In Screamboat (2025), the official teaser trailer introduces a dark and twisted take on an iconic animated figure, Steamboat Willie, reimagined as a terrifying killer. The film cleverly mixes horror and nostalgia, drawing on the original black-and-white cartoon while infusing it with a macabre twist that fans of slasher films won’t see coming.
The trailer opens with an eerie, nostalgic shot of an old, decrepit steamboat traveling down a foggy river. The whistle blows, but it’s off-key, sending chills down the spine. The black-and-white imagery flickers with unsettling distortions, as though the film reel itself is haunted. Suddenly, the iconic cartoon whistle tune is warped into something sinister as the camera zooms into the steamboat’s shadowy interior.
We are introduced to a group of young thrill-seekers who’ve rented the mysterious steamboat for a weekend getaway, unaware of the cursed history that surrounds it. The group explores the boat, making light-hearted jokes, but tension builds as strange events begin to unfold. The teaser cleverly shifts between light-hearted banter and a growing sense of dread as objects move on their own, and eerie laughter echoes from the boat’s engine room.
Then, the teaser takes a dark turn. As the group descends into the bowels of the ship, they stumble upon a series of gruesome, vintage cartoons playing in a dark, hidden room. The films show distorted versions of the beloved Steamboat Willie, now depicted as a deranged killer. The real horror begins when the character from the cartoon seems to come to life, manifesting as a deadly and twisted version of Willie with oversized gloves, knife-sharp teeth, and an insatiable thirst for blood.
The trailer flashes intense moments of chase, terror, and survival as the group is hunted by this monstrous version of Steamboat Willie, with the boat itself seemingly alive, creaking and moaning in tune with the chaos. The final scene shows Willie emerging from the shadows, his unsettling grin and hollow eyes reflecting the pure terror of his victims.
