Search - Tower of Terror on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 5/15/2024...

A classic but a bit boring at times.

The Mystery of the Hollywood Tower Hotel!

Monty Moonlight | TX | 07/12/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Steve Guttenberg is Buzzy Crocker, a Hollywood reporter whose latest stories tend to grace the covers of supermarket tabloids. Buzzy's been blacklisted from the "real" papers ever since one of his news-breaking stories proved to be false. Now Buzzy concocts most of his stories himself by dressing his lovely niece Anna (Kirsten Dunst) in ghost and Alien costumes, taking photos, and writing tales of shock and horror to go with them. But when an old spinster woman named Abigail Gregory from the local nut-house pays Buzzy a visit, he's off on the story of a lifetime, to solve the mystery of the Hollywood Tower Hotel, a story that's sure to get him back into the real newspaper business.
It seems that back in Hollywood's heyday, Shirley Temple-like child star Sally Shine, her nanny Emeline Partridge, the hotel owner's bumbling bellhop son Dewey, aspiring singer Claire Poulet, and Claire's boyfriend Gilbert, all disappeared one Halloween night in the Hotel elevator on their way to a party on the top floor. Ever since that fateful night, the Hollywood Tower Hotel has been shut down, and whatever happened to those five unfortunate souls has been a mystery. But Abigail claims to know the secret. She was there that night, and she believes that Sally Shine's nanny was a witch! Insanely jealous of the child, Emeline Partridge cast a horrible spell over the girl, but the spell backfired and left the inhabitants of the elevator trapped in limbo, left to haunt the Hollywood Tower Hotel until the spell is finished, or broken. Only then will they meet their doom, or else be able to rejoin the party they had originally been on their way to, a ghostly party that still goes on every Halloween night in the hopes that the missing guests will finally arrive.
Now Buzzy is on a mission, and finds himself picking up partners at every turn. First he enlists the help of his beautiful and spunky niece Anna, then recruits an odd "dude" named "Q" to help, since he IS the great grandson of the original owner AND the grandson of the missing bellhop. Before he knows it, former boss Jill Perry comes along for the ride, and the ghosts are eager to have the puzzle solved too.
Disney's Tower of Terror is a great thrill ride of a TV movie, just like the actual ride it's based on, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park in Florida. The movie is great family entertainment, full of humor, some tame scares, superb music, and a great cast. Steve Guttenberg is likeable as always, and Kirsten Dunst is as dreamy as ever, even if they did make her dress-down and tighten back her beautiful hair for most of the film. Tower of Terror is a must own video for any fan of the cast, the Disney theme parks, or fun, family films in general. Now lets hope Disney gives us a DVD someday."

A Good Made For T.V. Movie

disneychanneloriginalmoviesfreak | USA | 03/07/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Disney has made an exceptionally good movie for ABC's "The Wonderful World Of Disney." I'm so glad they've lowered the price so that everyone can own it. The movie was made back in 1997 to advertise the opening of "The Twilight Zone: Tower Of Terror" ride at Disney's MGM Studios in Walt Disney World. But this movie was so good, I thought they should have put it in theaters. It's the story of a group of people who were traped in an elevator and plumited to their death. Among them was an child movie star. The hotel was closed down. Now it is 1997 and Buzzy (Guttenberg) is a struggling journalist. His neice (Dunst) Goes with him to the abandoned hotel to write a foney story about it, but they discover that the ghosts are real, and that the elevators crash wasn't an accident. It turns into a big mystery with a good ending. You really start to root for the characters. Buy it today. You'll love it!"

A pleasant surprise

Fred Worth | Burnsville, MN United States | 03/08/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I liked this movie. I wasn't expecting much so maybe that helped me suspend reality long enough to enjoy what I was watching. The plot is simple without being simplistic and the ghosts are not too terrifying for younger children (and me either ha ha).

The big thing for me is that the characters were well done and related to each other and that there actually were motivations for their actions. This is a 3 star plot with a 4 star result because of the acting and directing."