Steven LaMorte had the same idea as Bailey, which should come as no surprise given his prior work. The director, who previously helmed a slasher film sendup of Dr. Seuss’ Grinch titled “The Mean One,” is gearing up to start production this spring on a currently untitled horror-comedy movie about a Mickey-esque mouse who terrorizes a pack of ferry passengers. “‘Steamboat Willie’ has brought joy to generations, but beneath that cheerful exterior lies a potential for pure, unhinged terror,” said LaMorte in a press release statement posted by Variety. “It’s a project I’ve been dreaming of, and I can’t wait to unleash this twisted take on this beloved character to the world.”
Elsewhere, on the non-movie front, “Steamboat Willie” is serving as the inspiration for “Infestation 88,” a horror survival co-op game that has just been announced by Nightmare Forge. The game’s developers have issued the following logline for the title (via IGN):
“In the year 1988, what was thought to be an outbreak of rodents in various locations morphed into something far more sinister.”
Speaking of “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” it sounds as though “Infestation 88” will borrow a page or two from the original “FNAF” point-and-click survival horror video games. Players will have to use security cameras to stay ahead of the game’s killer mice either by hiding, fleeing or, if needs be, directly fighting them. Fortunately, it would seem that the murderous rodents of “Infestation 88” are a bit more vulnerable than the homicidal animatronic children’s mascots from “FNAF,” as you can lay down traps to try and take them out before they get you.