The first shot of Terrifier's Art the Clown actor David Howard Thornton as Willie in the upcoming Steamboat Willie horror film Screamboat is here, and the actor once again looks completely unrecognizable.
“Watching David Howard Thornton bring Steamboat Willie to life with the wizards at Quantum Creation FX has been incredible,” writer-director Steven LaMorte told Variety. Best known for playing the sadistic clown in Damien Leone's Terrifier franchise, Howard Thornton is no stranger to transforming himself into horror icons. The star recently played a twisted Grinch in LaMorte's Dr. Seuss spinoff, The Mean One.
However, horror fans have been conflicted about the first look when it hit the internet. “Oh wow, another horror movie. That last Mickey movie was a flop,” said one Twitter user, while another argued, “This is an interesting idea, I'll check it out.”
According to the official synopsis, the Steamboat Willie-inspired horror film follows “a group of New Yorkers on a nighttime ferry ride that turns deadly when a mischievous mouse begins rampaging, targeting unsuspecting passengers. The unlikely crew must band together to thwart the murderous threat before their relaxing trip turns into a nightmare.”
LaMorte directs the film from a script he co-wrote with Matthew Garcia-Dunn. In addition to Howard Thornton, the cast of Screamboat includes Allison Pittel, Tyler Posey, Amy Schumacher, Jesse Posey, Jesse Kove, Kailey Hyman, Rumi C Jean-Louis, Jarlath Conroy and Charles Edwin Powell.
Screamboat is scheduled to hit US cinemas in April 2025, a UK date yet to be announced. For more information, see our list of best horror moviesor keep up to date with other upcoming horror movies.