'Willy's Wonderland' Review: A Hidden Gem in a Silent Cage
As far as possessed animatronic films go, “Willy’s Wonderland” delivers ample blood, guts, and family fun helmed by a silent but deadly Nic Cage
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. The existence of “Willy’s Wonderland” is largely due in part to the growing number of evil animatronic enthusiasts that have been indoctrinated by Scott Cawthon’s internet breaking video game, “Five Nights at Freddy’s”. So much so, that if the film’s relationship to the aforementioned horror game was not touched upon first, it may actually have left a bittersweet first impression in the mouths of those with any familiarity of the FNaF franchise. Possessed animatronic community, we see you; we hear you; we respect you; your commitment, determination, and endorsement from YouTube game theorists birthed a film where Nicolas Cage duels demonic animatronic after demonic animatronic, complete with some bad-to-the-bone teens and pinball dance interludes. Unfortunately, an actual FNaF hasn’t been able to see the light of day, but I suppose this is baby steps.
The release of a film so intertwined to a tried and tested IP like FNaF, while not actually having any real world ties to said IP, is intriguing. Especially with a performance as commanding as Cage’s, you’d think that a powerhouse like that would be saved for the grandfather of animatronic movies (whenever it may be released). This isn’t to say that “Willy’s” isn’t worthy of Cage, but it may be a case where patience could have been a virtue. Nevertheless, as a predecessor of the eventual FNaF film (filming in the spring), director Kevin Lewis’ Willy’s Wonderland still delivers quite the punch. At times, the film seems to be acting as test pilot to the inevitable wave of ‘Freddy-goodness’ to come, but as a standalone film, it does the job and goes home.
Before Nic Cage graces us with his presence, we are treated to an analog television playing an antiquated commercial for Willy’s Wonderland, a small town Chuck E. Cheese-esque establishment known at first for its family friendly birthday parties, then for its heinous murder spree, and finally for its demonic occult rituals in need of sacrificial lambs to feed bloodlusty animatronic hellspawn. A natural progression to say the least. Nic Cage eventually takes the bait when his Chevy Camaro rolls over some metal teeth on the outskirts of town, a trap set by the podunk cronies desperate to feed the animatronics at Willy’s. Of course, Cage doesn’t carry the cash needed to pay for car repairs, but he’s willing to work for it. The task is simple, clean Willy’s Wonderland overnight, and the car will be good as new. The possibility of being eaten alive by flesh craving robots is something that he’ll have to discover later.
Once inside Willy’s, it’s all pretty self explanatory. A bloody good time, absolutely, but self-explanatory nonetheless. Cage as “The Janitor” prompt was to clean, and he will clean. Even as a zoo of evil robot animals are trying to literally tear the skin off of his body, he’s going to make sure Willy’s is spotless and ready for a wonderful reopening. He even takes the advice of the establishment’s new owner: take breaks. During his regimented breathers from wiping down arcade games and breaking jaws of mechanical crocodiles, he does a couple of things. He drinks his favorite soda, aptly labeled “Punch”. He tends to his wounds and changes his staff uniform. He plays pinball--- hard. And when his watch signals the end of his break, he goes back to the mops, buckets, and bloody fists.
Despite a plot that could have been a disaster to watch, the film manages to go down quite pleasantly. It’s action is well paced and directed, the production design of Willy’s Wonderland makes the mostly one-location film pretty immersive, and Cage as The Janitor, who’s not really a janitor per se, is so committed to his silent performance, that his literally just cleaning for a very large chunk of the movie proves to be quite compelling. And for a character whose interior is just as mechanical and even more deadly than his animatronic foes, the way he shows his character progression through his crescendoing excitement during each pinball sequence the film is a hilarious stroke of genius.
There’s one particular fight against a Chameleon and a Siren (obviously two entities that appeal to children), that makes one wonder how this movie hits its tone so successfully. It may all come down to Cage, who says absolutely nothing for the whole ride, and still manages to be the most interesting thing on screen at any given moment. Whatever compelled him to career pivot to indie beat-em-ups, is going the universe’s work. Obviously, Will the Weasel is the big baddie at the end of the road, and it is a boss battle that doesn’t disappoint. Because the film’s successes are enough to cover up some blemishes in it’s lore, inherently repetitive nature, and digitized blood and gore, it is painful, almost unbearably painful, when our focus is turned away from The Janitor’s singular mission and onto literally anything or anyone else. Especially those damn teens.
For some strange reason, the film believes there is a need for a subplot involving some adequately underdeveloped and horribly acted teenage misanthropes. Yes, their intentions to destroy Willy’s are noble, but the way in which they interrupt the action and flow of the film is unfortunate and unnecessary. It’s a sidebar so mishandled and cliched throughout the whole film, that it truly is distracting every time anyone younger than Nic Cage comes on screen. If the literal animatronics are more interesting that the town hooligans force-fed into the film, why are they here? And their want to destroy Willy’s and burn it to the ground is obviously glazed over like the eyes of The Janitor’s metal victims. Plotting aside, put side by side against a juggernaut like Nic Cage, they don’t even come close to playing at the same level.
Given the trajectory at which the figurative cannon of evil animatronic movies is aimed, Willy’s Wonderland is probably going to be seen as an early inevitable Frankenstein of a FNaF franchise, if not an entire emerging sub-genre concerning unholy birthday party venues. The film, while weighed down by unnecessary genre superfluity, still scrappily upholds itself with Cage’s silent performance and the filmmaking behind it. We’ve never seen Cage so quiet. Even in other works like “Mandy”, “Joe”, or any other of his subdued performances, his characters are often riddled with trauma to justify his actions and his acting. In Willy’s, we get no backstory or deeper motivation, we just get silence. Keep cleaning, pace yourself, kill a few hell-spawn robots. Sometimes another round of pinball is enough.