org/ub-iwerks), introduced a primitive black-and-white version of [Mickey Mouse](https://www.edgepedia.org/mickey-mouse) and entered the US public domain on January 1, 2024, after its 95-year copyright term expired.[3](https://cspd.law.duke.edu/mickey/) • [9](https://apnews.com/article/e5bd7d8c711554f42bdd277f0b7a29e7) The expiration covered only the earliest character designs, not the more familiar modern versions of Mickey and Minnie, which Disney said it would continue to protect.[9](https://apnews.com/article/e5bd7d8c711554f42bdd277f0b7a29e7)
LaMorte's project was announced on January 2, 2024, one day after the short entered the public domain, following closely on the trailer for a rival film, *Mickey's Mouse Trap*.[9](https://apnews.com/article/e5bd7d8c711554f42bdd277f0b7a29e7) LaMorte told Variety that his producers were working with a legal team to avoid conflict with Disney and would name the character Steamboat Willie rather than Mickey Mouse.[9](https://apnews.com/article/e5bd7d8c711554f42bdd277f0b7a29e7) It was his second public domain horror film after *[The Mean One](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-mean-one)* (2022), a Grinch-themed parody.[10](https://gizmodo.com/screamboat-public-domain-horror-mickey-mouse-2000581196) The film belongs to a broader wave of low-budget horror adaptations of newly public domain characters, a trend started commercially by *Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey* (2023), which was reportedly made for just over six figures and grossed just under $8 million.[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/screamboat-steamboat-willie-horror-movie-review-2025)
## Release and censorship
Screamboat opened in limited US theatrical release on April 2, 2025, distributed by [Iconic Events](https://www.edgepedia.org/iconic-events), on about 600 screens according to RogerEbert.com.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat) • [2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/screamboat-steamboat-willie-horror-movie-review-2025) It reached streaming on May 2, 2025.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat) International dates included Argentina on April 10, Mexico on April 24, and Brazil on May 1, 2025, under the title *Screamboat: La Masacre Del Ratón*.[11](https://imagemfilmeslatam.com/proximamente/screamboat) In the United Kingdom, Signature Entertainment distributed the film, which the [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) rated 18 for cinema on March 17, 2025 and for home entertainment on March 20, 2025, citing strong bloody violence, gore, and sexualised violence.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/screamboat-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi4oda1)
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. The film holds 54% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 35 reviews, while audiences gave it 79% on the Popcornmeter; Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 44, and IMDb users rate it 4.1 out of 10.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/screamboat/critic-reviews/) Reviewers generally treated it as a cut above other public domain horror films without rating it as a good film in conventional terms. Tallerico gave it 2 of 4 stars, writing that it works because it never takes itself seriously.[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/screamboat-steamboat-willie-horror-movie-review-2025) Variety's Peter Debruge called it more fun than the previous year's *The Mouse Trap*, another Steamboat Willie slasher.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat) Brady wrote that, unlike the Twisted Childhood Universe of British-produced public domain slashers, LaMorte's film makes some effort to engage with its source material in humorous, gory ways, while calling the production itself low-rent.[8](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/review/2025/05/01/screamboat-mickey-mouse-as-a-violent-psychopath-is-no-classic-but-gory-twist-on-disney-knows-its-audience/) Common Sense Media described it as an extremely gory, over-the-top horror comedy and recommended it only for viewers 17 and older.[12](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/screamboat)
## References
1. [Screamboat, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/screamboat)
2. [Screamboat movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com (Brian Tallerico, April 2, 2025)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/screamboat-steamboat-willie-horror-movie-review-2025)
3. [Mickey, Disney, and the Public Domain: a 95-year Love Triangle, Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain](https://cspd.law.duke.edu/mickey/)
4. [Screamboat, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/screamboat-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi4oda1)
5. [Screamboat critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/screamboat/critic-reviews/)
6. [Screamboat (2025) – Cast, Ratings, Box Office & Runtime, What's After the Movie](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/movies/screamboat)
7. [Screamboat (2025), NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/screamboat-2025)
8. [Screamboat review, The Irish Times (Tara Brady, May 1, 2025)](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/review/2025/05/01/screamboat-mickey-mouse-as-a-violent-psychopath-is-no-classic-but-gory-twist-on-disney-knows-its-audience/)
9. [First Pooh, now Mickey. In public domain, early Mickey Mouse version will star in horror movies, AP News (January 2, 2024)](https://apnews.com/article/e5bd7d8c711554f42bdd277f0b7a29e7)
10. [Screamboat's Director Breaks Down the Ins and Outs of Public Domain Horror, Gizmodo](https://gizmodo.com/screamboat-public-domain-horror-mickey-mouse-2000581196)
11. [Screamboat: La Masacre Del Ratón, Imagem Films México](https://imagemfilmeslatam.com/proximamente/screamboat)
12. [Screamboat – Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/screamboat)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Comedy horror films › 2020s comedy horror films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license