Christian Peterson
ECB Publishing, Inc.
“Willy’s Wonderland” was released on Feb. 12, 2021. It has a star-studded cast including Emily Tosta as Liv, Beth Grant as Sheriff Lund, Christian Delgrosso as Aaron and the standout and biggest name, Nicolas Cage as the Janitor. When Cage, a drifter, breaks down outside Hayesville, Nev., he is picked up by mechanic Jed Love, played by Chris Warner, who tows his car to town and begins fixing it. When Cage finds out he is unable to pay for the repairs, Tex Macadoo, played by Ric Reitz, owner of local children’s birthday party locale, Willy’s Wonderland, offers to pay for his repairs if he works the full night as a janitor. What ensues is a pinball-machine-like plot as the audience follows Cage, the Janitor and his night of terror around living murderous animatronics.
The Good
“Willy’s Wonderland” has a clever plot, seemingly inspired by the massively popular online horror game “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” It is far from an unenjoyable movie, cleverly blending aspects from childhood memories with modern horror concepts. The scares are everywhere throughout the movie; however, due to the childish backdrop of the movie, they fail to cause more than a small jump. Cage pulls a very fun role off well; not once in the movie does he speak. Instead, he glares and smirks his way to the end of the movie. His action of being a wordless drifter who shows up and ends a small American town’s worst nightmare only makes the movie all that more enjoyable.
Another standout actress is Emily Tosta as Liv. Her character is the center of the B plot of the movie. She and a group of four other young adults plan an assault on Willy’s Wonderland to rid their town of the evil inside the building, unaware that Cage’s character is inside. While, in the grand scheme of things, her character is pointless, she adds a fun foil for Cage’s character’s reaction. To his calm is her panic, to his aggressiveness is her retreat, to his contentment with staying in the arcade is her need to leave immediately.
The animatronics also are fun, all alliterative names such as Willy Weasel, Arty Alligator, Cammy Chameleon, Ozzy Ostrich and more. The costumes for the animatronics are well done, giving off an old-fashioned vibe, yet still giving the audience the fear they once felt at Chuck E. Cheese back when the mouse was a far creepier looking character.
Ultimately, the real fun of the movie can be explained in one line referencing Cage’s character: “He’s not trapped in there with them. They’re trapped in here with him.”
The Bad
While the movie itself is definitely a fun-filled romp, there are more than a few drawbacks. The movie itself has to be approached with the right mindset; anyone heading into this movie expecting to be easily scared should look elsewhere. The movie is full of every single horror trope possible. Each moment is easily predictable, and it's quite plausible that the cinephile would be able to predict most of the beats in the film before seeing the movie.
With a grand total of nine people in the cast, the audience gets to know one character, yet the movie fails even here to get you to truly care for Liv. Despite her being the only character given any background or history, the scriptwriters fail to provide any reason viewers would want any characters to survive, other than the fact that they are human, and the bad guys are not. In addition, the special effects in the movie are nothing to brag about. While there are plenty of fun, practical effects and scares with the animatronic costumes, the computer-generated imagery is a big swing and miss.
The Ugly
Horror movies in Hollywood have become almost a total joke, at least to the average moviegoer. This is another problem with the constant output from Hollywood, with a massive influx of movies and constantly rehashed intellectual property. The movie can barely find a way to set itself apart from others. Furthermore, there is, as mentioned before, every single common horror movie trope, including one slightly gratuitous adult scene ending with both participants mauled by the villain. You also are dealing with some less than stellar acting from many different people, mostly from the characters who have names so often said you won’t even know what they are after the movie. The twist of the movie, which I won’t spoil here, is another common trope that leaves the audience slightly disappointed in the writers’ creativity. The final “ugly” piece in this movie is the unexplained reason why the town, which happens to be aware of the animatronics’ violent tendencies, not only lets them survive, but helps them thrive.
Conclusion
Ultimately, “Willy’s Wonderland” can be considered a fun trip for an easy evening watch. If you are looking at a story that will make you feel something, cause you to care for the characters and the story, then move along. If you are a Nicolas Cage fan, however, this movie is right up your alley. If you are a B-level horror movie fan, then this is the flick for you. While the choice to keep Cage’s character silent is strange, it led to an interesting and fun character. “Willy’s Wonderland” can be enjoyed by anyone, as long as you approach it with the mindset of a bad, slightly funny horror movie, not recommended for children. It gets three out of five gator tails.
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