You know I’d never thought that one day I would be viewing a movie where Nicolas Cage spends his time cleaning, drinking energy drinks and kicking animatronic animals to the point that their oil would be spilling out all over the floor but with Willy’s Wonderland, we get just that. I guess it’s safe to say that Nic Cage is totally in the zone here and with a movie like this you’d should expect no less than goofy entertainment that doesn’t take itself too seriously. While this movie may feel somewhat similar to the Five Nights At Freddy’s video game franchise it does offer some funny moments alongside the bloody kills that horror fans have come to expect.
The movie takes places in a small town called Hayesville, located in the isolated and deserted region of Nevada. A man (Nic Cage) is driving his badass ride, a dark blue Chevy Camaro, when he hits a sets of tire spikes which immobilizes his vehicle leaving him stranded. After getting a tow, the bill is quite steep in order to get his car back so he can be on his way and unfortunately this small town only deals in “cash only” business. He’s given an offer which sees him spending the night in an abandoned fun center and is given the task to clean up the place. Just tidy up a bit and by morning his car will be ready. Sounds simple enough.
Turns out that this family fun center aptly named Willy’s Wonderland was once a place where children celebrated their birthdays and enjoyed all the joys therein. It’s seen better days because now the facility is littered with graffiti, looks putrid to say the least and worst of all has a reputation that has forever stained this place and the town namesake. This man (Nic Cage), oh well we’ll call him the janitor, takes the assignment. He spends his time cleaning the facilities, sets his watch to take breaks which involve drinking energy drinks and goofing off with a dusty old pinball machine until something strange starts to happen. These creatures who once entertained kids and sang songs appear to be moving on their own free will. They even speak and when the moment is right they attack with a blood lust beyond belief.
You read that right, this movie involves Nic Cage getting into fights with animatronic animals and the results are hilarious. He punches them, kicks them, throws them against the wall and pummels them until the oil that keeps them running starts to leak out of their plastic faces and other body parts. I enjoyed seeing Nic Cage duking it out but the movie feels the need to add more fuel to the fire by adding in these other side characters which are mainly there in order to rise the number to the ensuing body count. One of the characters is named Liv (Emily Tosta) who has a personal mission to destroy Willy’s Wonderland by any means necessary even if that means making the Sheriff (Beth Grant) in town angry with her. The supporting cast are a series of forgettable characters who are put their to justify the ensuing blood bath. Honestly, I was more interested in the janitor role of Nic Cage as he was the most interesting character and yet never utters a word in the entire movie.
For all it displays, Willy’s Wonderland is over-the-top insane fun and while it could’ve been a better movie, making so wouldn’t have changed anything. I love the quirky and inventive script from G.O. Parsons and the direction of Kevin Lewis is also worth noting. This is a movie that will have you laughing at it or laughing with it; it all depends on how you take it. For bloody violence it delivers. For plot purposes it does add some interesting twists along the way and if you’re looking for a good time which includes laughter, then this movie will have you smiling for how goofy it really is. I love the soundtrack and even the songs that were in the film, the animatronic animals deserve some praise as well even though they are creepy. I can’t imagine any child enjoy interacting with this characters and bear in mind that some kids are scared of Chuck e Cheese!
Score: 3 out of 5 Stars
Willy’s Wonderland is just straight bonkers! The plot is easy to follow although most of the characters in the film are largely forgettable but there are plenty of kills to satisfy the bloodthirsty crowd. If the movie only featured Nic Cage, then I could give it higher praise but sadly the movie adds more then it needs to. Still, if you’re looking for a fun, ridiculous movie to lose yourself in then check out Willy’s Wonderland. It may not be quite like Five Nights at Freddy’s but it nonetheless it’ll keep you interested. It’s playtime and this time around no one is playing nicely.
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