Several weeks back I interviewed filmmaker Lilton Stewart III about a horror film he has in development. He caught my attention by creating a dark vision of one of my favorite characters, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. At this point, we all know that when a character goes into public domain, two things are going to happen: someone’s going to do a horror film with it and the other thing I’d rather not identify as I still occasionally pretend that kids read this site.
Two different horror films riffing off “Steamboat Willie” are in development, but nobody had talked about Oswald. As Mickey’s “older brother,” he’d already been in the public domain for over a year. When I saw the press release announcing Oswald Down the Rabbit Hole, I was skeptical. I’m still squinting at it with one eye, but Lilton has a good concept. Now for the execution…
This teaser released while I was in Japan, but it has potential. Just like Oswald.
From Lilton’s description:
Don’t cross this unlucky soul-hangry rabbit.
Art and some of his closest friends help track down his long-lost family lineage. When they find and explore his Great-Grandpa Oswald’s abandoned home, they encounter a magical TV that teleports them to a place lost in time, shrouded by dark Hollywood Magic. The group finds that they are not alone when they discover Oswald’s come-to-life cartoon Rabbit, a dark entity that decides their souls are it’s for the taking. Art and his friends must work together to escape their magical prison before the Rabbit gets to them first.
There’ll be no honey, but there will be blood.
Okay, but now who’s got Koko the Clown?
You can follow the film’s development at oswaldsrabbit.com.
