Last night, on Netflix, I watched the film "Escape from Tomorrow" (EFT), which takes place in the Walt Disney World resort. However, this is NOT a Disney movie, not even by a long shot. The director/writer, Randy Moore, shot this thing guerrilla-style at the parks sans the House of Mouse's permission which gives the whole film a very naughty feeling.
The naughtiness carries through to the story as well. As the film begins we see the main character, Jim, receives a phone call while enjoying the sunrise views of the Magic Kingdom from his balcony at the Contemporary Hotel. Unfortunately, the picturesque scene is shattered when it turns out the phone call is Jim's boss telling him he has been let go from his job. As Jim's day progresses, things spiral into the weird and surreal.
If you are one who enjoys surreal, drug-induced-hallucination-and-paranoia-type movies, this is right up your alley. Alas, I am not really one of those people. Some of elements could have been much worse, but still, a lot of what is in the film went beyond my taste.
The story really reminded me of Cory Doctrow's novel "Down and Out In the Magic Kingdom," which also featured a great deal of paranoia and several trippy elements. The setting probably influenced my familiarity, also. But Doctrow's story seemed to work better than EFT's which at times felt really forced.
The acting was not all that great, either. The only characters I could really get behind were the kids, although being kids in the Magic Kingdom playing kids in the Magic Kingdom probably wasn't all that tough. Especially because long days of secretly shooting a movie and not being able to enjoy your surroundings would make anyone grumpy enough to beliebably portray those children.
Overall, I would say I, personally, didn't enjoy EFT, but it isn't my type of movie, either. I would say if you enjoy campy, surreal, B-type movies, you would probably enjoy this. I'm just not one of those people.
