The Controversial Thriller Shot Inside of Disney World Is Now Public

Jul 20, 2015
3 min read

I remember it was late on a Thursday night in late January and it was absolutely freezing. I remember this like it was yesterday, but in stark reality it was Sundance 2014 and I was sitting in the Egyptian Theater on Main Street, Park City about to watch what would be one of the most terrifying movies I have seen on the big screen. But the movie I came to watch that night was not the movie I’m talking about today. As I sat with my colleague Hermione (yes, that’s her birth name) waiting for the film to start, a man behind me leaned over and asked if I had heard of the film ‘Escape From Tomorrow” that was debuting in a few days at the festival. The movie title didn’t ring a bell, though he noticed my hoodie and assumed that I worked for Disney (I was wearing an old parade department sweater from when I danced in parades at Disneyland when I was 17…that will come in handy later and yes, I do still fit in my High School hoodie, lol). I told him I hadn’t heard of the film and that I don’t work for the company anymore…but I was intrigued as to why he found it so urgent to ask me about this particular movie. He said that apparently, the Walt Disney Company had tried to get some sort of injunction against it screening at the festival. I was of course appalled by this and asked him why the company would go through such lengths to stop it from screening. He then said two of the most haunting sentences I had ever heard in a very long time:

“Some guy snuck into the park for two years and shot an entire movie inside the gates. Best thing is, it’s an incredibly terrifying thriller.”

After living my childhood within those gates, not being able to sleep the night before going to Disneyland and after working for the company for over five years, I couldn’t believe Disney could have let this happen. At first I was shocked, hurt almost. Then I was utterly fascinated, almost obsessed because I knew I ABSOLUTELY had to see this movie. What’s incredible about Sundance is that your film must be a world premiere to screen. No eyes other than the creative team could have seen the film or any public display could have been hosted prior to your Sundance debut…so this was my chance to see something that would soon change the image of Disney Parks forever.

The film is shot almost completely within the gates of Disney World Park and focuses on destruction, twisting of visual themes and darkening of the likeness of some of the most iconic and favorite monuments across the Disney Parks. The theme of the film focuses around a dysfunctional family vacation to the parks where the father is a womanizing alcoholic, stumbling through the vacation with his mundane excuse for a family. His children appear to turn into demons, ‘It’s A Small World’ dolls turn to Chuckie-like characters and the EPCOT ball is used in a very questionable and terrorizing way. I promise you, I’m not making any of this up. You MUST see for yourself to believe it.

THE LOVINGOOD REVIEW:

After being able to see the film for the first time before most eyes, I have to say that it is as haunting as you would imagine. The nuances and the familiarity of the scenery attacks your senses like never before. It’s almost as if you’re participating in the viewing of your childhood house being terrorized and robbed in a spectator-sport kind of way. It was fascinating and I loved every minute of it. The film is scored beautifully by Abel Korzeniowski (Romeo and Juliet, A Single Man, Metropolis) and is a ride that you cannot take back. I would not suggest this film for children if you’d like to keep their innocence. If you’re an adult who still wants to keep the magic of Disney World alive, I would skip this one. But for the devout, thrill-seeking daredevils like myself, this will not disappoint. BTW, the film is also shot completely in black and white, which gives a Hitchcock-type nuance that is irresistibly freighting. So, without further ado, Lovingood Filmclub brings you Escape From Tomorrow, available now: