It’s A Small, Horrifying World After All

Juan Barquin

 

Throughout my life as a Florida resident and former owner of a Disney World annual pass, the conversation of how Disney keeps everything so pristine, magical, and happy all the time has popped up more often than one might expect. “You can’t be happy all the time,” whispers one of the villains of the daring little film, “Escape From Tomorrow,” and she’s quite right.

All sorts of shameful disasters and secrets have leaked from the depths of Disney, but so rarely has anyone attempted to create and present their own far out conspiracies in the same manner that writer-director Randy Moore has with his nightmarish work. Moore’s guerrilla project sends his cast and crew trekking through the Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, and EPCOT parks without their permission in order to capture a rather imaginative story of sex and lies.

Jim (Roy Abramsohn), husband and father of two, has just discovered he’s lost his job midway through a family vacation. It is with this revelation that a mid-life crisis of sorts kicks off, leading to eerie delusions and sexual encounters that would scar the most mentally stable of men.

As insanely imaginative as Randy Moore’s film is, it is just as wild in its tone, which is both a hindrance and a benefit. There’s a horror to it that works beautifully hand in hand with the dark comedy of this playfully surreal Disney exposé. It’s the arguably more ridiculous moments, performances included, that throw the film off track a bit.

That giddy camp he brings in is often a reminder of how low budget the film really is, with the make-up and special effects sometimes being as over the top as some characters and plot twists. Regardless of the fact, it’s an enjoyable ride helped along by fireworks, explosions, and a lot of smart filmmaking tactics that Moore and director of photography Lucas Lee Graham utilized in filming covertly.

It’s rather unnerving but fascinating to witness the way that the distinct lack of color that comes with black and white photography affects Disney’s mood. While Abel Korzeniowski’s old-fashioned score places emphasis on a classical Disney, Moore and Graham craft the most menacing sequences out of innocuous rides like It’s A Small World or Big Thunder Mountain.

One line in the film pays a perfect tribute to how genuinely interesting “Escape From Tomorrow” really is, flaws and all, and that’s, “You’ve got quite an imagination, just like old W himself.” There’s no denying that Randy Moore is one imaginative guy, and this daring film is all the proof he needs.

Ignore the controversy, ignore the silly claims of potential lawsuits, and simply enter expecting a humorous nightmare that just happens to take place in and poke fun at the happiest place on earth. Those who have been to the parks as much as I have will more than likely find themselves just as lost in this imperfect, but spellbinding, little feature. However, those who have never been might just be coaxed into never visiting for fear of their own dark experience.

“Escape From Tomorrow” opens October 11th at the Miami Beach Cinematheque, O-Cinema, the Koubek Center, and On Demand.