The Mouse Trap Review
Once in a while I'll see a movie that reminds me of how I'm more of a human rope in a tug-o-war between two players: my nightmares and the real world at its worst. As for the movie it's really impossible to choose an angle. I can either bring up the other Mickey horror films like Vanishing of the SS Willie and Suicidemouse, or I can bring up movies that paved the way for the director, be they public domain exploitation like Blood and Honey, Canadian Revisionist Exploitation like Mandy or Hobo with a shotgun, or even a borderline mixture of both like The Banana Splitz movie (though that one was more up for grabs rather than public domain). But I'd rather bring one up that I couldn't help but recall which had a somewhat similar feel given the aesthetic if not morbid creativity: 24 Hour Diner. In my review I talk about how I was once knee-deep into comics before the weight of reality crushed it beyond salvaging. Maybe that's the case with Mickey Mouse now that he has become what I can only describe as a horror movie version of a certain Don Henley song from the late 80s. On one hand it is disheartening that a face from our childhood has finally proved that our ideas of sacred and immortality are like the first two victims of this film: useless once they fuck. However I will laud The Mouse Trap for this: while one moment it feels like Tommy Wiseau's remake of Manos, the next it gives me quotes to think about like "you know what they say about bullies: they only respond to strength". It's certainly not the kind of film that wants to asociate itself with Steamboat Willie past Mickey's face and name (in fact the tongue-in-cheek opening makes it clear that Disney wasn't even flattered). But the fact this movie exists without any of my involvement other than to review proves that Mickey, much like anything else I've enjoyed in my youth, will never be immune to that void we develop once we hit adulthood. We want to hold on to the good inside of us, but the darkness that opaques it very much exists, and Mickey's Mouse Trap is that rare yet tragic testament to the form it takes. I know my words have reached their limit here even as they may or may not come afterwards. But one thing I can certainly add is a quote that worked on this sort of level during the first act:
"Seeing as you're saying goodbye to childhood I figured it made sense".