Review of Escape from Tomorrow (2013) by Thomas W — 16 Oct 2013

I give the filmmaker behind Escape from Tomorrow credit for making something this boldly original and for the spoofing/skewering of our society's ideal of perfect entertainment (that is anything but cheap .

.. as it comes with some major costs). Jim and his family embark on a family holiday to Disneyland where his merely-attractive wife (there is a great segment in the film about this) and overly-excited kids hope to have the time of their lives .

.. although Jim becomes haunted by spooky images and other paranoid visions. His subconscious doesn't allow him to enjoy himself as he becomes obsessed with two cute teenage girls and he worries about his family's life and whether or not he can provide for them as he has just lost his job (unrevealed thus far to his wife).

His kids become hassles and he doesn't really want to see his wife. The entire film becomes something rather bizarre and the simple narrative of "a family spending a day at Disneyland" even becomes suspect when things become surreal and reality becomes both skewed and altered.

We even get a mad scientist and a decapitation ... just because. The film is shot in black and white for effect ... and it does help. The colorful world of Disney isn't what we have come to expect .

.. nor is this film. I think a repeat viewing would answer a few of the unanswered questions I still have regarding it; but I do appreciate the scathing critique the film has on us and our consumerist mindsets.

The ending means what? Let's repeat to figure it out: The film starts with Jim ...