Screamboat is a 2025 American comedy horror film directed by Steven LaMorte. It is a reimagining of Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks's 1928 animated short film, Steamboat Willie. The plot follows a group of New Yorkers who are terrorized by a monstrous mouse named Steamboat Willie. It stars David Howard Thornton, Allison Pittel, Amy Schmacher, Jesse Posey, Kailey Hyman, Jesse Kove, and Jarlath Conroy.
Screamboat was released theatrically in the United States and United Kingdom on April 2, 2025.
Premise
LaMorte said the film is "the story of a late-night ferry ride in New York City where commuters and deckhands and all the usual passengers are attacked by a murderous and mischievous mouse who is mean, tiny, and loves getting up to no good".[4]
After Steamboat Willie's copyright lapsed, LaMorte began working on a then-untitled horror film based on the short. The film was later announced with the first teaser.[2][3] The official title, Screamboat, was officially revealed in April 2024.[6] The puppet and costume for Thornton's mouse creature character was designed by Quantum Creation FX.[4]
On June 10, some cast was revealed, including Thornton as the main antagonist.[7] In November 2024, Kailey Hyman was announced in a key role, and cameos are played by Tyler Posey and comedians Brian Quinn and Joe DeRosa.[8][9] The ferry used in the film is owned by Colin Jost and Pete Davidson.[10]
Release
Screamboat was theatrically released by Iconic Events Releasing on April 2, 2025, and later on home video by DeskPop Entertainment.[11][12] The release was originally scheduled for January 24, 2025.[4] In February 2025, Signature Entertainment acquired distribution rights for the United Kingdom and Ireland.[13]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 56% of 16 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.9/10.[14]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 44 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[15]
Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film two out of four stars and wrote, "It's hard to imagine anyone stumbling into Screamboat without being aware of its intentions. It's not something people buy a ticket to when their arthouse movie of choice isn't available. On that level, it almost works enough to recommend even to those not clamoring to see it."[16]
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