Can Netflix's interactive Halloween movie reach the heights of Bandersnatch?
If you're in the mood for something a bit more quirky this Halloween, Netflix will be releasing Escape the Undertaker, an interactive horror movie starring the titular wrestling icon (Mark Calaway), alongside fan-favorite wrestling trio The New Day (comprised of superstars Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Big E).
Announced in an official post regarding its Halloween-themed Netflix & Chills schedule, Escape the Undertaker is launching on Netflix on October 5, 2021.
The Undertaker is unarguably one of wrestling's most iconic superstars, so much so that you'd think his intimidatingly spooky presence could be a natural fit for a feature-length horror flick, and an interactive one at that.
In terms of setup, the trio of The New Day will be locked inside The Undertaker's mansion, and are tasked with solving a variety of supernatural challenges in order to escape. So probably a bit like Saw, but much less gory, we'd imagine. And as an interactive movie, the viewer will have some control over how various events will play out.
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That interactivity is arguably Escape the Undertaker's biggest draw, aside from the iconic superstars involved. Viewers being able to help (or possibly hinder) The New Day at key points, as well as determine how the ending plays out, could even lend the movie a degree of replay value.
Sadly, we don't have a trailer to break down what could be a really interesting project. Thankfully, we do have some screenshots courtesy of the Netflix Diaries Twitter account, to give us a brief idea of what to expect when the movie releases on October 5.
Here's your first look at #Netflix's Escape the Undertaker, a brand new interactive Halloween movie that stars WWE legend The Undertaker alongside Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston. pic.twitter.com/U4YGQboZmZSeptember 7, 2021
Analysis: Interactive movies can be very engaging, or very disappointing
While we're not entirely confident Escape the Undertaker will turn out to be great, or even good, it's an interesting project nonetheless, and the choice of WWE superstars here is absolutely perfect for the type of movie it is. The New Day are always hugely entertaining to watch, and it could be great to see their effervescent personalities contrast with the brooding edginess of The Undertaker.
This also isn't the first time Netflix has released an interactive movie. There's a few examples, but arguably the most iconic among them would be Bandersnatch, the award-winning Black Mirror spin-off. It's a format that certainly has potential, then, and we're keen to see it evolve in quirky projects like Escape the Undertaker.
Some interactive movies on Netflix have used that potential better than others, though, with The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt vs The Reverend's rather linear storyline, or the basic choices in Bear Grylls: you vs Wild.
Given the choice of superstars involved, we can't imagine the tone of Escape the Undertaker being overly serious. In fact, it will most likely be something parents can play through with their kids, given the overall appeal of WWE among fans both young and old.
We'd also love to see some other superstar cameos in Escape the Undertaker. The spooky setting would be perfect for more off-the-wall personas like Asuka and Jeff Hardy. Perhaps even some of WWE old guard could show up, like Mankind, Kane and Sting.
Blind speculation aside, Escape the Undertaker likely won't blow us away, but could be something fun for WWE fanatics to check out in the month of October, at least to see how creative the project ends up being with its interactive elements.
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