Mickey Mouse horror movie trailer drops after character enters public domain

Watch the unhinged trailer for "Mickey's Mouse Trap."

Mickey Mouse is on a murderous rampage.

The trailer for a new live-action Mickey Mouse horror film dropped on the first day of January, when copyright for Disney's classic 1928 short Steamboat Willie ended and entered the public domain. Don't show this to the children, as it features the beloved mouse as a knife-wielding killer.

Titled Mickey's Mouse Trap, the synopsis is as follows: "It's Alex's 21st birthday, but she's stuck at the amusement arcade on a late shift so her friends decide to surprise her. A masked killer dressed as Mickey Mouse decides to play a game of his own with them which she must survive."

Jamie Bailey directed the flick, written by Simon Phillips, who also assumes the role of the murderous mouse. The trailer features a few clips from Steamboat Willie played from a projector, which sets the stage for the horrors to come. A threatening message flashes on the screen: "A place for fun, a place for friends, a place for hunting. The mouse is out."

The movie, which does not have a release date yet, also stars Sophie McIntosh, Callum Sywyk, Allegra Nocita, Ben Harris, Damir Kovic, Mackenzie Mills, and Nick Biskupek.

A horror video game from Nightmare Forge, titled "Infestation 88," also twists Steamboat Willie into a much more sinister tale. Other cultural works from 1928 have since lost their copyright protections following their 95-year term, including the character of Tigger from A. A. Milne's House at Pooh Corner and Peter Pan from J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan; or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up.

Mickey is, of course, not the first children's character to receive the horror treatment. Winnie-the-Pooh also received the slasher treatment in last year's Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey after the character entered public domain. A sequel is set to release sometime this year.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey director says sequel will have at least 5 times the budget
  

• 'We were in hysterics': The behind-the-scenes story of viral sensation Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

• Why horror movies are killing it at the box office

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.