Screamboat 2025 Movie Review
I’m still not quite sure what to make of these recent horror movie adaptations of beloved Disney characters. The idea itself could make for some pretty interesting films; however, most of them just don’t get enough love or thought put into them and end up as low-budget slashers with terrible effects and annoying characters. Screamboat is definitely one of the better ones in my opinion, probably because I went in with very low expectations and ended up finding it surprisingly decent. It’s still schlocky and has a certain trash-factor, but it’s also quite enjoyable at times.
The movie tells the story of the last ferry of the night in New York, where a large group of passengers and crew are haunted by a merciless rat, which, funnily enough, varies in size from scene to scene, though I doubt that was intentional. The mouse is played by the beloved David Howard Thornton, who does a good job, though he’s definitely not as memorable as in his portrayal of Art the Clown. Most of the other characters are pretty interchangeable, and the acting ranges from decent to very poor. One by one, the characters are taken out by the mouse in various ways, all ending in bloody carnage.
Probably my favorite aspect of the movie was the kills. The effects are pretty decent and mostly practical, and the setup of a small mouse overpowering much bigger humans was honestly pretty funny in a few moments. Speaking of funny, I don’t think the humor worked all that well. It leans heavily into childish slapstick, which only works occasionally and more often comes off as awkward.
Overall, the movie can be fun if you keep your expectations low, but if you’re watching something like this, chances are your expectations are already low to begin with. For what it is, I found Screamboat decently enjoyable and definitely better than some of the other entries in this “cinematic universe.” Still, I’d love to see one of these movies made with genuine passion and creativity. There’s so much potential in twisting these characters and their lore, but these films always just scratch the surface, which is a shame
