The Mouse Trap

Things are getting insane in the public domain with the not-from-Disney Mickey Mouse slasher The Mouse Trap, written by Simon Phillips and directed by James Bailey. One dark and bloody night in Ontario, Canada, a group of teens was massacred by a maniac wearing a Mickey Mouse mask at an arcade amusement center. Surviving goth girl, Rebecca (MacKenzie Mills), is being interviewed in a holding cell by Detective Cole (Damir Kovic) and Detective Marsh (Nick Biskupek), who are trying to piece together what happened. Rebecca recounts the events during the night of the slaughter she experienced, as well as what was told to her by her now-dead friends.

Alex Fen (Sophie McIntosh) is told by her mean old manager, Tim Collins (Simon Phillips), that she has to spend her birthday working overtime at the arcade amusement center, as a private party has rented the place out after-hours. Her co-worker, Jayna (Madeline Kelman), has to work too, but gets Alex to cover for her once Collins leaves so she can go grab some boy. Collins retreats to his swank office, which has an antique Super 8 projector and a vintage rubber Mickey Mouse mask. Collins settles down to enjoy one of his all-time favorites, Steamboat Willy, the first Mickey Mouse cartoon. Suddenly, he hears voices, and the air starts glowing red. Like a puppet, he lurches from his chair, drawn to the mask behind the glass. Later, a bunch of young Canadian teens who are of that country’s 19-year-old drinking age are trapped inside the arcade and are hunted and killed by a killer in a Mickey Mouse mask and a hockey jersey with a knife.

“One dark and bloody night in Ontario, Canada, a group of teens were massacred by a maniac wearing a Mickey Mouse mask at an arcade amusement center.”

Just like Canadian Mints, those round pink candies that taste like stomach relievers, The Mouse Trap is a delicacy that will be relished by those who can acquire the taste. Most won’t, I will let you know right now. As this public domain slasher bravely charts its course through the movie, there will be some toes mashed flat by Mickey’s big, enormous shoes.

First off is it is a tad on the dry side when it comes to splatter. It takes a long time to get to an onscreen murder as opposed to corpses appearing already done in. When there is a visible kill, the blood is a dribble instead of a fountain. I understand the desire to see the dude in the mouse mask dismembered in the wettest ways possible, but I appreciate Bailey’s adherence to slasher tradition.

The level of violence here matches that of many of the classic slashers, a genre that usually goes light on onscreen violence due to how hard the ratings board would censor anything too intense. Also, a lot of people will walk away when teleportation becomes a factor. I would again argue that this is a brave choice to bring this slasher aspect out into the open.