by Early in December I took a trip to Disneyland. In the weeks leading up to the trip I was researching a lot of background information about the park. One thing struck my curiosity. Back in 2013 a group of indie filmmakers released a horror comedy about ‘the happiest place on Earth’ that was quite obviously not endorsed by Disney. My interest was piqued and the film was free to watch on Shudder so I dove in with high apple pie in the sky hopes. I mean, this was right up my alley and what better way for a big time horror fan to get hyped for a trip to Disneyland? I watched this film both before and after my trip, and let me tell you it was not very good on either viewing.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the film is shot entirely in black and white. It’s not significant to the cinematography nor is it particularly artistic; it seems mostly to be an ill attempt to seem ‘edgy.’ The film follows a fellow named Jim White who is vacationing with his family at Disney World. The story begins on the morning of their last day on the trip with Jim learning over the phone that he has been fired from his job back home. He keeps this information to himself so as to not spoil the fun. Jim and his two children and wife are then seen riding the monorail when our protagonist spots two very underage French girls. Being the creepy unhappy with his life sort he begins lightly stalking them around the park unbeknownst to his family. His day takes a turn when he begins hallucinating on the It’s a Small World ride when the animatronic faces begin changing and his family begins verbally assaulting him. This ordeal is very upsetting to Jim and leads he and his wife into getting into an argument where she leaves their son with him to ride some more rides.
The rest of the story… well it’s difficult to explain. Jim continues stalking the two young women leading to some bad decisions involving his son and Space Mountain, he is hypnotized and seduced by an ex Disney Princess, and is abducted by the Siemens Corporation. As hard as it is to believe I didn’t make any of that up; the story takes some really absurd turns to try and shock the viewer. I found myself chuckling at a few of Jim’s shenanigans (mainly how creepy he comes off throughout the story) but in general Escape From Tomorrow is just plain boring. The idea sounds great on paper, but it’s rather clear that the visionaries behind it didn’t have a big picture in mind. They wanted to shock and awe the audience, and had few decent ideas that just didn’t pan out. There’s very little heart behind this project with a director trying too hard to prove how edgy and deep he is. The end product, I imagine much to his chagrin, comes off as a shallow and bored attempt at a surrealist experience.
If there’s one thing to appreciate about this film it’s the guerrilla style in which is was shot. The majority of Escape From Tomorrow was made within both Disneyworld and Disneyland and with such tight security (and an obvious lack of endorsement from Disney) you can imagine the struggles they went through. Just waiting in line for the rides was annoying in my experiences, but I can’t imagine how many times the film crew was forced to in a row to get every shot just right. Just running the logistics of this project you can see how dedicated they were which is admirable considering the vision is so forced. They were on the actual rides and in the actual park, and the highlight of the film is seeing all of the places you recognize. I was pretty disappointed in a few sequences (the obvious green screen puking sequence in particular) but in general this is a pretty impressive endeavor.
This is one of those cases where the premise is much better than the end product. When you hear ‘horror film based around Disneyworld’ that’s what you expect. Not some attempt at satire from a director and writer who is trying too hard to prove he’s edgy and daring. Escape From Tomorrow goes nowhere, and at a very slow pace. The surrealist elements seem entirely detached from the story as if they were added after the director realized he had to spruce up a depressing movie about a bored dad on vacation. No, Randy Moore, you aren’t dark and broody. You’re a hipster with a sincere lack of vision who desperately wants the world to think you’re interesting. Maybe that’s a little harsh, but everything from the black and white color scale to the ludicrous ending sure makes Escape From Tomorrow fit the definition of ‘try hard.’ You can watch the trailer and see all of the film’s best moments in mere seconds rather than slog through the whole boring affair.
Pros
- Unique feel
- Some interesting ideas
Cons
- Tries too hard to be artsy
- Boring overall
