Every Public Domain Mickey Mouse Slasher Ranked
For reasons beyond comprehension…we’ve had no less than FIVE Steamboat Willie inspired slasher movies since the cartoon hit public domain in 2024.
For reasons even further beyond comprehension…we’ve watched every single one of them. “Might as well rank them”, I said to myself as I shook my head at the realization that I’d invested enough of my life to watch five different Mickey Mouse slasher movies.
These rankings usually begin with a warning that these things are subjective…every movie is someone’s favorite…blah, blah blah. That doesn’t feel necessary this time. We’re just talking about different degrees of “not very good” here.
Spoilers for the films are likely…but what can you really spoil here?
Now…onto the ranking of every public domain Mickey Mouse slasher! From worst to first…as God intended.
5. Mouse of Horrors
Now with 100% more Pooh
You could really separate these Mickey Mouse public domain slashers into three tiers. One stands out above the rest…two fall firmly in the middle…and two are battling it out for the bottom. Mouse of Horrors won that battle.
You know going in that these are going to be ultra-low budget slasher movies. Those can have a certain amount of charm when done right. The closest that Mouse of Horrors gets to charming is when the rejected Pooh from Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey inexplicably shows up as part of this story. It’s like an off-brand version of an already off-brand item.
It looks like the guy playing the Mouse is having fun…even if he’s doing a David Howard Thornton riff the whole time. The highlight involves a battle between the Mouse and Pooh. The fight isn’t good, and I don’t even remember why it happened…but it’s still the highlight.
Read our review
4. I Heart Willie
Do it yourself Mickey…but don’t do it that well
There’s a grindhouse quality to I Heart Willie that makes it stand out from the rest of the pack. Actually, there are a couple of positives here and there for a movie that barely escaped the bottom of a list of PUBLIC DOMAIN MICKEY MOUSE SLASHER MOVIES. There is a strong idea at the core of I Heart Willie. which makes the film’s utter incapability of implementing it uniquely frustrating.
The crux of the problem in I Heart Willie involves the incomprehensible scripting of its lead character. Her arc should be the best part of the story. Unfortunately, I Heart Willie deals out so much character whiplash that being invested in her inevitable turn is basically impossible.
I Heart Willie was shot very quickly…and has some of that charm we talked about earlier. That’s what ultimately lands it ahead of Mouse of Horrors…even though it is the most frustrating of the five public domain Mickey Mouse films.
Read our review
3. Mouseboat Massacre
Every forgettable 80s slasher ever
Mouseboat Massacre is a much more competent film than the bottom two in this ranking. Honestly, it probably deserves to be in second place. The reason it falls to the middle of the pack is simple. I don’t remember it. Like…at all. Despite being much more recent than the movie that beat it out for number 2…I’m drawing a bit of a blank.
That’s not exactly true. There are a couple of things I remember about Mouseboat Massacre. I know that they finally put Steamboat Willie on a boat for at least a few minutes. That only took four releases. I also remember that this movie hammered home what these public domain slashers (whether Pooh, Popeye or Mickey) truly are. These are the new 1980s knockoff slashers trying to make a quick buck off of the success of Jason Voorhees and Micheal Myers.
There’s a place for those movies in horror. It’s just not a great one. As for Mouseboat Massacre…sometimes not remembering is still better than not being able to forget for the wrong reasons. That’s the case with the two movies below it.
Read our review
2. The Mouse Trap
From Canada with Eh
The Mouse Trap got out ahead of the public domain Mickey Mouse slasher craze in a big way. It arrived in August of 2024…when none of the others could get release until 2025. Being first wasn’t worse in the case of The Mouse Trap.
Titled Mickey’s Mouse Trap until just before release…it’s clear that this movie was testing the boundaries of what is and isn’t allowed by the rules of public domain. Mostly, it’s a one-setting story that tries to have a little fun with a quick shoot and very low budget. There is some charm to it…and an ending that probably elevates it above what it is. Let’s face it…it isn’t that hard to get to the top of this particular set of rankings.
The Mouse Trap looks better than the three films beneath it. While there is no boat (there usually is not), it does incorporate Steamboat Willie in a way that fits a dumb slasher movie plot. That’s more than enough for second place on this list. Sadly.
Read our review
1. Screamboat
I’m (finally) on a boat!
The truth is that Screamboat always had the best odds to finish atop a ranking of public domain Mickey Mouse slasher movies. It comes to us from the producers of the Terrifier movies…and stars David Howard Thornton as the story’s antagonist. Those are enough to make the difference.
It also helps that Screamboat feels more like a knowing version of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan than the other Mickey rip offs. Taking place almost completely on the Staten Island Ferry…Screamboat finally fulfills the prophecy of delivering a Steamboat Willie riff set at sea. There’s a basic plot, some fun kills…and the expected strong performance from Thornton. Mostly, Screamboat is just out to have a good time.
The gap between 1 and 2 is larger than the gap between 2 and 5 in this ranking of public domain Mickey Mouse slasher movies. Screamboat is a legitimate good time for anyone craving a bad slasher movie. Compliments in this strange, and immediate, series of films do not get any better than that.
Read our review
