I’ve been eagerly waiting to get my hands on a copy of the animatronic horror Willy’s Wonderland from writer G.O. Parsons (interview) and director Kevin Lewis. Tonight, I finally did, and let me say, I was not disappointed.
In the movie, Nicolas Cage stars as a quiet drifter tricked into a janitorial job at the now condemned Willy’s Wonderland, a twisted version of Chucky Cheese. The mundane tasks suddenly become an all-out fight for survival against wave after wave of demonic animatronics.
Right off to bat, we meet Cage’s character after he flattens the tires of his badass car on a spike strip. Wild-eyed, pissed of, and silent, Cage makes an agreement to clean Willy’s Wonderland in exchange for getting his car fixed. But it doesn’t take long for the action to kick-off and for Cage to turn into a complete badass as he faces off against the animatronics one by one. You see, the reality is, “he’s not locked in with them, they are locked in with him.” When a girl (Liv (Emily Tosta) and her friends show up to save the janitor and destroy the evil place once and for all, things go terribly wrong.
You would think Cage staying quiet throughout the entire movie would be a negative thing, but it’s not. He still gets across his every thought and emotion with a flick of his eyebrow. He plays the character over the top which is one hundred percent the right thing for this movie. Cage has his own special brand of crazy when it comes to character and this was the perfect stage for it. Cage’s character kicks serious ass! A pissed off Cage can be a scary thing, I wouldn’t want to back Nicky into a corner. The man has been in a lot of movies, but I have to say that I think this one may be one of his best. He nails it so hard that I can’t help but wonder if he has a lot of “The Janitor” in him, boiling beneath the surface.
The co-lead, Emily Tosta, did great as Liv. However, I was a little caught off guard by her lack of emotion while watching her friends die. She barely stops to acknowledge them as she steps over their dead, mangled bodies. She has a deep need to burn Willy’s to the ground and it makes a lot of sense once her story is revealed.
My only real issue with the movie is the fight scenes. The shots bounce between angles and move so fast that it was hard to see what was going on and then boom it’s over as quickly as it started. I really wish I could have seen things more clearly. I mean, it’s Nicolas Cage kicking animatronic ass, who wouldn’t want to see it?
My verdict? Willy’s Wonderland is a fast-paced, action-packed flick that is loads of fun. The story is fresh and it’s filled with gory goodness. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and knows it’s just here for a good time. It’s cheesy and over the top in the best possible ways. It’s entertaining as hell.
Willy’s Wonderland is a movie you have to see! Grab a bag of popcorn and watch it on VOD, On Demand, or in select theaters on February 12, 2021. Also be sure to check out my interview with the movie’s writer G.O. Parsons who goes into detail about the story, casting, making the movie, and the national treasure that is Nicolas Cage.
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