Review of Escape from Tomorrow (2013) by Allan C — 14 Jun 2014

Flawed but intriguing nightmare fantasy film about a beleaguered dad, Roy Abramsohn, taking his wife and kids to Disney World where his reality becomes a nightmare mix of fantasy and reality. The nightmare involves a seductive older lady, two French girls the dad decides to follow around the park, a sinister ride through It's A Small World and a nasty bout of the "cat flu".

Sound disjointed? Well, it is. The Disney setting is an exaggeration of the surface happiness that is supposed to be the American family and it's a clever idea for a film that is ripe with opportunities, but the film is disjointed and doesn't have a clear structure to it, which may have been intentional, but ends up making the film seem rather aimless and too often tedious.

Still, it's darkly clever at times with a few nice surreal touches here and there, particularly those playing off of the Disney setting. The film certainly ins't going to appeal to most audiences, but it's a worth checking for folks wanting something different, even if it doesn't all quid work.

The film also has an added level of interest when watching because it was all filmed on location at Disney World and Disneyland guerilla style, without the consent of Disney.