Escape from Tomorrow - Blu-ray

Movie: It's supposed to be the most wonderful time for Jim (Roy Abramsohn), his wife Emily (Elena Schubert) and their two children together as they visit the world's most famous and popular theme park. But even as Jim receives his notice by phone on the morning of the last day of his vacation, he suspects that this day will be anything but happy. And indeed, Jim keeps drifting off into strange daydreams, losing more and more control over his mind. Soon he can no longer distinguish what is reality or what he may be imagining. Are the princesses in the park really earning extra money as high-class prostitutes? Who are the two young French girls who have turned his head and whom he keeps running into? Have his son's eyes really turned black? And what is going on behind the scenes at Neuland? And so what started out as a happy family holiday turns into a real horror trip that Jim can't seem to escape...

Escape from Tomorrow is a film whose genesis is actually far more interesting than the finished product. For admittedly, director Randy Moore did not get permission to shoot at Disneyland. And so he, his actors and his small team had to shoot secretly, always accompanied by the fear of being unmasked by security personnel or one of the countless surveillance cameras and expelled from the amusement park. And even when all the scenes were in the can, publication was far from a foregone conclusion. This had to be legally secured first.

Despite the guerrilla tactics, Moore and his cinematographer succeeded in creating many very atmospheric images and the film just doesn't seem like another found-footage work in most scenes is as much a small miracle as the fact that the film could now be released without legal disputes. The black and white look is a good counterpoint to the over-stylized, colorful Disney world, making the film feel like a very whimsical nightmare version of a visit to the theme park right from the start. Influences from other filmmakers like David Lynch are clearly evident here.

Some scenes were shot after the fact in front of a green screen. The backgrounds then inserted seem very artificial, which somewhat detracts from the very special effect that the secretly shot scenes offer. Moreover, the story gets more and more convoluted, which might become too exhausting at some point even for many open-minded viewers. However, even though the film is far from perfect, it is worth watching not only for its truly adventurous origin story. For Moore's surreal satire is a disturbing, challenging trip that you won't soon forget. It's a strange, interesting and, in many ways, unique film - and therefore, despite its flaws, absolutely worth watching!

Image + Sound: The Blu-ray's clean image pleases with its very atmospheric black-and-white look. The image sharpness can also convince in most moments, only in some moments where the shots obviously had to be made somewhat hidden, visible weaknesses can be discerned here. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix remains very unspectacular for long stretches. There are many scenes that have no dialogue and only very subtle music or ambient sounds. The surround channels are used again and again, but really powerful effects are heard only very occasionally. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the Blu-ray has two audio commentaries on board. The first is contested by director Randy Moore and his cinematographer Lucas Lee Graham. This rather technical commentary reveals a lot about the unusual way in which the film was directed, which makes this commentary extremely interesting. The second is also quite worth listening to in its own right, as the two leads, Roy Abramsohn and Elena Schubert, reprise their film roles of Jim and Emily here. But what starts amusing, eventually wears out. The fact that there are always longer pauses during the conversation between the two also ensures that this commentary comes across as rather tough and laboured, especially in the second half of the film. The first half hour can listen to interested fans of the film, however, quite.

Really interesting, but unfortunately a bit too short, is the barely 15-minute making of, in which also the legal adviser of the film about how he could avoid legal consequences for Moore and his team. In addition, one learns how the main actors reacted when the security service actually became aware of them at one point. In addition to this featurette, which is well worth watching, the disc also has an animated poster gallery and the trailer on board. Good!

Conclusion:Escape from Tomorrow may not be a perfect film, but it is a highly interesting one - and that is definitely a positive thing. The surreal psycho trip through Disneyland is somewhat convoluted and exhausting, but at the same time extremely unusual and disturbing. Even if its origin story is more exciting than the film itself, it's definitely worth watching for fans of challenging arthouse fare with a touch of David Lynch. The Blu-ray presents the film in atmospheric picture and sound quality and has with two audio commentaries and a short, but very worth seeing Making of also good extras on board. Recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp