Escape The Undertaker review: Silly fun meets childish horror in this WWE, Netflix's interactive movie

3/5

Story: New Day's Big E, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston try to enter The Undertaker's mansion to raise the powers of positivity by combining it with the powers of the Deadman's iconic urn. The Undertaker, however, has other plans for them as he allows them to enter his mansion because "evil likes nothing more than feeding on the souls of the good".

Review: Even if you weren't a WWE/F fan growing up, you would probably have heard of the legendary wrestler The Undertaker and his kayfabe personality of raising from the dead. Mark Calaway reprises his character of 'The Phenom' once again after his retirement last year for this interactive movie that also features the popular faction New Day with wrestlers Big E, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston.

The interactive film follows the trio as they enter Taker's dreaded mansion, filled with alligators, spiders, coffins and a morgue, trying to get their hands on (or destroy) the urn that accentuates the Deadman's power. The viewers get to decide the choice for each member of the team, each decision leading to a different scenario and an ending.

The 'positive' aspect about this is, unlike the interactive episode of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Escape the Undertaker is only 31-minute long and the user is easily redirected to reset their choice if it leads to a bad ending. For this review, we tried three denouements - the one where Woods joins The Undertaker, the one where the trio fail to grab the urn but escape unharmed and another where they destroy the urn. And because the journey of each decision didn't feel drawn out, it was actually fun - almost like playing a role-playing game meant for pre-teens.

For fans, the movie is loaded with references from the famed career of The Undertaker. Some choices lead you to a spooky hallway replete with Paul Bearer's clips while others straight to a morgue with a body of a certain Isaac Yankem DDS. We even get to see Kofi pull off a balancing act reminiscent of his stunts that highlight the annual Royal Rumble event. While the Taker ups the horror game, New Day members bring in the humour.

Verdict: It's somewhat clear that WWE and Netflix are targeting the younger audience with the interactive film - through its simplistic storytelling and messages of facing your fears and staying loyal to your team. That said, it's also a fun trip for adults and especially WWE fans to relive some of The Undertaker's glory days.