Where to watch Willy’s Wonderland
2 1/2 Stars
A quiet loner (Nic Cage) finds himself stranded in a remote town when his car breaks down. Unable to pay for the repairs he needs, he agrees to spend the night cleaning Willy’s Wonderland, an abandoned family fun center. But this wonderland has a dark secret that the “The Janitor” is about to discover. He soon finds himself trapped inside Willy’s and locked in an epic battle with the possessed animatronic mascots that roam the halls. To survive, he must fight his way through each of them.
Willy’s Wonderland is the ‘other’ movie about killer animatronic characters, not named ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s.’ I was surprised to discover that Willy’s is a continuation in a recent batch of borderline surrealist dramas with Nicolas Cage. While relegated to virtually no spoken dialogue, Oscar-winner Cage uses his face and mannerisms to communicate his reaction to the bizarre events happening around him.
The homicidal animatronic characters are executed surprisingly well for this level of filmmaking, with my favorite being a ‘Tinkbell’-like fairy with a mean streak. “Willy’s Wonderland” is sure to become a favorite among late-night movie enthusiasts, stoners, and those following Cage’s late-career work. For every actor, each role adds another tile to their artistic tapestry, and Nicolas Cage, one of the most photographed actors in cinema history, delivers a memorable character—this time without uttering a single word on-screen.
Directed by: Kevin Lewis
Written by: G.O. Parsons
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Emily Tosta, Beth Grant