Is Willy’s Wonderland a great movie? No, but is it an entertaining and fun one? Hell yes! I’m a big fan of Nicolas Cage, and what I like to call his “Cage rage”, so going into this film, I knew what I expected to happen and what I wanted.
Willy’s Wonderland is a bonkers movie that knew not to take itself seriously, and I respect that. The film is inspired by Five Nights at Freddy’s, and I hope the long-in-development film of that game that Blumhouse is producing will be at least half as fun as this was.
The film follows The Janitor (Cage), who finds himself stranded in a remote town. Unable to pay the repair shop to fix his car, he agrees to work off his debt by spending the night cleaning Willy’s Wonderland, an abandoned theme arcade/restaurant/party palace of animatronic characters that were once a beacon of fun for children to visit and play with.
But it carries a dark secret that The Janitor is about to discover. He’s been lured into a deadly trap, or rather, a living nightmare as Wonderland’s animatronic characters come to life to kill him. The Janitor is forced to fight his way from one monster to another, trying to survive until morning.
If you didn’t see the trailer and only read that description, you’d still know what you’re getting yourself into with this movie. You can’t take this movie seriously. It’s the only way you’ll get any enjoyment out of it.
Cage is easily the best thing about this film. While I didn’t get the level of Cage rage I expected since he doesn’t say a single word, it’s still good seeing Cage kill possessed animatronics. It’s the kind of film you’d expect him to do at this point in his career. I will never get tired of seeing Cage rip out limbs. The kills were entertaining to watch, and that’s when we get to see the Cage rage I love on display.
The animatronics somehow bled, which made me laugh. That’s a quality in this film that it’s unintentionally funny. For some, that might be super negative. It’s a good thing because I laughed for the reasons I expected. Speaking of animatronics, I have to praise the design. Those things look so creepy, and it’s a great look. There were times I’d imagine what it would be like if the mascots of Chuck E. Cheese came to life. The budget is low, but they did a great job at delivering something that creeped you out.
The film offers a fair amount of back story, more than I expected. You understand why the possessed animatronics kill and how they came to be. I loved that because most horror films would have gone the cliche route of they kill just because. Now while the back story was solid, that’s the only praise I can give the script. The dialogue was corny. The characters were stereotypical horror films supporting characters, especially the teenagers in the movie. Their acting wasn’t any better.
In the end, this is precisely the kind of B-level film I expected, so in that regard, I can say I had a good time, and Willy’s Wonderland delivered. I don’t know if I’d watch it again unless I randomly catch it on TV or I want to put somebody on to it. If you’re not into these gonzo-style kinds of horror films, you should skip it.
