Review of Escape from Tomorrow (2013) by Kyle H — 20 Aug 2014

The daring. The innovation. The utter balls on the man behind the consumer grade camcorder. It was all anyone could talk about coming out of Sundance in 2013. Critics swore they had just seen a once in a lifetime film, the likes of which might never again see the light of day.

Filmmaker Randy Moore could have made a film about a father losing his job in the middle of a family trip to an amusement park as a straightforward drama, and it would have been a glazed over piece of typical festival fare.

The fact that he, instead, has the father descend into a Lynchian nightmare, complete with demonic rides and streetwalker mascots raised some eyebrows. The fact that he shot the entire thing, without permits or permission, in the happiest (and most copyright protected) place on earth, Walt Disney World, blew some minds.

After the dust had settled, and iFC mounted an official release for the film, the reception was lukewarm at best, but likely because critics were hoping for an indictment of Disney, and instead found a bold, clever film about the doldrums of suburban life, and the importance of dreams.

Wild and racy, sure, and certainly not something Disney would have endorsed, but in the end, it expresses the importance of places like Disney, the importance of dreaming, and of wanting more. Flooded with Cronenberg-esque creeps, Nabokovian nubiles, and dozens of scenes where you'll audibly mutter "How'd they pull it off?", Escape From Tomorrow may not be what you expect, but it's like nothing you've ever seen.