Escape from Tomorrow

"Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas"

While I'm usually the first to get behind any kind of scathing indictment of soulless mass consumerism and empty, artificially manufactured happiness, I must confess… I'm actually a really big fan of Disney World. Seriously. Despite the endless lines, overwhelming crowds, screaming families, rampant germs, infinite advertising, irritating tunes, and subliminal brainwashing, I still can't help but smile whenever I think about crossing those theme park gates. With that said, I'm fully aware of all of the terrors that lurk behind its pearly white veneer, and a part of me was really looking forward to seeing the nightmarish truth beneath all the mouse-eared "magic." Sadly, for the most part, that part of me is still left waiting. Though it garnered quite a lot of controversy and publicity when it premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, Randy Moore's 'Escape from Tomorrow' never really goes far enough to earn all that hoopla. Don't get me wrong, the sheer logistics of its existence and guerilla style production are undeniably impressive, but the resulting film lacks some of the bite that one might expect -- so much so, that even Disney's lawyers don't seem to care. 

The loose plot follows a father, Jim (Roy Abramsohn), on vacation with his wife (Elena Schuber) and two kids (Katelynn Rodriguez & Jack Dalton) at Walt Disney World. After Jim learns that he's been fired from his job, the family hits the park and then things get a little… weird. As the overwhelming experience takes its toll, Jim periodically loses his sanity and becomes obsessed with a pair of young French tourists. "The Happiest Place on Earth" gradually turns into a surreal nightmare, and a potential conspiracy is revealed. Will Jim survive his family vacation, or will the "House of Mouse" claim yet another victim?

First things first, it's impossible to talk about 'Escape from Tomorrow' without addressing its incredible production history. Simply put, this is a film that should not exist. Shot largely on location at Disney World and Disney Land without the knowledge of either theme park, director Randy Moore basically conducts a guerilla filmmaking heist. Sure, people shoot family videos in Disney parks all the time and a good deal of the movie's footage is taken from studio sets, but the idea of recording an actual narrative feature without permission really is rather insane, and to their credit, the filmmakers mostly pull it off. Faced with the constant threat of getting caught, the intrepid crew grabs the shots that they need, essentially stealing a feature length film right from under Mickey's big, round nose.

Of course, an impressive behind-the-scenes story can only take a flick so far, and the end result still needs to be worthwhile on its own. So, how does the final product fare in that regard? Well, that depends. The film's initial sequences are quite effective, perfectly setting up a typical family vacation. Moore hits all the right beats, highlighting many of the annoyances that come with visiting Disney World. From long lines to nagging spouses and lost kids, these bits all ring true and lead to some solid comedy fueled by a jaded and occasionally crass sense of humor. Likewise, the movie's early excursions into the surreal offer a wonderfully twisted spin on Disney iconography, perverting various, seemingly innocent rides into demonic fever dreams. Moore and company have a lot of fun with these sequences, playing up the inherent trippiness of Disney's attractions through distorted angles, uncomfortable editing, and solid effects (though some greenscreen shots are painfully obvious), giving life to Jim's unsettling hallucinations.

In fact, this initial detour into the surreal becomes the highlight of the movie, and I was left wishing that the filmmakers would have elaborated more on this more visceral style of creepiness. Unfortunately, the runtime instead takes a few slightly unexpected turns, placing an odd amount of emphasis on a muddled subplot featuring a "witch" and a disappointingly half-baked conspiracy dealing with the nefarious Siemens Corporation (I always knew that they were up to no good!). There are still some decent surreal flourishes here and there, but these attempts to develop an actual story beyond the opening "Dad goes crazy on vacation at Disney World" premise prove to be ill-advised. Likewise, despite some superficial satire about consumerism, pillaged dreams, family dynamics, and illusory happiness, the movie never really says anything interesting, and its attempts at an ambiguous conclusion make the whole thing feel like a vague film school project that desperately needs another draft to flesh out its potentially cool ideas.

Though many thought that Disney would threaten legal action against its release, the company has essentially just ignored the film entirely, and based on comments made in the special features, it's actually surprisingly unlikely that they could have made much of a case against it. Despite the flick's rebellious production, it seems that Moore and his team really didn't do anything illegal here. The logistics of their shoot are still very impressive, but much of the controversy surrounding the film really isn't warranted. While not as subversive or clever as it should be, when focused on viscerally surreal images and family satire, the movie works quite well, offering a periodically twisted and gleefully cynical take on the Disney experience. As a whole, 'Escape from Tomorrow' never lives up to the promise of its initial premise, but the film's dark and warped revelations are still guaranteed to make you think twice about booking that flight to Orlando. If nothing else, I sure as hell am never eating those Disney "turkey" legs again!

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

Cinedigm brings 'Escape from Tomorrow' to Blu-ray on a single BD-25 disc that comes housed in a keepcase with a cardboard slipcover. After some skippable trailers, the screen transitions to a standard menu. The packaging indicates that the release is Region A coded. The release is a Best Buy Exclusive from 4/29/14 - 7/28/14.