Tower of Terror
- Episode aired Oct 26, 1997
- UnratedUnrated
- 1h 29m
A disgraced reporter investigates an abandoned luxury hotel where five people mysteriously disappeared sixty years earlier.A disgraced reporter investigates an abandoned luxury hotel where five people mysteriously disappeared sixty years earlier.A disgraced reporter investigates an abandoned luxury hotel where five people mysteriously disappeared sixty years earlier.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMost of the tower footage in the film, both interior and exterior, were shot at the actual Tower of Terror attraction at the Disney's Hollywood Studios. (Then Disney MGM Studios)
- GoofsIn the 1939 flashback scene, such as when the Tower gets hit by lightning, what seems to be the Capitol Records Building can be seen. The Capitol Tower did not exist at the time when Sally Shine died until it was completed in 1956.
- Quotes
Claire Poulet: My name is Claire Poulet.
Anna Petterson: [rolls eyes] You know, Poulet in French means "chicken."
Claire Poulet: [stunned] Really?
- ConnectionsFeatured in Shameful Sequels: Tower of Terror (2013)
- SoundtracksBoy of my Dreams
Performed by Melora Hardin
Review
Featured review
Fun & creepy family horror
Among great family "horrors" like Hocus Pocus, The Witches, Monster Squad, and others, Tower of Terror (1997), starring Steve Guttenberg and a young Kirsten Dunst, is often forgotten. This is unfortunate because it's one of the rare family horrors that actually manages to be simultaneously fun, acceptable, and scary for everyone. Basically, like the botched Eddie Murphy film The Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror is a vehicle to show off a Disney World attraction through a 90-minute narrative commercial. Unlike The Haunted Mansion, however, this film is actually good! The story focuses on Buzzy Crocker (Guttenberg), a journalist for a National Enquirer-esquire tabloid. In an attempt to become a serious writer again (and win back the affection of his old flame Jill (Nia Peebles)), Buzzy heads to the old Hollywood Tower Hotel, where he is told five people mysteriously disappeared in an elevator after the hotel was struck by lightning nearly 60 years prior. Said to be haunted, Buzzy wants to find out the truth and his niece Anna (Dunst) wants to join along with him to help make the story.
While the film is certainly nothing Emmy-award winning, it delivers on all it promises. It's very cheesy, fun, & entertaining, and has quite a few creep-out moments (especially for a kids' TV movie). To this day, the little-girl-in-the-rain scene gives me the chills just thinking about it. It does stick around the typical standard of Disney TV movies as far as writing & directing go, but it manages to work in a way that looks and feels better than even a big-screen adaptation like The Haunted Mansion. Obviously, this is not going to be the film for someone looking for a hardcore frightfest, but for a lighthearted time with or without the kids, I'd highly suggest this one.
Final Verdict: 7/10.
NOTE: Disney is apparently in the process of making another feature-length adaptation of the Tower of Terror ride, this one for the big screen.
-AP3-
While the film is certainly nothing Emmy-award winning, it delivers on all it promises. It's very cheesy, fun, & entertaining, and has quite a few creep-out moments (especially for a kids' TV movie). To this day, the little-girl-in-the-rain scene gives me the chills just thinking about it. It does stick around the typical standard of Disney TV movies as far as writing & directing go, but it manages to work in a way that looks and feels better than even a big-screen adaptation like The Haunted Mansion. Obviously, this is not going to be the film for someone looking for a hardcore frightfest, but for a lighthearted time with or without the kids, I'd highly suggest this one.
Final Verdict: 7/10.
NOTE: Disney is apparently in the process of making another feature-length adaptation of the Tower of Terror ride, this one for the big screen.
-AP3-
helpful•10
- Shattered_Wake
- Jun 9, 2009
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