‘Mouse of Horrors’ VOD Review
Stars: Lewis Santer, Natasha Tosini, Chris Lines, Stephen Staley, Thomas K. Murphy, Tessa Wood | Written by Marc Gottlieb, Harry Boxley | Directed by Brendan Petrizzo
The filmmakers behind Mouse of Horrors, originally titled The Mouse Experiment, are an assortment of folk connected to some of the most prolific sources of low-budget horror out there. The director, Brendan Petrizzo has a history with The Asylum, having produced and/or directed films that include The Devil’s Triangle and Attack of the Meth Gator. One of the writers, Marc Gottlieb, also has a long history there, having written among others Top Gunner: Danger Zone and 2025 Armageddon.
The other of this tale’s scribes, Harry Boxley has delivered scripts like Jurassic Triangle and Piglet to Jagged Edge, Proportion Productions and ITN Distribution, companies much of the cast have worked for as well. And just for good measure, the cinematographer is Charlie Steeds, owner of Dark Temple Motion Pictures for whom he’s made, again among others, he’s made The House of Violent Desire and Lord of Wolves.
The film opens with a killer (Lewis Santer; Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, Come Dine With Me) in a mask that looks more like the underground comic character Mickey Rat than Mickey Mouse, bloodily dispatching two women at a riverside carnival. They were supposed to be joining Chloe (Natasha Tosini; Cinderella’s Curse, Snake Hotel) and her friends to celebrate her impending departure to California.
As they’re getting ready to sneak into the carnival, Dr. Rupert (Chris Lines; Gods of the Deep, Are We Dead Yet) is giving Mouse and Bear (Stephen Staley; Mountain Shark, The Elevator), who is wearing the mask from the original Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, hell for their sloppy work bringing him body parts for the woman he’s assembling. He sends them back out, offering a prize for the one who brings back the best parts.
Mouse of Horrors is a distinctly unhinged film that dishes up plenty of, mostly practical gore, while making absolutely no sense at all. The film seems to have no sense of time, either that or the characters can teleport all over London, as scenes shift from day to night and back again. And just how did The Mouse know where to find Michael (Thomas K. Murphy) and Janet (Tessa Wood; The Haunting of the Tower of London, Tales From the Great War)? Or that they even existed for that matter. A post credit scene just makes things even more confusing.
It’s like watching one of the more gonzo Italian slashers from the 80s, as the story bounces from kill to kill with no regard for logic. Why are there poisonous jellyfish in the pool? Who knows or cares, it sounded cool, and the filmmakers wanted to take a break from stabbing and disembowelling people.
The killings are frequently bloody with intestines falling out, heads being smashed in and other body parts removed. Jessica Martin’s (Mary Had A Little Lamb) effects don’t always work, a severed arm that doesn’t bleed for example, but more often than not they deliver the goods. The CGI corpses on the other hand were pretty poor.
As the title creature, Lewis Santer takes his cues from Art the Clown, miming and playing for the camera as he stalks his victims. He’s not in the same league as David Howard Thornton, but he’s still creepy. Bear however is barely in the film and could really have been left out without much effect on the plot.
Was there meant to be a connection to the original Blood and Honey rendered moot by the changes to the Poohniverse canon between it and the sequel. Or is his presence a coincidence? In a similar vein, one of the characters is writing a book, Mouseboat Massacre, which is also the title of an upcoming film from ITN featuring a killer Mickey. Another coincidence, or will there be a connection?
Whatever the story behind it, an abortive attempt at a sequel to Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey or a badly edited standalone feature, Mouse of Horrors may not be objectively good, but it is bloody, and bloody strange enough, to keep me amused at the absurdity of it all. If that isn’t enough for you, you can listen for vocal contributions from genre veterans Geretta Geretta (Rats: Night of Terror, Murder Rock: Dancing Death) and Michelle Bauer (The Land That Time Forgot, Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge).
**½ 2.5/5
Mouse of Horrors is available on digital platforms, including Tubi.
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