Returning get_locations() instead of calling it

In the line

return get_locations()

you are calling the function. The function call get_locations() is evaluated, then the results are returned. That line of code is a shortcut and has the same meaning as:

new_locations = get_locations()
return new_locations

Calling a function from within itself is a recursive call that is typically used to break a problem down into smaller chunks. In this usage, the problem isn't broken down but rather simply retried whole. There is a risk that if there were a typo that caused monster, door, or start to always have the same values, in recursion would become infinite. Python will detect this and report RuntimeError: Maximum recursion depth exceeded

Semantically, you're not actually returning the function – which is possible but uses a different syntax: leave off the parentheses.

Leaving off the parentheses is a common typo that is unfortunately valid syntax. For example, the condition in the line below always evaluates True because the method is_valid simply exists:

if form.is_valid:

The correct form would be

if form.is_valid():

Very informative thread. learned a lot from this thread.