Did you think that just because the Undertaker retired from the WWE last year — to the extent you think about the Undertaker at all — meant the league’s wrestlers wouldn’t still feel his steel-like, black leather-clad hand around their throats? Alas for Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston — the trio known together as the New Day — they will find themselves at the wrestling legend’s un-tender mercies in Escape the Undertaker, an interactive horror special coming to Netflix.
If you watch the trailer, I think you’ll see that the word “horror” has been applied somewhat loosely:
Honestly, it looks ridiculous, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. The fact that New Day is trying to get the Undertaker’s magic urn and the Undertaker seems to have turned his own mansion into a pile of deathtraps just in case anybody ever drops by is great, especially because the urn looks like it cost $21 at a Home Goods store.
But the WWE and Netflix certainly understand that Escape the Undertaker is ridiculous (and presumably Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston do as well, but the Undertaker is anyone’s guess). The official synopsis on Netflix’s YouTube page asks, “Can the New Day survive the surprises at the Undertaker’s spooky mansion?” No one uses the word “spooky” to describe anything scary anymore.
It’s also a great premise to receive one of Netflix’s interactive treatments. If you have watched one before, such as Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, the various Bear Grylls adventures, or its many, many kid offerings, you know they’re just choose-your-own-adventures you control with your remote or touchpad or whatever you’re watching on. You’ll get to decide if Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston live or die on October 5, when Escape the Undertaker premieres on Netflix.