THE MOUSE TRAP (aka MICKEY’S MOUSE TRAP, 2024)

Streaming on Tubi!
Directed by Jamie Bailey.
Written by Simon Phillips.
Check out the trailer here!!

A group of friends decide to throw a surprise birthday party for their friend Alex (Sophie McIntosh), but unbeknownst to them, a short circuit during a showing of the black and white cartoon Steamboat Willie starring the first ever incarnation of Mickey Mouse creates a masked serial killer with powers of teleportation and a wicked sense of humor. Finding themselves chained in the arcade, Alex and her friends must use their wits to survive the night against this monster from an age-old children’s cartoon.

First out of the gate after Mickey Mouse’s first ever appearance in the Walt Disney cartoon Steamboat Willie became a public domain property is THE MOUSE TRAP and while there are a few interesting ideas, the rush to be the first in what has turned out to be a slew of Mickey Mouse horror movies, proves to be the film’s true downfall.

First the good or at least, the decent. I love actor Simon Phillips. He was a true standout in BUTCHERS as a charismatic but barbaric cannibal hillbilly and also gave a notable performance as the maniacally laughing madman clad in a Santa Claus costume in THE NIGHTS BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Any movie with Phillips in it is better for it, but I don’t think even a talented presence like Phillips could save this movie. Phillips also seems to have written THE MOUSE TRAP, and while there are hints of a good movie in this one, it just fails to hit the mark most of the time. I like the way Phillips becomes this maniacal Mickey Mouse, blending a bent mind with a somewhat supernatural concept of teleporting from one area of the massive arcade space to another. I believe this film was trying to attempt to make another TERRIFIER concept, with franshisable possibilities, but I don’t know it it’ll work as there is no rhyme or reason as to why this serial killer is killing these people or how he attained these teleportation powers. Phillips as the manager of the arcade, seems to be a fan of Steamboat Willie and even has a vintage mask of the character. After getting off of his shift at the arcade, he simply sits down to watch the classic cartoon and then inexplicably becomes the masked killer. Why? No idea. But it does get this film rolling and I guess once the bodies start dropping, we are supposed to be so enthralled with the story that we don’t ask such logical questions.

But the characters, like the story itself, feel half-baked. Characters are cookie cutter outlines forced to spout awful dialog. Unmercifully, the film is in dire need of a solid edit as the stilted moments between line deliveries go on uncomfortably long. Aside from a few standouts, the cast really has trouble delivering the lines with any weight. There are some acting standouts; notably the lead Sophie McIntosh, goth chick Mackenzie Mills, jock Ben Harris, and Simon Phillips himself.

But the true problem with this film is that it fails to answer the question; why? Why did Phillips’ character get these powers? Why does he like Steamboat Willie so much? Why is he killing people? And why is this killer’s weakness a strobe light? The entire film lacks motivation or reasoning. As if the producers only saw the opportunity to sully the Mickey Mouse property and took it without really developing a solid idea as to what would make someone kill someone else while wearing a Mickey Mouse mask. I don’t want to help these people out by providing ideas, but honestly, I can think of a handful of reasons why such a beloved property would be pushed to kill, but this film doesn’t even try to make sense of it all. Meaning that THE MOUSE TRAP is simply a cash grab, alerted at the very instant the Mickey Mouse property went public domain and thinking of the least creative way to make a horror movie out of it.

There are a few scenes where the weird Mickey Mouse mask works. Early on, Phillips in the mask, does this little run towards the camera that reminded me of Leatherface in the first TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. It was a goofy and almost playful run after his screaming victims, but it was really the only time the film really captures the creepy aspects of this masked killer. It looks as if a sequel is in the works entitled THE MOUSE TRAP: WELCOME TO THE MICKEYVERSE. Here’s hoping more time is spent on the script, characters are given proper motivation and especially dialog, actors are given a chance to work on their line delivery, proper edits are made to get rid of the uncomfortable silences, and for Chrissakes, some sense of what the hell is going on and most importantly, why does this exist are elements added to this upcoming installment, because, unfortunately, none of that appears in THE MOUSE TRAP. Everything about this film screams of being a rush job in order to get out ahead of the other Mickey Mouse horror movies that are soon due to be out.