Some brave directors have rushed to produce horror films based on classic Walt Disney films, once their copyrights have expired
October, 22; 2025. By Arscodex
Screamboat (2025) movie still
The first intellectual property to be, let's say, "desecrated" (with affection), was Winnie the Pooh, the famous, endearing little bear brought to television by the aforementioned American producer (our beloved Walt). This happened in 2023, as British director Rhys Frake-Waterfield rushed, once the rights entered the public domain, to direct a horror film about the mythical little bear; this film bore the "suggestive" subtitle "Blood and Honey."
Then, in 2025, two new films were released: the horror version of Bambi, directed by American Dan Allen, subtitled "The Reckoning"; and the "masterstroke," "Screamboat," based on the first short film about Walt Disney's beloved and fun little mouse, Mickey Mouse, directed by American Steven LaMorte.
The truth is that all of this generates a kind of mixed feelings in the viewer: love-hate, tragicomedy. On the one hand, it gives us pleasure to see these transformations, but on the other, it seems a total desecration to release these films, which are definitely already perfectly legal, because the copyright has officially expired.
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