Willy’s Wonderland
Distributors: Screen Media Films
Production Companies: Saturn Films, Landmark Studio Group, Landafar Entertainment & JD Entertainment
Director: G. O. Parsons
Producers: Nicolas Cage, Grant Cramer, Mike Nilon, Jeremy Davis, David Ozer & Bryan Lord
Scriptwriter: G. O. Parsons
Main Cast: Nicolas Cage & Emily Tosta
Released: February 12, 2021
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Willy’s Wonderland is an entertaining B Movie which takes the Five Nights at Freddy’s concept and adds a dash of Nicolas Cage.
Back in 2014, the horror game Five Nights at Freddy’s was released. In the game you play as a night guard in the Chuck E. Cheese inspired “Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.” The goal is to get through your shift without being killed by the demonic homicidal animatronics that roam the restaurant. The game was a phenomenon that spawned a strong fanbase and a myriad of sequels, books and various other merchandise.
By 2015 a film adaptation was officially in the works. However after six years of script after script being scrapped, numerous roadblocks and changes of production companies, the film has yet to be released. Then in early 2021 a group of filmmakers beat them to it and they had one big advantage: Nicolas Cage.
Synopsis
A silent unnamed traveler (Nicolas Cage) is forced to work overnight cleaning an old abandoned family restaurant called “Willy’s Wonderland” when his car breaks down. As he cleans he begins to discover that the old restaurant has a dark secret when the rundown animatronics come to life and start to viciously attack him.
At the same time, a group of teenagers arrive at the restaurant with the intent to burn down the establishment. Once spotting the unnamed traveler inside, they attempt to rescue him.
Analysis
I find it hard to believe that the similarities between this film and the game are simply a coincidence, but it is true the concept itself isn’t a uniquely creative one. Chuck E. Cheese but evil and scary isn’t a hard idea to come up with. Those original Chuck E. Cheese animatronics are already terrifying as it is. It is shocking however how similar the premises are though and how many aspects of both line up with each other. I very much doubt the filmmakers knew nothing about the game’s existence.
Story-wise, the film is not helped by its script being loaded with extremely overused horror tropes. The group of teenagers are taken from a generic old slasher film and you can fairly easily predict how the film is going to play out by the five minute mark.
Willy’s Wonderland is interesting because it has everything going against it. It’s unoriginal, dumb and silly. However its charm and self awareness really make up for all of that. It’s a simply fun ride. There’s a good humour to it. It’s over the top, but the film never takes itself too seriously. It knows it’s a dumb film about demonic animatronics and just goes with it.
Every fight scene of Nicolas Cage completely demolishing the animatronics is an absolute blast. It’s not amazing choreography but Cage sells it and there’s a certain cathartic element to watching him tear these creepy robotic animals apart. It’s also a testament to Nicolas Cage that he is able to still give a charismatic performance despite never uttering a single word during the entire film. He’s just mesmerizing in every scene he’s in, there are scenes in the film that are just him cleaning the restaurant which are brilliant simply because he makes them so. Cage always brings an enjoy-ability factor to the films he’s in and this one is no exception.
Summary
Willy’s Wonderland may not be for everyone, but if you go into it purely to see Nicolas Cage beat up a load of scary animatronics you won’t be disappointed. It’s a nice bit of dumb fun which you can easily switch your brain off and enjoy.
Notes
Target Audience: 15+
Content: Violence and Gore, sexual scenes and moderate use of profanity
Recommendation?: Yes
Overall Rating: 6/10 – Reasonable
Further Details
For more information about Willy’s Wonderland, click here.
