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Movie Review: Escape from Tomorrow

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The fact that Escape from Tomorrow exists at all is astonishing; that it was picked up for distribution is virtually unbelievable.

Director Randy Moore shot his controversial debut film largely on location at Walt Disney World and Disneyland – entirely incognito and without permission. The effort became one of the most talked-about movies of last year’s Sundance Film Festival, but many assumed it would never make it to home video due to the notoriously litigious Walt Disney Company. With the help of a good lawyer and Disney’s surprising decision to ultimately ignore its existence, Escape from Tomorrow has arrived on DVD and Blu-ray.

The making of Escape from Tomorrow instantly became the stuff of legend, but the big question is: does the film live up to the hype? Unfortunately, I have to say that the story behind the film is more interesting than the content – although it’s used as more than just a gimmick as well.

Escape from Tomorrow can technically be billed as a horror film, but it’s more of an arthouse cinema experiment. It’s presented in black and white, stripping Disney of its vibrant color pallet. The production would have been decidedly easier to pull off as a found footage film, but Moore and cinematographer Lucas Lee Graham went to painstaking lengths to achieve a cinematic look – although the guerrilla-style occasionally embraces a cinema verite ethos.

Escape from Tomorrow is about – what else? – a family on vacation at Disney. (It’s never specified whether they’re at World or Land; the park is an amalgam of both Disney properties.) Father Jim (Roy Abramsohn, Creepshow III), mother Emily (Elena Schuber), daughter Sara (Katelynn Rodriguez), and son Elliot (Jack Dalton) compose the seemingly happy, average family.

The activity centers on Jim, who first begins hallucinating while on It’s a Small World (featured here without its infectiously annoying music for legal reasons). He becomes increasingly obsessed with a pair of teenage French girls his family keeps running into. While the first two acts provide an interesting setup, the rest of the film devolves into a Mickey Mouse-fueled acid trip that culminates in an ending so bizarre that it would leave David Lynch scratching his head.

Given the left-field conclusion, I was hoping Blu-ray’s audio commentary with Moore and Graham would provide insight into the film. While the pair share some fun anecdotes, the track – much like the movie – leaves many questions unanswered. There is a second commentary featuring Abramsohn and Schuber in character, which is entertaining, but I would have much preferred to hear the actors’ perspectives on working on such a unique project. Far more informative is the disc’s 15-minute making-of featurette.

Disney may be the happiest place on earth, but it must have been hellish to secretly film a movie in the parks (along with some less-than-convincing green screen work). Not only did the cast and crew have to avoid drawing attention to themselves, but they also had to stand in line all day to go on several of the rides many times overall with a pair of young child actors and while charting the sun’s position to achieve the perfect shot. Escape from Tomorrow brings guerrilla filmmaking to a whole new level. While the surreal final product may be less interesting than the story behind the scenes and the social commentary may be largely lost as a result, the film is worth seeking out for its fortitude alone.

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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