A very twisted vision of the happiest place on Earth, Escape from Tomorrow is more clever in it's concept than its execution.
Independent filmmaker Randy Moore somehow snuck into Disney World and Disneyland and was able to film his actors all over the park, on many classic rides and gather enough footage to tell quite a dark tale.
In the film's opening scenes, everyman Dad, Jim finds out via phone that he has lost his job, but he keeps that news to himself, hoping to salvage a great day at the parks with his family.
He is soon off to Disney World with his wife Emily and kids Sara and Elliott.
Very soon, things start to seem "off" at the park and these events graduate from a lot of folks coughing and growing ill to some very demonic faces on animatronic characters and park goers.
Hey, who hasn't felt like a lot of those figures in It's A Small World are evil little bastards, right?
But as clever as the concept is, the execution isn't able to hold up the promise of the premise.
While something evil certainly is afoot, it's never really defined clearly enough and the film begins to ramble a bit, but you have to give the actors credit for being very good and believable, including the kids. You will definitely wonder how they got some of the shots in the parks.
Disney has taken a very hands off approach to the film, even with the filmmakers stealing the Disney font for their poster, along with an image of Mickey Mouse's bloody glove.
If you combined a perfect day at Disney World with David Lynch's "Eraserhead", you'd end up with this quirky, black & white independent film.
Interesting concept, smart premise, but only fair execution earn it a C.
Comments