Escape from Tomorrow is notable for one reason and one reason only: getting made, on the fly, and under the nose of the Disney Corporation and for that, it’s a commendable flick, but the story breaks down though the cast do well enough all things considered.
Escape from Tomorrow
(2014)
Genre(s): Fantasy, Drama
Cinedigm | NR – 90 min. – $19.97 | April 29, 2014 (Best Buy Exclusive)
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Randy Moore Writer(s): Randy Moore (written by) Cast: Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Jack Dalton, Danielle Safady, Annet Mahendru, Alison Lees-TaylorDISC INFO: Features: Commentaries, Featurette, Theatrical Trailer Number of Discs: 1 Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1) Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.85 Subtitles: English Disc Size: 20.8 GB Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Region(s): A |
THE MOVIE – 2.0/5
“Bad things happen everywhere.”
If the cover isn’t provocative, the blood dripping hand of one Mickey Mouse, the subject and location shooting of Escape of Tomorrow certainly attracted much attention around the Net as the filmmaker who took it to the Mouse and basically won. Unfortunately beyond the controversial elements, the first half is dull while the second is a jumbled senseless mess, though much kudos to writer/director Randy Moore accomplished, so there’s that.
The movie follows an apparently loving family consisting of father Jim (ROY ABRAMSOHN), mother Emily (ELENA SCHUBER), obnoxious from the get-go son Elliot (JACK DALTON) and whiny daughter Sara (KATELYN RODRIGUEZ). They are at the tail-end of their vacation in Walt Disney World taking in the sites, standing in long lines for popular rides and paying too much for processed food.
Oh, and something unusual is going on in the park as Jim, and even in one instance Emily, begin seeing strange things. Add to that, there are two cute French teens (DANIELLE SAFADY, ANNET MAHENDRU) that catch Jim’s eye and, with son in tow, begins stalking them around the park. Yeah, it’s as creepy as it sounds though they manage to be in the same places as Jim which is unusual considering the size of WDW… But Jim’s attraction to the two doesn’t go unnoticed by Emily who, as the film progresses, becomes more and more agitated and, well, an all around beeyatch. This is the point of the movie, and how the filmmakers were allowed to release it: it’s a parody of the happiest place on Earth slogan Disney flaunts.
There’s some weird sh** that goes on in the third act that I’m still not entirely sure what it was all about, though it involves a secret lab inside the Epcot sphere and something about imagination or something like that, plus there’s an evil, and sexy witch thrown in as well as a sex scene to round things out. Honestly it was by this point my interest was almost completely gone, though the filmmakers, on such a shoe-string budget, did manage to put together a decently sized and detailed set.
Admittedly while the story was hardly anything special and its only rise to success was the fact the filmmakers managed to make the film under the noses of Disney personnel notorious for their security practices, beyond that Escape from Tomorrow really isn’t that interesting of a movie. To be fair, I will give some props to the cast who managed to do fairly well under what must’ve been frantic circumstances and even the kids, who did eventually get on my nerves (the son especially) weren’t awful and seemed to be able to go with the flow.
Hardly a terrible movie, Escape from Tomorrow might be worth a watch if only for the novelty factor, other than that, though, this is a one-trick pony only worth one viewing and will be left as a footnote for the obvious reasons.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5
This release comes with a matted slip cover.
Audio Commentaries – There are two tracks: the first is with writer/director Randy Moore and DP Lucas Lee Graham and the second is with Actors Roy Abramsohn and Elena Schuber who, unfortunately, are in-character rather than giving their experience as actors…
The Making of Escape from Tomorrow (15:06; HD) takes a look at the concept of the film and how writer/director Moore’s own memories visiting Disney in conjunction with taking his own family played into the concept of the film. This includes interviews with the cast and crew and talks about getting around the legal aspects.
Also included is a Theatrical Poster Gallery as well as the Theatrical Trailer (1:06; HD).
Previews – Meth Head, The Motel Life
VIDEO – 3.25/5
Escape from Tomorrow arrives on Blu-ray through Cinedigm presented with a 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. The movie is in black and white and shot digitally but doesn’t look the best, though understandable outside of a few scenes shot off-location on a soundstage or other places. Many scenes show some artifacting and pixilation and detail levels are about average, though fairly clear in some scenes.
AUDIO – 3.5/5
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is anything but special though dialogue levels are clear while the other elements, especially on-location at Disney, is pretty limited and flat. The music and score comes through fairly well though and although it’s hardly a dynamic lossless track it’s serviceable enough, however.
OVERALL – 2.5/5
Overall, Escape from Tomorrow is notable for one reason and one reason only: getting made, on the fly, and under the nose of the Disney Corporation and for that, it’s a commendable flick, but the story breaks down though the cast do well enough all things considered. The Blu-ray released by Cinedigm offers adequate audio/video whiles the features, limited as they may be, to be fairly interesting.
The Movieman
Published: 04/22/2014