Escape from Tomorrow

A really interesting concept turned into a schizofrenic mishmash. If the film had focused on just Sleazy Dad Shenanigans or Deadly Sickness In A Happy Place or Theme Parks Are Kinda Creepy Without All The Color or The Great Experiment In The Metal Testicle, something more substantial might've come out of this guerilla filmmaking experiment. On the plus side, I think I just unwittingly wrote down the first 4 track titles of my upcoming black metal accordion album.

"Well, we've got the ballsy gimmick so who the hell needs a script, right? We'll just improvise whateverthefuck and call it "surrealism"... that's just a posh term for "weird shit", anyway. God, I'm starving! Where's the cocaine?"

You have to love the idea of a guerilla movie made at Disney World itself, even if some of the scenes are obviously digital inserts. Moore has a lot of ideas of what to do with it, and when it works, it really works, both in terms of comedy and social commentary ("You can't be happy ALL THE TIME! It's not possible!"). Unfortunately, that's not all of it, and much of the movie just feels half-baked, more confused than confusing.

This movie is the result of cramming everything a person might think of while at Disney into a single work, but without any further plot or purpose. We see sexual fantasies played out, nightmarish interpretations of imagery, disease in the wake of crowding people, and more - all the while wishing for the film to develop a deeper social or psychological commentary. Unfortunately, this movie squanders the potential it develops on a nonsensical ending that leaves the audience shaking its head.

The public image of the Disney amusement parks has been so rigidly controlled by its corporate overlords, that there's a kind of illicit thrill to be had watching this film continually present any reality that dares to contradict the company's saccharine "family-friendly" mandate. Unfortunately, this same idea is played out over and over again. Except 4 a clever take on a Wicked Queen's origins, the thematically repetitive narrative goes nowhere compelling, funny or even comprehensible.

Forget that it's a little rough around the edges - that its pacing is wonky, the greenscreen is noticeable, and it's a bit repetitive. This is basically a badass piece of outsider art that, even if Disney World wasn't a real place, would still be awesomely unhinged and insane. That Moore et al had the stones to produce this only adds to what a trip it is.

Given its guerrilla nature, it looks pretty well-shot, but it's too bad that the film's most urgent theme -- the white man losing his mind/being swallowed by erotic fantasies while spending time with his family in the most entertaining (and safest) place on earth -- gets weakened by naive, sometimes clumsy visual manipulations -- that thing with the eyes of his kid and park attractions, for example. This place doesn't need tricks to seem creepy. That's why, as a fake doc, this looks great.

About forty minutes of really interesting, really provocative material crammed into an hour and a half. The two little French girls are cute, and the first forty minutes do provide us with a little bit to think about, but it gets progressively dumber as it goes, jettisoning all its good will along the way. Ultimately not worth the hype or your time.

A supposedly fun thing i'll never do again.

The project of making Disney World seem utterly repulsive is obviously a legitimate goal - for an entire life, let alone merely a film. At this, the film at least partly succeeds.

A genuinely interesting slice of nightmarish surreality set in a somewhat ominous, monochrome Disney. It perhaps lacked a bit of coherence, but it got under my skin in the way that some bad dreams do - felt like dream logic was operating throughout. Well done to the makers for pulling off the in-park filming. I can't imagine it's for everyone, but it's worth checking out once.

This movie is fucking awful, but the concept and filming are often so strong that I cannot deny how important it is at the same time? I don't know how I feel anymore. #catflu

Interesting only because of the way in which it was shot. The content is obvious, predictable and (outside of a handful of standout moments) dull. It just seems to hit you over the head with "Disney: safest place on Earth, or SCARIEST PLACE ON EARTH. AM I RIGHT, FOLKS?!?"

It doesn't take long for any viewer to realize they don't want to watch home movies of another family's bad vacation, why watch this one? Its perplexity lies with the simple fact that it's a black comedy that's just not funny. Anything just becomes nonsense when you can't even tell if something's a joke, none the less a poor one. Audacity alone is not enough to save a humorless misguided plot. Want to know why Disney never sued? Their team watched the film and concluded, "This will bury itself."

It's half a good movie, half an excuse for a group of people to go have a good time at Disney and try to get some money out of it. It never quit reached its potential in any drama, suspense, or horror elements. The ending also managed to be good and bad at the same time. I would like to have seen a version of this with a bit better script.

An hour and a half movie about a family arguing and an unlikeable guy going insane because of it. Sometimes the family arguments would be interrupted by weird things but LUCKY FOR US the movie ignores that and goes straight back to family arguments. Just go watch old family movies instead, they're shorter.

Ballsy but just kind of all over the place.

To anyone that comes from a family obsessed with Disney World (I've been there over 20 times, no joke), Escape From Tomorrow will be cathartic in a gleefully morbid kind of way, as it features plenty of farce, satire, smut, lust, nightmare, and humor that indirectly captures what a "bad day" at the park feels like. Trust me. The fact that it takes place at Disney World itself adds such a strange dimension to the movie that makes it completely unique and without peer.

This film will always boast an awesome production story, and I admire the audacity of filming a dark satire of Disney within the actual parks (I'll never know how they managed to get away with that!), but this is an unfortunate mess. There's no momentum or logic at all to ground the surrealism, the acting is spotty, it's technically lacking (some really bad green screen and awkward dubbing), and the satire is too scattered to have any pointedness or power. Audacious but sadly disappointing.

A just-fired husband and father of two (Roy Abramsohn) spends a day with his family at Disney World, and has increasingly surreal visions and encounters. The guerrilla location shooting is its main claim to fame; what begins as a pointed satire on the theme park experience ultimately takes a wrong turn into sci-fi/horror, becoming increasingly incoherent (and misogynistic). Some brilliantly directed scenes, lovely B&W cinematography, and a lush, allusive score keep it from collapsing utterly.

I was expecting something a bit more pointed and critical. There is a bit of that, but it's mostly backdrop for a bizarre psychological breakdown with some surreal elements. That's not really a complaint, though. It plays mostly as a black comedy and, while it's a bit amateurish, it's very effective at delivering both laughs and a sense of disorientation, frustration and disillusionment. The novelty and strangeness of the whole thing makes it worth watching despite some flaws.

Like a fever dream that twists the real Disney World into a nightmarish alternate universe where the Disney princesses are hookers and kids turn into monsters. The fact that the movie exists at all is a revelation, and makes for an intriguing viewing, but I wouldn't call it good by any means. The plot has a disjointed, unfinished feeling and the acting is pretty bad. Disappointing considering the ballsy filmmaking and overall story.

"Escape from Tomorrow" is a unique and controversial film shot secretly at Disney theme parks. While the concept is intriguing, the limitations in filming and storytelling hinder its entertainment value. The black and white visuals are a highlight, but the confusing plot and message leave viewers scratching their heads. Kudos to the filmmakers for their effort, but it's not a movie for everyone.

This was not good.

I was hoping the movie went where the firsts glimpses were indicating but nope... surreal as fukc.

A slightly lynchian fever dream at the worlds biggest happy place. Goes from "Hey, where is this going?" to "What the actual fuck?" pretty quickly while staying endearing throughout. The black & white visuals mix very well with all the stolen shots from the Disneyworld grounds. Good surreal indie horror.

There's the subversive concept and absolutely nothing worthwhile done with it. It's practically an Aristocrats joke.

Wtf but grand score by Korzeniowski.

While I appreciate the guerrilla tactics used to film Escape from Tomorrow, ultimately the story behind the film turns out to be more interesting than the one in it. The plot starts off as simultaneously humorous and depressing, but eventually degenerates into incohesive silliness, which isn't nearly as fun as it sounds. The direction and acting are decent giving the circumstances, but overall the film is a bit of a let down.

If this was a short film - say 30 minutes long - it could have such great momentum that you wouldn't notice the flaws and you'd be swept along watching a bizarre little surreal tale. At full length it's tedious and rather pointless

The mere fact that Disney World opened back up in the middle of a global pandemic is a million times scarier than anything in this garbage film

The pace was a little too slow for the kind of movie I was expecting. But I definitely don't want to go to Disneyworld/land after seeing this.

The premise is interesting, which made me watch it (that and its polarizing effect on reviewers here), but the film isn't really successful. That isn't to say it's a complete loss. I thought for being a guerilla film, it was quite well made. It's problem is that the film is kind of incoherent. On that scale of incoherence, I'd put it about a quarter of a step down from Holy Motors, but Upstream Color makes this look like a masterpiece.

I was prepared for this to leave a lot to be desired, but oh, how silly, unappealing, and pointless it turned out. The protagonist's own weak will is his downfall; we're told and eventually shown that the park is evil, but it doesn't feel that way. Childish and unsatisfying throughout.

Ok, a guerrilla-style movie that exposes Disneyland as a den of evil and unhappiness can't score too bad with me. However, I must say that even though I wasn't entirely sober when watching it, Escape from Tomorrow was a little bit too trippy and querky for me. But it did leave behind a strong feeling of trepidation/fear. And stay away from those far too young girls you weirdo...

The concept is brilliant and the fact that they managed to get this made is brilliant. The story falls a little short of well executed, though and the acting is downright scary.

Creepy, mysterious, and masterfully crafted.

It gets 5 points based on the gutsy concept. Utterly inept trash. Top to bottom, a terrible film.

An interesting and unforgettable film.

really wild imagination...great potential missed...

Wow! Surprised at how negative most of the reviews are for this. I enjoyed it. If you are curious, go ahead and indulge yourself.

Overall Enjoyment: 30/40, Plot/Themes: 10/20, Cinematography/Direction: 11/20, Acting/Writing: 9/20

sucks

58.500

Viewed October 25, 2013. Brilliant concept, weak execution. If it were me, and I was going to do the insane thing of secretly shooting a movie in Disney World, I'd treat it as an amazing opportunity and make something out of it, rather than a half-baked attempt at weirdness that culminates in a disgustingly lame finale. Love the cinematography and score, though.

Fuck yes!

Much more of a comedy than I expected, though that's not a bad thing. It's almost entirely balls out crazy though, both for the better and for the worse. Some of the jokes feel very amateurishly low-brow, and it feels far too thinly-spread and scattershot for having such a short runtime. It's not terrible, but it's solidly stuck in 'okay'.

Yes, you can have a bad time at Disney World, but that alone does not make a good movie. Bad acting, bad dialogue, and the ending is a mess.

An incredibly surrealistic take on Disney and it's nightmare. Loved how it was shot and the entire idea behind guerrilla filmmaking is fascinating, but I didn't care one bit for Jim. Pretty much from the beginning I did not like his character and that kind of ruined the movie for me. The monochromatic style and the subtle spiral into insanity was well done and I had hoped for more of that. Regardless, this is one of the most unique movies I have ever seen or will ever see.