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Willy's Wonderland isn't quite as much fun as its premise would suggest -- but it's still got Nicolas Cage beating the hell out of bloodthirsty animatronics, which is nice. Read critic reviews
The story isn't great, but it's got a fun '80s slasher movie feel and Nicolas Cage using random objects to destroy homicidal kiddie characters. What else do you need? Read audience reviews
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A quiet loner (Nicolas Cage) finds himself stranded in a remote town when his car breaks down. Unable to pay for the repairs he needs, he agrees to spend the night cleaning Willy's Wonderland, an abandoned family fun center. But this wonderland has a dark secret that this "Janitor" is about to discover. He soon finds himself locked in an epic battle with possessed animatronic mascots that roam the halls. To survive, he must fight his way through each of them.
Genre: Horror, Action, Mystery & thriller
Original Language: English
Director: Kevin Lewis
Producer: Grant Cramer, Jeremy Davis, David Ozer, Bryan Lord, Michael Nilon, Nicolas Cage
Writer: G.O. Parsons
Release Date (Theaters): limited
Release Date (Streaming):
Box Office (Gross USA): $388.7K
Runtime:
Distributor: Screen Media Films
Production Co: Saturn Films, JD Entertainment, Landmark Studio Group, Landafar Entertainment
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)
It's hard to dive into a detailed review of a film like Willy's Wonderland. It's the kind of film that's trying to do one thing and one thing alone; Entertain people. If I don't end up praising the film for anything else, that's okay. Willy's Wonderland is a straight-up B-Movie and uses a heavy grindhouse feel to tell its story. Am I going to recommend this one to mainstream audiences? Absolutely not, but if you know what to expect, I think you'll have a blast watching it as I did. There's nothing here but the novelty, but here's why it works. Right off the bat, something felt off about this film. It opens with a very drab look and Nicolas Cage is revealed as the stoic cool guy (which is done incredibly over the top). Willy's Wonderland is an old arcade/birthday party place that has been closed down, due to the fact that the mechanical robots inside all come to life and murder people. Nicolas Cage's character's car breaks down and the mechanic tells him he can get it fixed for free if he cleans this building and makes it ready to reopen. Spending a night in Willy's Wonderland as his car is being fixed, this movie is strictly a film about a Janitor cleaning rooms and killing robots. When you look at it like that, it really works, but if you're looking for something note-worthy, you need to look elsewhere. It's no denying that Nicolas Cage likes to have fun with the roles he chooses. He used to be a very solid dramatic actor, but the craziness of his performances has been there since the beginning as well. This is why I found the choice to make his character mute to be very surprising. Not having one single line throughout the entire film was a bold move, but it made it that much more enjoyable honestly. His facial expressions and the fact that he just really loves soda is enough to know that he means business and has no fear. If that sounds dumb and ridiculous, that's because it is, but it also works. As I said, if you go into this film looking for anything else other than Nicolas Cage fighting robots, you're going to be let down. With that said, the film also gets very repetitive along the way. Once you realize just how many of these robots there are, I found myself counting until he was done. This took away from the little tension (or lack thereof) there was. It's an enjoyable movie that begins to feel its length on multiple occasions. In the end, Willy's Wonderland promises Cage fighting robots and it delivers. This is also G.O. Parsons' very first feature film as a writer and this might sound crazy, but I hope he gets the chance to write another film. I think his wacky ideas could lead to something great one day. Now available on-demand, Willy's Wonderland realistically will likely be hated by many viewers, but I had quite a bit of fun watching it. Take that statement however you like, but if you know, you know. That's about the highest praise I can give this film.
I wanted to love Willy's Wonderland. It's easy to see the pitch: Nicolas Cage in Five Nights at Freddy's. That sounds like everything you would need for a gonzo movie experience with, hopefully, an unrestrained Cage. The problem with Willy's Wonderland is that it seems to have peaked at its inception. I'll credit the creature designs of the many killer animatronic animals inhabited by the spirits of a dead Satanic cult demanding sacrifice. They're chintzy and creepy and effective in their Chuck E. Cheese/Freddy's reference points. However, the movie clearly appears to be out of ideas pretty early. Cage plays a janitor hoodwinked into working overnight at the abandoned pizza parlor and he doesn't say a word for the entire movie. For those looking for the splendidly crazy moments that can define Nicolas Cage performances, I think you'll be slightly disappointed. The character has a few quirks, like his surprisingly ironclad work ethic, but the character is just as underwritten, absent personality, and replaceable as any of the killer robots. For a movie where Cage fights a bunch of blood-thirsty robots, it starts to get a little boring because of the narrative redundancy. Toppling one robot after another feels too easy and the specific set pieces are unmemorable. There are a sew of highly annoying teenagers that stumble in so there are more victims to be terrorized. In one moment, these teens will denounce doing stupid acts and the unreasonable risk, and then the next minute they're splitting up to go have sex in the scary birthday room or murder. If the movie was more satirical, I might even give the filmmakers credit for the dumb teenagers reverting to form regardless of circumstances. My disappointment is that what you get with any ten-minute segment of the movie is generally the same thing you'll get with any other portion. Is that consistency or a lack of development and imagination? The movie still presents some degree of fun because that premise is enough to at least hold your attention if you're a fan of horror, Cageisms, or movie kitsch. However, Willy's Wonderland could have used more drafts and variety to really tap into the sheer gonzo potential of its ridiculous pitch. Nate's Grade: C+
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