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Theme Park Horror ‘Escape From Tomorrow’ Gets Dated
Featured in my personal top 10 horror features of 2013, and called “a cult classic in the making” (Salon), Escape From Tomorrow (review) comes to DVD and Blu-Ray April 29 from Cinedigm.
Unlike any film ever made, the most buzzed about debut at Sundance 2013 enraptured audiences with the fearless methods used by its writer/director Randy Moore, along with its compelling take on childhood fantasy gone awry. Secretly shot at two world-famous theme parks, Escape From Tomorrow uses covert techniques that take guerilla filming to another level, placing it amongst one of the most revolutionary films in history.
Escape From Tomorrow takes place in a fantasyland of deliberately crafted childhood dreams. When family man Jim vacations with his wife and children, he is invaded by nightmares in the guise of princesses, happy theme park rides and fellow tourists. With a backdrop familiar to all audiences as a setting where fairy tales become real, his world suddenly comes crashing down as these enchanting figures eerily turn into horrific characters threatening his very life.
DVD features include exclusive commentary, including one in which Jim recounts his adventure first-hand, along with a fascinating, must-see look at making of the film.
“The most provocative film from the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, Escape From Tomorrow should not exist, and yet it does. Like nothing you’ve ever seen, Randy Moore’s directorial debut is a bold and ingenious trip into the happiest place on earth. An epic battle begins when a middle-aged American husband and father of two learns that he has lost his job. Keeping the news from his nagging wife and wound-up children, he packs up the family and embarks on a full day of park hopping amid enchanted castles and fairytale princesses. Soon, the manufactured mirth of the fantasyland around him begins to haunt his subconscious. An idyllic family vacation quickly unravels into a surrealist nightmare of paranoid visions, bizarre encounters, and an obsessive pursuit of a pair of sexy teenage Parisians. Chillingly shot in black and white, Escape From Tomorrow dissects the mythology of artificial perfection while subversively attacking our culture’s obsession with mass entertainment.”
After scaring up a strong theatrical run, Oddity director Damian McCarthy’s Hokum heads home to Digital this week.
Settle in for a spooky supernatural chiller as Hokum arrives on all Digital platforms to rent or own beginning June 2, followed by a Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD Combo and DVD release on August 11, 2026.
Adam Scott (“Severance”) stars in Hokum as reclusive novelist Ohm Bauman. When he retreats to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, the staff’s tales of an ancient witch haunting the honeymoon suite take hold of his mind. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance draw Ohm into a nightmarish confrontation with the darkest corners of his past.
Peter Coonan (“The Alienist: Angel of Darkness”), David Wilmot (“Station Eleven”), Florence Ordesh (“Departure”), Michael Patric (“Frontier”), Will O’Connell (“Game of Thrones”), Brendan Conroy (“Bodkin”), and Austin Amelio (“The Walking Dead”) also star.
Get a peek at the upcoming physical media release below, including a few special features.
Spooky Pictures’ Roy Lee (Weapons) & Steven Schneider (Insidious) produce alongside Image Nation’s Derek Dauchy (Late Night with the Devil), Tailored Film’s Ruth Treacy, Julianne Forde, & Mairtín de Barra, and Cweature Features’ Ken Kao & Josh Rosenbaum.
I wrote in my review for Bloody Disgusting, “A quaint Irish hotel with a deeply haunted history awaits an American writer in McCarthy’s third outing, continuing his streak for folkloric tales of supernatural karma and spine-tingling terror with a dark sense of humor.”
What’s next from Damian McCarthy? He’s currently writing a haunted house movie, but recent comments suggest he may be moving into other genres beyond that upcoming project.
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