entertainment / Friday, 22-Aug-2025

Steamboat Willie Horror Movie I Heart Willie's First 4-Minutes Revealed In Bloody Torture Scene Video

The first four minutes of the upcoming I Heart Willie, a horror reimagining of Disney's 1928 classic Steamboat Willie, has recently been unveiled. In this chilling adaptation, the beloved black-and-white Mickey Mouse is portrayed as a human-mouse hybrid serial killer with toned abs and an insatiable bloodlust. The film stars David Vaughn (Dopesick) as Willie, while YouTubers Daniel and Nico investigate his supposedly haunted property, only to find themselves in the Mouse's deadly grasp. I Heart Willie is set for a one-night theatrical release on February 26, 2025.

Now, Entertainment Weeklyhas shared the opening scene of I Heart Willie. With two white gloves, Willie tortures his latest victim with pliers when another unsuspecting individual enters his lair. Watch the full video below:

What I Heart Willie's Opening Scene Means

From Innocent Whistles To Bloodcurdling Wails

Mickey Mouse holding his hands out in what looks like a kitchen in the Steamboat Willie animated short
Mickey Mouse holding his hands out in what looks like a kitchen in the Steamboat Willie animated short

With the upcoming slasher Screamboat, where David Howard Thorton (Terrifier's Art the Clown) terrorizes a group of New Yorkers as another monstrous rat, David Vaughn's film marks the second Mickey Mouse horror movie to come out this year. After Steamboat Willie and other major cartoon characters entered the public domain in 2024, multiple horror projects rushed to put a dark spin on the character. Unlike other Mickey Mouse-based horror films, like Screamboat, I Heart Willie leans into the killer's origin story, offering an unsettling in-universe explanation for Willie's deformities as unsuspecting YouTubers investigate the legend of Steamboat Willie.

The upcoming adaptation of the cartoon mouse continues the recent horror trend of transforming beloved fairy tales and childhood icons into slasher villains, particularly with the "Poohniverse" series of indie slashers including Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey and the upcoming Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare. Beyond its backstory, I Heart Willie also taps into a contemporary horror aesthetic, reminiscent of the gory spectacle in the Terrifier franchise and the 2024 atmospheric slasher In A Violent Nature.

Our Take On I Heart Willie

Childhood Classic Turned Nightmare Fuel

Disney's Mickey Mouse looking scared.

Turning Mickey Mouse’s earliest iteration into a flesh-wearing, tongue-ripping serial killer is a wild creative leap, but one that fits seamlessly into the horror world’s current obsession with twisting nostalgic characters into nightmares. With a strong visual style, brutal gore, and a deep dive into a dark reimagining of Steamboat Willie’s origins,I Heart Willie has the potential to stick out among the barrage of fairy tale darlings turned killers. Whether it succeeds or stumbles, one thing is certain — this is not the Mickey Mouse your grandparents once knew.

Source: EW

Steamboat Willie (1928) - Poster - Mickey mouse in a ship

Your Rating

Steamboat Willie
Release Date
November 18, 1928
Runtime
8 Minutes
Director
Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney
Writers
Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney

Cast

See All

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Your Rating

I Heart Willie
Release Date
February 26, 2025
Runtime
90 minutes
Director
Alejandro G. Alegre
Writers
David Vaughn
Producers
Baron Jay, Princeton Holt

Cast

See All
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Maya Luna
    Nora
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Sergio Rogalto
    Daniel
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Daniela Porras
    Jess
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Micho Camacho
    Nico

I Heart Willie is a horror film exploring the ominous transformation of a cartoonist captivated by his own sinister creation.

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