This year saw one of the most closely guarded corporate intellectual property empires leak, as all the horses and men of the Magic Kingdom couldn’t stop Mickey Mouse from entering the public domain. Strictly speaking, what is no longer protected are the first three pants in which this legendary rodent appeared, all of which were made in 1928 – and therefore, under current US laws, their copyright has now expired. Two years ago, the same thing happened to author AA Milne’s bizarre anthropomorphic creations. This editing made the horror film “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” a quick profit, an almost unwatchable project that was never welcomed by anyone outside of its makers’ accountants. Thus, 2024 brought us “The Mouse Trap,” which could be worse than “B&H,” which set the bar so low that it was underground.
There is no doubt that this Canadian production from director Jamie Bailey and writer and actor Simon Phillips was hoping to shift the concept of bad taste towards something akin to a viral phenomenon. Thanks to its online notoriety, “Blood and Honey” managed to make an impressive return on its shoestring budget. Actually sitting down may have dampened viewers’ enthusiasm for more. Despite significant pre-emptive publicity, “Mouse Trap” was not released in North American theaters as announced earlier this year, instead creeping into home formats months later. It can currently be watched on Tubi, albeit without the extra twenty minutes promised by the upcoming “director’s cut” which it’s hard to imagine anyone being thirsty for.
“Mouse Trap” opens with a funny legal disclaimer like the opening of a “Star Wars” movie, with similar backing music. This goes on for a long 90 seconds – a fair warning that we’re in for a slow ride whose few thoughts will stretch to a narrow range. In a suburban toy store, employees close their doors for the night. Manager Tim (Phillips) tells young employees Alex (Sophie Mackintosh) and Gina (Madeleine Kellman) that they need to stay a few more hours, as there is a last-minute booking for a private party. This is received with loud groans which are only partially mitigated by the promise of double pay.
Shortly thereafter, a middle-aged Tim takes a break in the facility’s small screening room, showing an old 8mm reel of the movie “Steamboat Willie.” Released in late 1928, this sync-sound short was a huge success for Disney. (However, it wasn’t exactly his iconic character’s first stand – “Plane Crazy” and “The Gallopin’ Gaucho” had been completed earlier that year as silent films, but were not released until they were remade for sound following the huge success of “Willie’s”.) A Mickey Mouse mask gets unmasked in a memorabilia cabinet which somehow puts Tim in a trance, demanding that he put it on and… you know, kill, kill, Kill. Why? Because this is a horror movie, stupid.
After being dumped by Jayna (who has a hot date), Alex is doing some janitorial duties when she spies this sinister figure near the entrance. While on the run, she bumps into eight of her friends – who turn out to be after-hours guests, intending to throw her a surprise birthday party. For a time, she neglected to even mention the presence she had just fled in panic, until a couple dashed off in search of a space to kiss. They disappeared and the others soon realized that all exits had been blocked and their phones had been stolen. At first they accuse each other of playing pranks, but they finally realize that they are facing a deadly entity that can also disappear and reappear at will. All of this is connected by flashbacks by “miracle survivor” Rebecca (Mackenzie Mills), who is being interrogated later that same night by police investigators (Damir Kovic, Nick Biskupic).
Only in the end we realize that it is not so The only escapee, although it is not explained if anything happened to several other survivors. At times, Phillips’s dialogue seems to mock his screenplay’s improbability and imprecise logical gaps, as well as the genre itself. But there’s no sign of such cynical self-awareness in the direction or performance. For a virtual slicing exercise, the “mousetrap” is restrictive and counterproductive. A full hour passes before any graphic violence appears on screen, and there is little imagination or enthusiasm invested in the deaths. So what’s the point?
Filmed in an expansive arcade in Ottawa, the film is able to make use of the attraction’s colours, lights and props to achieve a believable atmospheric effect. Bailey’s widescreen cinematography is decent, as is his editing. However, there is not a great deal of action or suspense throughout the film, either in individual shots or overall, and one can’t help but smell haste or downright disdain in some of the inexplicable creative decisions. (For starters, the police detectives don’t call her in with Rebecca because she remembers events and verbal exchanges in which she wasn’t actually present.) The casting is fine, with Callum Siwick and Ben Harris getting the most screen time, with the exception of McIntosh as Alex’s obsessive rival and bully. straight. But they’re not given much to work with.
The most that can be said in favor of “The Mousetrap” is that its routine professionalism at least makes the work less painful than “Blood and Honey.” The great disappointment with films of this type is that they lure you in with the promise of bad fun at the expense of some beloved property, and then do next to nothing to exploit that angle. Of course, it’s wise to exercise some caution – goodness knows the Walt Disney Company would be happy to sue for any infringement of its remaining rights. (Even the words “Mickey Mouse” aren’t explicitly mentioned here.) However, having someone wearing a character mask running around with a big knife is pretty lazy in terms of subverting popular culture. There’s no attempt to imitate, parody, or even reference anything else in the Mouse House world. The overall effect is like a joke with a promising enough setup but no punchline.
However, a sequel (“Welcome to the Mickeyverse”) is allegedly in the works. Meanwhile, there are imminent films in production such as “Bambi: The Reckoning” and “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare,” among others taking advantage of the recently expired copyrights. This year’s “Blood and Honey 2” has been said to be a step up from its predecessor, and the creators of “Mouse Trap” have already released a new feature, the supernatural submarine tale “What Lurks Beneath” — which isn’t quite as good, but certainly better. One day, a horror spin-off might come into the public domain that’s clever and innovative — and good for more than just an excuse to drink games. For now, their main goal seems to be to provide commercial training wheels for filmmakers looking for maximum attention with minimum cost and effort. It’s a deal that’s working well so far for everyone except the audience.