Escape from Tomorrow

If I'm being totally honest, it really doesn't matter what the storyline of Escape from Tomorrow is about because the story behind the filming will be what sells it to an audience. For those who do not know, Escape from Tomorrow is a bizarre fantasy-psychological horror, the majority of which was shot in and around Disney World and Disneyland in the US. The key point about all this is that the filmmakers did not have permission from Disney to film within their parks (or indeed distribute the film post-production) and so the cast and crew simply paid to enter the park each day and, under the guise of just being a normal family on a day out, set about filming all the scenes they needed as tourist went about their normal vacations around them.

The film centers around Jim, a family man, and his wife and two children. Jim is stressed because he has a whole world of troubles waiting for him when he gets home from his holiday so decides to make the most of his last day at Disney. From here, things start to get a little Lynchian, with It's a Small World figures faces twisting into ghoulish grins and even his own son transforming before his eyes (see the still form the trailer above).

Whilst the film is fairly slow-paced, it does allow us to witness Jim's slide into apparent madness in minute detail. The use of monochrome through is beautiful and adds a malevolence to the Disney park that would otherwise not be available had the director gone with a full colour film. The cast actually do very well with the bizarre situation they must have found themselves in and play their parts well, especially the two children who succeed in both being normal annoying small children and creepy aryan-esque characters.

If I were to pick out one flaw with this film, it would be the last 20 minutes or so, where we are completely immersed into the sci-fi/horror element of the film and it is obvious we are no longer in the theme park but on a set. I found myself becoming so used to seeing the sites and sounds of Disney that I found it a little jarring when suddenly we were so obviously no longer in the park, but maybe this is just a personal issue rather than one which will be troublesome to all viewers.

Providing that Disney do not suddenly go all out to pull the plug on this film (I'm sure the Distributors breathe a sigh of relief each day when a letter from them doesn't arrive on their doormat!) then this has the potential to become somewhat of a cult-classic down the line, if not for the film's story, then certainly for the voyeuristic value alone.