Do you dare watch the film that Disney didn't want to get made? Today's film is Escape from Tomorrow, which is an arty Indie Film with a strange hook to it. Basically, they decided to shoot a Horror Film (of sorts) at Disney World, but didn't get the rights to do so. As such, they just shot it incognito like they were just Tourists visiting the Park. Stuff like this has been done before, but not on this scale. Would you dare risk the wrath of Disney to make your movie? Well, Randy Moore did and...the big corporation let it go. I know- I'm shocked too. The film tells the tale of a family visiting 'the happiest place on Earth,' but things go awry. Is Dad going insane or is he the only sane one left? To find out (without major SPOILERS), read on...
This family is visiting the Park on Vacation. Unfortunately, the dad gets some bad news to start the day: he's fired.
He's not going to let that ruin his day, since there are teenage French girls to follow around like a creep.
Things start to really get odd when he starts to see scary faces on the 'It's A Small World' Ride.
No, not the normal faces- these ones.
At least nothing is going wrong with the son.
Yep, nothing out of the ordinary.
The mother is concerned at all that has gone on and how strange he's acting. Is it strange though?
I wouldn't dare SPOIL what happens next. Besides, I'm kind of at a loss to properly-explain what happens next. I guess I'll just go on the IMDB Boards and spout my theory until someone agrees with me. The End.
Wow- this one is strange. I do say that alot- I know. The film is interesting and surreal for many reasons. The black-and-white photography (even though it was shot digitally) was done for a functional purpose (to deal with lighting changes out of their control), but also adds a unique look to the film. As a side-note, this is my third black-and-white film in a row, although this one was made about 50 years after either of them! Escape's big appeal is the surreal take on the man's (possible) breakdown and separation from reality. As I joked about, there are as many Theories about this one as there was about Lost (before we knew the *lame* truth). Is he crazy? Is he sane? Is he a robot? Is he from another Dimension? If you really want to know, feel free to watch it yourself. I won't lie- it gets pretty weird. The film is obviously not perfect and has some technical issues (like the use of Green Screen to simulate some environments). If you want to know what all the fuss is about, I definitely recommend it. If you are a fan of 'mind-f#$k' movies like those from David Lynch or his ilk, I definitely recommend it even more. I can't guarantee that you'll like it, but I can definitely say that you'll remember the experience if you make it through to the end. I don't know if you'll 'get it' (if that is possible), because I sure didn't. No matter how you feel, it just may go to your head...
Next up, I wrap up my run of Project Terrible with some Anime. If you like terrible jokes and have ADHD, I have the Show for you! Stay tuned...
No, not the normal faces- these ones.
The mother is concerned at all that has gone on and how strange he's acting. Is it strange though?
Gawd, I'm so friggin't excited for this since I've first heard it. Gonna see it at the /Slash, that's why I haven't read your review yet ;)
ReplyDeleteYou know you want to read it....
DeleteYou know you do...
Succumb to your will. Read it...
Nah, just kidding. I don't really SPOIL anything major here. I look forward to see where you stand on this one.
****SPOILER / THEORY****
ReplyDeleteHi all sorry this has become somewhat muddled since my viewing of the film clearly my brain is trying to purge the memory. Anyways he'res an attempt at theory...
The main character passed away when he was a small child (as depicted in the opening of the film) due to a tragic beheading on Thunder Mountain. Disney's imagineers being learned in cryogenics now that Walt had spearheaded the research by this time. They were able to preserve the boy's head and at a later stage in development of the program eventually were able to extract a portion of the child's memories. There were gaps however and following Walt's directives they took it upon themselves to fashion the boy's android body. Due to the damage caused by the initial trauma and rudimentary cryostasis practices that plagued Phase 1 there were gaps in the youth's consciousness. Using "logic circuits" they filled in certain parts of the brain with Walt's memories and ideas.
In order to preserve the frail human psyche this boy would make frequent stops to the bowels of Epcot for scheduled maintenance. He would get various upgrades so that the mind saw that he would continue to grow, age, and experience other changes just as a normal human would. Of course these trips would be wiped from memory as not to confuse the growing child.
Disney's influence was pervasive in the main char's life, his job, his wife and kid were selected to watch over him for any signs of malfunction.
For the sake of expediency (and the fact that my original post was lost when I tried log in to google account... I will attempt to clear up or explain some of the themes / instances in the film.
"Demonic Visions": Due to minor errors his subconscious and repressed memories were allowed to manifest in some form. At some level the main character has the need to strike out against his crafted life and, of course, Disney.
"French Girls": Actually a memory that surfaced from his childhood. This is unchanged so now that he has gone through various stages of his life it is super creepy now that he is old.
"Epcot-Helm" Actually it's the Neuro-interface for the main character. He is able to receive updates and upgrades while the body undergoes service.
*** there's a couple more points but I cannot recall them atm** will touch base later.