Rating: C+
Dir: Alejandro G. Alegre
Star: Maya Luna, Micho Camacho, David Vaughn, Daniela Porras
The first half of this seems to fall victim to the same problems which are endemic to the genre. There is some potential in an opening, which talks about a half-mouse, half-boy hybrid, Willie fleeing Germany for the United States. There, he seeks sanctuary from bullying and abuse in a remote, decrepit mansion. Where, naturally, he (Vaughn) captures, tortures and skins people, while wearing a Mickey Mouse Steamboat Willie mask. Hey, if not exactly Dostoevsky, there’s a bit of effort. Quite why Willie chooses to wander round with his shirt off so much is less clear, but he does have a nice set of abs, and it would be a shame to cover them up.
With that foundation in place, the film then sits back, as if its work here is done. We meet YouTubers Daniel (Sergio Rogalto) and Nico (Camacho), who figure the urban legends surrounding Willie’s hideaway would make perfect fodder for their channel. Along with them are their more-or-less girlfriends, Nora (Luna) and Jess (Porras), and the film largely grinds to a halt for a solid half-hour as we “get to know” these young people. Quotes used, because I will not be smashing the like or subscribe buttons. I’m presuming the cast are largely Mexican – the movie was made in Michoacan – but speak English, so we’re likely deep in “acting in a second language” territory, and this makes for a bumpy journey.
Things improve somewhat once Willie gets his hands on a couple of them, after they make the inevitably fatal decision to try and have sex. In an abandoned, blood-stained truck. Bit of a warning sign, I would have said. But I am no longer a horny young person, turned on by murder vans. Of course, this being 2025, even slashers are no longer as exploitative of young women as they were, and a quick flash of boob is all we get. The gore only impresses intermittently too. While Willie is enthusiastic about flaying the flesh off his victims (top), the removal of one’s leg at the knee is disappointingly off-screen, and it felt like this was going to peter out into a weak slasher, Disney or not.
However, the final third is laudably fucked-up, and if the final result isn’t a classic, it’s considerably better than this was looking. The uptick is entirely at the door of Nora, who… turns out to be a very strange little girl indeed. We get some hints about this from her ex-boyfriend when he’s talking to Jess about their sex life: this only scratches the surface. I’ll say no more, except to note that it’s a creepy twist on the already potentially questionable ‘Disney adult’ fandom. I feel like going down this road from the start would have been an improvement, offering a satirical twist on the otherwise all-too common slasher approach. If they do I Heart Willie 2 – preferably guerilla filmed at Disneyland – I’m down for that.