Steamboat Willie entered public domain recently, and this film hops right on the bandwagon to pump out a cash-in on the growing trend in horror. I am one of the few who has enjoyed the entries so far, so I am excited to see this one. Disclaimer: this film is not a part of the growing Poohniverse, and yet Winnie the Pooh does make a cameo in the film. I know. It’s confusing. It’s way too complicated. Also, don’t get this confused with the OTHER Steamboat Willie cash-in, titled Mickey’s Mouse Trap, aka The Mouse Trap.
Synopsis:
In a seaside town, chaos erupts as Doctor Rupert’s monstrous creation stalks the night, harvesting body parts for a sinister purpose. No one is safe.
IMDb: 2.8
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Brendan Petrizzo directed this, in what appears to be a string of shitty horror films that are all around the 2.0 mark on IMDb. Harry Boxley (Mary Had a Little Lamb, Cinderella’s Curse, Piglet, Popeye’s Revenge) is responsible for writing this masterpiece alongside Marc Gottlieb (Aquarium of the Dead, Top Gunner, Danger Zone) with several no-name actors. Michelle Bauer does cameo at one point.
Everything you need to figure out if this movie is for you or not, can be found within the first ten minutes:
The bad: Do you like movies where the first two kills are played by two horrible actresses who look like the director pulled them off of the street corner and paid them twenty bucks to “star in his big movie?” Do you like movies where the sound seems to change levels from shot to shot, and the dialogue is seemingly synced just a tad off from their moving lips?
The good: Do you like iconic cartoon characters portrayed by a serial killer complete with a crazy maniacal laugh? Do you like competent directing that includes wonderful colors and stylish set pieces? Do you like good gore and neat looking kills?
Let’s be honest here. If you expect this to be Scream XI, you’re gonna be disappointed. It’s cheap bottom of the barrel. But if the Winnie the Pooh movies intrigued you, then this is definitely for you. There’s a race to get these films made as copyrights lapse and they’re coming, rather you like them or not. Let’s just hope they continue to get better production values, better actors, and a bigger budget. There is money to be made if we could just make a competent movie.
It’s trashy. The acting is horrid. But there are glimpses of style, smidges of fun, and a tiny bit of an iconic killer played by a guy who “gets” it and seems to be having a blast. Don’t shit on it until you’ve seen it. Then shit on it. But not like a big pile of diarrhea, or even a giant turd, just a couple of rabbit pellets. It’s really not THAT bad.
