W: A Return to Oz – Movie Review
First Reaction – W: A Return to Oz is an interesting journey into a boom in music.
Director: Daniel Howard-Baker
Plot: Locked and loaded with film tape, an amateur filmmaker explores an abandoned rave house, once known as The Warehouse, that was once the beating heart of the South West’s clubland.
Runtime: 34 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict on W: A Return to Oz
Recap
The documentary follows a filmmaker exploring the boom in rave houses and the now abandoned locations. With the main focus on ‘The Warehouse’ which once the beating heart of the Southwest clubland. It follows the stories of the nights out and the dangers around it too. The trip down memory lane shows the decline of the scene and questions why it fell apart.
Best Parts
This does a great job of showing us the boom of the clubland and what it meant to the partygoers. It shows how things rose and fell causing the changes in the area and losing the biggest impact for the locals. This highlights the theories of what changed things and how people will see the booms in different industry and interests.
Worst Parts
This does a great job of highlighting the good and favourable times behind the clubs rise. However, it doesn’t address enough of the negatives around why it fell apart. It mentions other businesses, but almost laughs of the more criminal activities around what happened within the walls.
Final Thoughts –W: A Return to Oz is an interesting documentary for fans of a booming music scene.
