With more and more iconic characters entering the public domain, the inevitability of our beloved childhood heroes being used in blasphemous ways is on the rise. With the abomination that was Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey paving the way, I wondered if the same treatment would be given to every one of these characters? Well, it didn’t take long for me to find out, because The Mouse Trap is here and it is every bit as unwarranted as you might expect.
Not to be confused with the Agatha Christie murder mystery play, this one offers a different, and more terrifying experience, in all the wrong ways. Feeling more like student film than anything else, the main selling point of The Mouse Trap is the fact that the filmmakers have taken the face of Disney, Mickey Mouse (more specifically, the Steamboat Willie version of him), and turned him into a killer on a rampage. But as horrifying as that may sound, they’ve somehow managed to make this feel less sacrilegious and more boring than anything else.
I’ll say it. They’ve made something that’s actually even worse than Blood and Honey.
Taking place in the span of one night, a bunch of college students hanging out at an amusement centre after dark, find their night of enjoyment turned upside down as a killer donning a Mickey Mouse mask, is hell bent on killing them. Why? It is something that remains relatively unclear right up to the end. I guess, he just feels like killing? I don’t know. I don’t care. I was so bored out of my skull with this story that the reason may have just flown right past me at some point.
Unlike the aforementioned Winnie the Pooh outing, The Mouse Trap lacks any sort of tangible moments to keep you drawn in. While Pooh wasn’t the greatest film, there was at least enough gore and violence to keep those who enjoy that sort of thing entertained. For a film that was made in the same vein, it feels like the filmmakers lacked the ability and the budget to make something of actual substance.
For starters, the dialogue which felt like it was written by A.I. with input request from sub-literate teenagers. From genuinely cringe worthy lines to overtly obvious exposition, everything here is so unintentionally funny, that it almost turns the movie into a comedy.
And then there is the acting. Now I wasn’t expecting anything Oscar worthy. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But where the hell did they find these hacks? Were they family friends looking for some experience? Had they just stumbled onto the set by accident and just given a role? Everything is so forced and over-the-top that it is utterly laughable. Every character motivation is cliche. None of them are relatable in any way. You don’t care one bit if they live or die. Sure, the material is awful, but I don’t think these “actors” would fare any better on TikTok.
All of this is a shame. Because the concept of a man who puts on a mask and goes on a killing spree is something that has worked in the past. (See: Scream, Halloween, Friday the 13th, etc.) We know where the inspiration comes from. But the execution was so half baked that it felt like a wasted opportunity.
In The Mouse Trap, the individual in question is possessed by this Mickey Mouse mask, which in turn implies that the mask had some supernatural powers. Not that we’d know, because none of this is ever explained. Nor is his ability to suddenly teleport. Or the fact that his one weakness is a flashing torchlight. (Say what?)
For a film that clearly set out to emulate the horror/slasher films of the past, they really didn’t do any work in trying to get it right.
All the deaths in the first hour were all done off camera, making it incredibly obvious that they lacked any sort of budget for it. So what you’re doing is essentially watching horrendous acting and dialogue for at least an hour without any payoff at all.
I think it’s safe to say that The Mouse Trap is a film that should have never been made. Heck, burn it as soon as humanly possible. God knows I’d much rather watch Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey for a second time than waste any more time on this. That said, if you are, say, a film student who is looking for a movie that showcases everything that you shouldn’t do, then this is the car crash you’re looking for.
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