The Halloween fun continues with my second live action film review and my first attraction based film review. Join me as I take a look at Tower of Terror. This film first aired on ABC on October 26, 1997 as part of The Wonderful World of Disney. Now interestingly enough part of this film was actually shot in the attraction that this film is based on and perhaps it is just me but does anyone else find it funny that for Disney's first attraction based film, they didn't turn to Magic Kingdom but rather MGM Studios (now Hollywood Studios). Before we start, I'd like to clarify that I have never been on the Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios because well it scares me. Though I do know a bit about the ride but I'm going to try and avoid comparing the film to ride unless necessary Also while I do know that the ride is based off of The Twilight Zone, I feel no need to mention the show. Save for this...
What? The film may have no connection to the show but when else am I going to get use this on A Look at Disney?
The Plot
The plot while simple is a nice story with some decent twists for this type of film. The main story revolves around a washed up news reporter, Buzzy Crocker who comes upon a big story when an old lady comes to him with the story of what really happened on Halloween night circa 1939 at The Hollywood Tower Hotel. Buzzy alongside his niece Anna go to investigate at the old and abandoned hotel and there they soon meet the five people who were trapped in the elevator on that dreadful night and now they have been roaming the hotel as ghosts for years. On the ghost side of the story, I actually feel that this story uses the idea of ghosts having unfinished business that they need to tend to before they cross over to the other side. The crossing over aspect comes into play with the curse that has been set on the hotel that trapped the ghosts in the hotel for 60 years. In order to move on, they have to get to the party on the top floor at The Tip Top Club. Two nice catches that make me feel that curse was actually thought out are that the ghosts had to use the same elevator that they were on all those years ago and they couldn't use the stairs as the curse blocked them from reaching the top floor this way.
The Location
The Hollywood Tower Hotel
I have a love/hate relationship with Disney's attraction based films. I despise The Country Bears, I like most of the Pirates films and while I don't think The Haunted Mansion is a good film. I actually consider it one of the more faithful movies in terms of look and decor when compared to it's ride counterpart. Again, it's hard for me to say how faithful this film is to the actual ride seeing as I have never been on the ride. Therefore I feel that I am somewhat at a disadvantage in reviewing this film. The second thing I wish to bring up with this film is something that I have always thought about these attraction based films in that, "Who is the true star, the actors or the attraction that is used as the setting?" With this film though I feel that there was a nice balance between the actors and the setting whereas in the other attraction based films I have felt that one overshadowed over the other such as with Pirates with as good as the actors are, they overshadow the setting or vice versa in the Eddie Murphy Haunted Mansion, the setting overshadows the actors. Getting back to The Hollywood Tower Hotel for a moment here, I chose to include this as it does play a vital role in the film telling the story of this film as when the film first opens, we see the five guests in the elevator as it is struck with lighting. Also the entire story revolves around the five ghosts getting to the party at the Tip Top Club. Majority of the hotel does play an important part in this story as we see the ghosts travel around the hotel. As stated this film was actually shot in the Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I actually think that helped make the film's setting feel more real and natural. It also made it easier to come up with ride references too.
Characters
Just a quick note, I couldn't find any good pictures of the cast. Therefore, this section will be going without pictures in this rare instance. Though this section will be longer than others as there a lot of characters to cover. As always, I'll be breaking this down into Important Characters, Supporting Characters, and Villain.
Important Characters
Looking at this film, I kind of consider it to be an ensemble piece because yes while Buzzy is the main character, the ghosts in this film are just as important if not more important to the story.
Buzzy Crocker played by Steve Guttenberg
If there is one word to describe the character of Buzzy, it would be, hack. Now while I say hack that does mean he is a bad character. He is just portrayed as a hack when it comes to the stories that he writes. Though he is still likable. However through helping the ghosts, Buzzy grows into a more a respectable person. He is a fun character for the most part and he does serve well as the lead character. I would actually say that out of all the characters he has the best development. As he goes from being an unreliable hack to a somewhat trustworthy person.
Anna played by Kirsten Dunst
I dislike saying this about any character but I truly felt the character of Anna was unneeded. She was not a bad character in any sense but I felt that the idea of her character fell into the trap of catering to the younger audience that was watching this film. She really had no unique characteristics that made her stand out and in some regards I think that this film could have done more without her. In all honesty, I find the character of Anna to be forgettable. Though if there were anything to say about this character, she just felt like a typical teen and has one of the more annoying moments when the film when she goes on a emotional tirade claiming that one of the ghosts, Miss Partridge tried to kill Sally and that is why the ghosts are trapped in The Hollywood Tower Hotel. This moment I felt was poorly handled and made me cringe because I just hate when films do these things. I have never once see a film that handled a false accusation well. Other than the tirade, there is nothing else that makes Anna truly stand out.
Sally Shine played by Lindsay Ridgeway
Sally is perhaps one of the more important ghosts in this story. While little is known about her life other than the fact that she was once a famous child star. She is a kind and caring that cares for all the other ghosts and she too wishes to return to her old life. I say that she is one of the more important ghosts as the whole story of what happened Halloween night 1939 at The Hollywood Tower Hotel revolves around her. Sally was a likable character but just as with her some of the other characters, very little made her stand out. Now I'm sure of you probably already figured this out but the character of Sally Shine was based off of famous child star, Shirley Temple.
Emeline Partridge played by Wendy Worthington
Emeline Partridge was Sally's nanny and at first the audience is made to believe that she was a witch who caused the guests on the elevator to be trapped in The Hollywood Tower Hotel as Buzzy and Anna were informed by the old lady who comes to them with the story. Though when Buzzy and Anna meet the ghosts they soon that Miss Partridge was not the one to cast the spell. Now while there were some misleading clues that served as bait and false evidence in pinning the blame on Miss Partridge. I wish there had been more clues that headed in this direction. Now I do understand that this is a TV movie but that doesn't mean that they couldn't have tried to make this aspect a bit more intriguing.
Carolyn Crosson/Claire Poulet played by Melora Hardin
Carolyn is the first ghost that is introduced during the course of the film but when she is first introduced. It is unknown that she is a ghost and she instead goes by the moniker, Claire Poulet. When Carolyn is first introduced as Claire, we first see her coming to The Hollywood Tower Hotel to portray Miss Partridge for the story that Buzzy is working on. As Claire, she is presented as a down on her luck actress and it isn't until much later when we meet the rest of the rest of the ghosts, she is an actual ghost and a pretty good actress. She was basically testing Buzzy to see if he would help them and she felt that he would while some of the other ghosts didn't trust him. Now I actually like the idea of her character testing Buzzy, the tests weren't too obvious but at the same time easy to pick up on. Maybe this is just me but the entire time I was watching this film, I noticed a romantic undertone between this character and Buzzy. I honestly thought in some scenes that they wanted to get it on. Even though Buzzy has a less interesting love interest and Carolyn ended up with Gilbert another of the ghosts.
Gilbert played by Alastair Duncan
Gilbert, while I'm not exactly sure if it is stated what his career was at the time of the incident. Though I think he too was an actor. I actually thought the character of Gilbert was pretty funny. He acted so suave and had his nose so high up in the air as he thought that he was perfect but at the same he did still care for the others. He probably has one of the funniest moments when he tried to pour a glass of champagne and it just goes through his ghostly body and the drink ends up on the floor. That scene is so simple yet so funny. It's hard to describe this character but I think one word that works is classy. When I first saw the character of Gilbert, I couldn't help and think of Vincent Van Ghoul from The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo and knowing that the character of Vincent Van Ghoul was based off of Vincent Price, it made me wonder if the same were true for Gilbert. While it is never made clear if that is the case unlike Shirley Temple being the basis for Sally, I'd like to think that this is the case. As stated at the end of the film, Gilbert and Carolyn do end up together after he proposes to her. This just seemed forced and came out of left field. As I saw very little of a romantic connection between these two character. If it was there I missed it, all I saw were two characters who tolerated each other.
Dewey Todd played by john Franklin
Now we come to the last ghost of the film. Now I just want to throw this out there before I get too far into this character but each time I see this character, I can't help and think of Radar from M*A*S*H*. Now unlike Gilbert or Sally, I'm pretty sure this wasn't intentional but that is what I see when watching this film. Moving on, Dewey was the bellhop that was working the elevator on the Halloween night that incident occurred. We actually get a sense that Dewey blames himself for the accident. Now I actually like this idea and I actually wish that it had been expanded upon. If that had happen, I think it would have made for an interesting character trait and story in seeing someone trying to overcome something that they felt they did wrong. Again, I feel that this is one aspect while brought up could have been expanded upon. Now the idea of being a no good failure is explored with Q, Dewey's grandson. In that regard if they had done that could have possibly made the film too depressing but I still feel that since they brought up the idea of Dewey failing, it should have been expanded upon.
Supporting Characters
Chris "Q" Todd played by Mike McShane
As stated Q is the grandson of Dewey and Q is presented as a loser and a failure. Let me clarify something when using these words to describe the character of Q, I don't mean for it to come across in a degrading manner. Rather that it is these are just two wordsthat help to showcase his two biggest traits. He is a kind hearted man but it does take some convincing to get him to enter the hotel because he is scared of the place. As he knows it is haunted but that all changes when he learns that Dewey believes in him. I would actually say that the character of Q falls into the category of comic relief but he is actually a decent comic relief character because he actually serves a purpose. He also helps to advance the plot as he is the one that fixes the elevator. In some regards the character of Q does seem as though he is there to cater to the younger audience watching the film but unlike Anna, he is at least somewhat memorable.
Jill Perry played by Nia Peeples
Now if there was any character that felt tacked on, it was Jill. Again, she wasn't a bad character and she played a minor role in Buzzy's subplot of him getting his old job back. Also she is the first to learn the Abigail (the old lady that came to Buzzy) and Sally Shine were sisters. But my main problem with her is that she comes into the main story way too late into the film and there she felt tacked on. If she had been left out of the main story of helping the ghosts, perhaps she wouldn't have bugged me so much but she just felt tacked on to that story and she was better off just being a part of Buzzy's subplot. As stated Buzzy had a boring love interest and her name was Jill. Again, the romance between these just felt so forced and cliche. Another reason I wish she had been kept part of the subplot and just another character but not a romantic interest.
Music
Boy of My Dreams
At the end of the film, we get to see Carolyn make her long overdue singing debut. The song is a nice touch as it gives this moment a feeling of satisfaction and happiness in knowing that the ghosts are free and ready to move on. It also helps to set the mood for the party as it gives it an old time feeling that makes it feel as though the audience has been transported back to 1939. Which may be what the film was going for but I'm not sure with the wording from some of the other guests.
Villain
Abigail "Abby" Gregory played by Amzie Strickland/Young Abby played by Shira Roth
As stated, Abigail is the old lady that goes to Buzzy claiming that Miss Partridge was the one that cast the spell that caused the five guests in the hotel elevator to be trapped there for 60 years. While in reality she went to Buzzy in order to get help to complete the spell. As she is the one who cast it. While I'm not exactly sure what the spell was I think it had something to do with killing with Sally. Her buildup and reveal were handled nicely. It wasn't too obvious that she was the villain of the film. It was clear that her actions came out of spite and jealousy of Sally. I wouldn't say that she hated Sally but rather hated the fact that Sally got all of the attention. She didn't realize it but the party that the ghosts were trying to get to at The Tip Top Club was a birthday party for her that was meant to be a surprise as her birthday happens to fall on Halloween. I will say while I thought that her build up to being revealed as the true villain was handled well, I thought her turnaround to becoming a good guy happened way too fast and the way the spell was broken felt cliche. As the spell was broken once Sally forgave Abigail for what she had done. Now one thing that I never understood that happens right at the end of the film, Abigail goes from a 60 year old to young ten year old girl Hence Abby as that was what she went by as a young girl. When I first saw this, it made me go "What?!" followed by "Why?!" Really the only conclusion that I can come up with that once everyone reached the party, Abigail turned back into a ten year old girl as the party was for her but even still, I don't think that was needed and made zero sense to me in any fashion. Again this just made no sense to me and the party theory is the only conclusion that I can come up with.
What was the audience suppose to get out of this and more importantly, why? Seriously, that is all I can say. This was never explained, we just see a young girl enter The Tip Top Club after the party is over and then we Sally come back even though in the previous scene it looked as though she had moved on to Heaven. When Sally comes back, we find out the young girl is the ten year old, Abby. I understand that Abigail and Sally needed closure but they got it with Abigail as a 60 year old woman. What point was there in turning back into ten year old Abby. That makes no sense. Look I'm all for unexpected endings and trust me this was unexpected but within the context of the film, it served zero purpose to do something like this. The film could have had Abigail and Sally get their closure with Abigail remaining an adult woman. I'm sorry but I don't understand what the people behind this film were thinking when they came up with this idea. Now I know I said I wasn't going to mention The Twilight Zone but here's a fun fact for ya: Amzie Strickland, who played Abigail (adult) actually appeared on some episodes of The Twilight Zone.
My Final Thoughts
In the end, I would say that this is an enjoyable film. Is it perfect? No but majority of the flaws are easy to overlook. The characters were enjoyable even if I do feel that some of them could have been cut or expanded upon. True, there were some things that made me scratch my head and just go "What?". Of course I'm referring to having Abigail tun into ten year old Abby but that is the only big problem I have with the film. I still can't say how faithful it is to the ride but on it's own merits, it is a decent film. I'd also say outside of the Pirates films, it is one of the better attraction based films. As for my feelings on the ride itself, let's just say that a little pin has convinced me to go on the ride next time I go to Disney World.
Join me next time when I take a look at The Haunted Mansion film that almost got made and would have been a sequel to Tower of Terror. Also this is kind of off topic but for someone who has only seen Twilight Zone: Movie, what is a good episode to start with for the original series? Just for fun, my two favorite segments from the film were Time Out and Kick The Can.
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