This article includes descriptions of graphic violence.
MAJOR SPOILERS for Screamboat are ahead!
Because Screamboat didn’t get rated by the MPA, the horror-comedy includes shocking violence and gore that could make viewers squirm. Only one day after Steamboat Willie went into the public domain, filmmaker Steven LaMorte announced a horror film based on the Disney short. As both a Disney and horror fan, I couldn’t wait to see how they would put a spin on the story, and it didn’t disappoint.
Although Screamboat isn’t a part of the Twisted Childhood Universe, the movie is similar to the TCU and the Terrifier movies in the shocking level of gore. To achieve the desired end result, the team used practical effects, blood, and prosthetics that are as impressive as they are disturbing to look at. Ultimately, this decision paid off, giving Screamboat a campy, b-film slasher feeling. However, the shock and gore could also make the horror-comedy difficult to watch for many viewers.
10
Jazzy And Bella Take A Forklift To The Face
Two Princesses Get Taken Out At Once By Steamboat Willie
The murders of Jazzy and Bella in Screamboat fall into the top 10 for goriness and creativity but have zero shock factor because of the way it’s written. The film shows that Steamboat Willie is watching them film their TikTok video and gets visibly annoyed. He spends far too long trying to turn on the forklift with no success, and it’s obvious he plans to ram it into them.
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The decision to stage the Screamboat scene this way kills every semblance of shock and fear. That being said, the forklift crushing their faces will certainly appeal to fans who enjoy the gory aspects of the film. It’s also nice to watch a slasher film where not every death happens in the same, predictable way.
9
Steam Melts Off An Employee’s Face
A Gory Moment Not Caused By The Murderous Mouse
Most of the goriest and most shocking scenes in Screamboat include violence inflicted by Steamboat Willie, but this is an exception. An employee on the ship walks through the dark and gets hit by a gust of steam that’s hot enough to scald him.
The steam itself was shocking enough to make me flinch, plus it resulted in non-bloody gore. The man’s skin melts off half of his face, and the dripping skin is extremely difficult to look at. Additionally, the unexpectedness of the steam drew attention away from Steamboat Willie, making his attack on the character more surprising.
8
Willie Electrocutes An Entire Room Of People
Most Of Screamboat’s Passegers Get Killed At Once
Although Screamboat adheres to many of the rules and tropes of slasher films, it diverges from the norm in that Steamboat Willie doesn’t have a preferred method of attack. He comes up with clever and shocking ways to kill his victims. One of the less gory but most shocking kills happens when Dominique locks a group of passengers in a room on behalf of the murderous mouse.
Steamboat Willie stabs Lt. Diaz through the head with a broomstick, spraying blood all over the people in the room. Then, he uses a hose to drench them with water and electrocutes them. It’s slightly more gory and shocking than Jazzy and Bella’s deaths, as well as the steam to the face. Still, it’s not nearly as bad as other murders.
7
Steamboat Willie Presents Selena With A Flower Made Of Ears
The Murderous Mouse Shows His Affection In A Disturbing Way
The horror-comedy movie establishes that Steamboat Willie has romantic feelings, or at least a soft spot, towards Selena, but the reason doesn’t become clear until the end of Screamboat. In the meantime, he expresses his affection in a move that’s moderately gory and most definitely shocking.
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He pulls out a flower for Selena that’s made out of the ears of his other victims. A wire is shoved through each of them. This gesture seems like something Art the Clown would do, which is even more entertaining because David Howard Thornton plays both villains.
6
Willie Lights A Police Officer On Fire
One Of Steamboat Willie’s Non-Slasher Murders
Steamboat Willie really enjoys killing characters in painful and gruesome ways from the start to the end of Screamboat, and this is no exception. A police officer tries to shoot the mouse but misses multiple times. While walking towards Willie, he walks into either oil or gasoline.
The murderous mouse decides to get his revenge on the man by using a blowtorch to kill the officer by burning him alive. The murder doesn’t have any blood, and the gore is minimal. However, it’s so shocking and disturbing to watch that it has to appear high on the list.
5
Steamboat Willie Impails Cindi With A Harpoon
Cindi Had The World Birthday Of Her Life In Screamboat
Before releasing in theaters, news broke that the film would include Disney-on-Disney violence, which is one of the things viewers might want to know before watching Screamboat. Steamboat Willie going after drunk women dressed as princesses. The member of the party who survives the longest is Cindi, the birthday girl who looks like Cinderella. Her gory death comes after she thinks she’s escaped.
Willie tries to attack her, but she closes the door between them. However, her fatal mistake is not moving away from that door. He launches a harpoon through the door, going through her abdomen. The most gory moment is when Cindi’s entrails fall out of her body, which could make even hardened horror fans squirm.
4
The Statue Of Liberty Actor Gets A Torch Through The Head
The Screamboat Murder That Sets The Tone For Further Kills
One of the earliest murders in Screamboat shows the mischievous and bloodthirsty persona of Steamboat Willie. He follows a guy dressed as the Statue of Liberty into an empty area and starts taunting him by moving his mascot head and whistling songs. Then, very suddenly, the homicidal mouse jams the Statue of Liberty torch through the man’s skull from behind.
The way they cut the scene together is brilliant when it comes to enhancing the gore and comedy. The camera angle and zoom focus on the blood pouring out of his face immediately after he gets stabbed, then switching to the back of his head to show it from the other direction.
3
A Propeller Destroys A Police Officer
The first time Selena sees Steamboat Willie, it’s killing a police officer and hanging him in the boat. The mouse smashes the officer’s hand with a hammer, which is wince-worthy to watch. He then hangs the man upside down off the edge of the boat in the water. As the man drowns, he gets closer and closer to the boat’s propeller.
When Willie pulls him back out, his body is destroyed to the point that it doesn’t even look human anymore. The moment that defines the horror-comedy film is when he pulls out the mangled body to show off to Selena like he’s proud of his work and hoping for her praise.
2
Steamboat Willie Decapitates The Captain
Screamboat Takes Out The Captain Of The Ferry
One of the goriest and most shocking scenes in Screamboat is the murder of the captain via decapitation. Steamboat Willie takes a wire to the captain’s neck, sawing through the skin and muscle, and then he has to work hard to break the bone.
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During the process of this, blood spouts all over the cabin, creating a grisly crime scene for the other employees on the boat to find later. After some effort, Willie completely removes the head. In a hilarious twist, Steamboat Willie stands on top of the Captain’s dead body to recreate the iconic scene from the Disney short film where the titular main character drives the boat.
1
Steamboat Willie Cuts Off A Police Officer’s Willie
A Blowjob Goes Horribly Wrong For A Police Officer
While the captain scene comes close, the goriest and most shocking scene in Screamboat is when Steamboat Willie cuts off a police officer’s genitals while he’s receiving a blowjob from a drunk passenger. He starts spraying blood out of his crotch onto her face as he dies from blood loss. Meanwhile, she has a dismembered dong in her mouth and gets covered in blood from head to toe before Steamboat Willie goes after her.
Although I don’t have any proof of this, I’m convinced Screamboat chose not to submit the film to the MPA because of this hilarious, shocking, and disturbing scene. While other moments toe the line of acceptability, there’s no way the MPA would have given Screamboat anything less than an NC-17 rating with this scene intact. Luckily, going the “not rated” route allowed them to make this genius moment.
Screamboat
4/10
- Release Date
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January 31, 2025
- Director
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Steven LaMorte
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David Howard Thornton
Steamboat Willie
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Jesse Kove
Lieutenant Diaz
