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Willy's Wonderland

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Willy's Wonderland
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKevin Lewis
Written byG. O. Parsons
Starring
CinematographyDavid Newbert
Edited byRyan Liebert
Music byÉmoi
Production
companies
  • Saturn Films
  • Landmark Studio Group
  • Landafar Entertainment
  • JD Entertainment
Distributed byScreen Media Films
Release date
  • February 12, 2021 (2021-02-12) (United States)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[1]
Box office$211,070[2][3]

Willy's Wonderland is a 2021 American action comedy horror film directed by Kevin Lewis from a screenplay written by G. O. Parsons.[4] The film stars Nicolas Cage, who also serves as producer, along with Emily Tosta, Ric Reitz, Chris Warner, Kai Kadlec, Christian Del Grosso, Caylee Cowan, Terayle Hill, Jonathan Mercedes, David Sheftell, and Beth Grant. It follows a quiet drifter who is tricked into cleaning up an abandoned family entertainment center haunted by eight murderous animatronic characters.

The project was announced in October 2019, with screenwriter Parsons having conceived the idea based on his 2016 short film Wally's Wonderland, which was also the script's original name. It caught Cage's attention, who shortly after agreed to participate as both an actor and a producer.[5] Lewis was hired as director in December 2019 while the cast joined in February 2020. Prior to its release, the film received a small cult following due to sharing its premise with the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise.[6]

Willy's Wonderland was originally set for a worldwide theatrical release on October 30, 2020, but was postponed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, it was released through video on demand, with a simultaneous limited theatrical release in the United States, on February 12, 2021 by Screen Media Films, receiving mixed to positive reviews from critics. Currently, a sequel is in development.

Plot

A quiet drifter ends up stranded in remote Hayesville, Nevada after his vehicle breaks down when the wheels go over a spike strip in the middle of the road. He is picked up by mechanic Jed Love, who charges $1,000 for repairs, but does not take credit cards. Jed takes the drifter to Willy's Wonderland, a once-successful abandoned family entertainment center. Owner Tex Macadoo offers him to work as a night shift janitor in exchange for repairing his vehicle. Meanwhile, teenager Liv Hawthorne is handcuffed by her caretaker and Hayesville's sheriff Eloise Lund due to her previous attempts to set the place on fire. When Lund leaves, Liv's friends, Chris, Kathy, Aaron, Bob, and Dan, come and release her.

While the Janitor begins his cleaning duties, Tex and Jed leave until the next morning, but not before leaving him locked in the building. The restaurant's now-withered eight animatronic mascots — Willy Weasel, Arty Alligator, Cammy Chameleon, Ozzie Ostrich, Tito Turtle, Knighty Knight, Gus Gorilla, and Siren Sara — are revealed to be alive and aggressive. Ozzie Ostrich attacks the Janitor, who beats Ozzie to death with a mop.

Liv and her friends arrive at Willy's Wonderland, dousing the perimeter with gasoline until Liv decides to enter through the vents to get the Janitor out. Inside, the Janitor is attacked by Gus Gorilla in the restrooms; he kills Gus by stomping his face into a urinal. In the vents, Liv is chased by Arty Alligator but she escapes into a fairy-themed room where Siren Sara attacks her. Liv manages to fend off Sara with a knife and encounters the Janitor.

The Janitor ignores Liv's warnings about the animatronics and refuses to leave the building. Outside, the teens climb to the roof, which collapses, causing them to fall into the building's ball pit. While the Janitor cleans the kitchen, Liv explains that Willy's Wonderland was originally owned by Jerry Robert Willis, a notorious serial killer, and his psychotic cannibal partners, who often murdered unsuspecting families for pleasure. Eventually discovered by the police, they committed a satanic ritual to transfer their souls into the animatronic characters. Several animatronics come to life and start attacking the group.

Knighty Knight impales Aaron with his sword while Siren Sara and Tito Turtle pursue and devour Dan. Arty Alligator mauls Kathy and Bob to death. The Janitor manages to kill both Knighty and Arty with Liv's help. Stalked by Cammy Chameleon in an arcade, Chris calls Sheriff Lund for help; she goes there with deputy Evan Olson upon finding out that Liv is in the restaurant. On the way, Lund reveals to Evan that after Willy's Wonderland was shut down, the animatronics continued murdering people around Hayesville until she, Tex and Jed made a deal with them. Over the years, they tricked stranded drifters into cleaning up the place, offering them as sacrifices to the animatronics. Liv's parents were among the victims and a guilty Sheriff Lund adopted her.

In the arcade, Cammy convinces Chris that she's not murderous and just wants to be free, but after Liv and the Janitor arrive, Cammy snaps Chris's neck, killing him. Liv and the Janitor subdue Cammy and attempt to leave, only to be stopped by Sheriff Lund and Evan. Lund handcuffs the Janitor and leaves him to die as Evan takes Liv away. While driving, Evan is attacked and killed by a stowaway Tito. Liv beats Tito with Evan's shotgun and escapes. Back at the restaurant, the Janitor injures Siren Sara and kills Cammy. Enraged, Sheriff Lund tries to lure Willy Weasel to kill the Janitor, only for Willy to come to life and tear her in half. The Janitor and Willy fight each other until the Janitor rips Willy's head off, killing him.

The next morning, Tex and Jed return to the building and find it completely clean, with the animatronics destroyed. The Janitor receives his repaired vehicle and invites Liv to accompany him. While Tex and Jed discuss planning to reopen Willy's Wonderland, Siren Sara suddenly appears and sets their car on fire with gasoline. All three are killed in a massive explosion that also destroys the entire restaurant. As the sun rises, the Janitor and Liv drive out of the town, running into and killing a wandering Tito Turtle with the car along the way.

Cast

  • Nicolas Cage as the Janitor, an unnamed quiet drifter who agrees to work as a janitor on Willy's Wonderland.
  • Emily Tosta as Liv Hawthorne, Sheriff Lund's step-daughter who tries to destroy the restaurant.
  • Beth Grant as Sheriff Eloise Lund, Hayesville's sheriff and Liv's caretaker.
  • David Sheftell as Evan Olson, Hayesville's deputy sheriff who works with Sheriff Lund.
  • Ric Reitz as Tex Macadoo, the actual owner of Willy's Wonderland..
  • Chris Warner as Jed Love, a mechanic and tow truck driver working with Tex.
  • Kai Kadlec as Chris Muley, Liv's friend who has a crush on her.
  • Caylee Cowan as Kathy Barnes, Liv's best friend and Bob's girlfriend.
  • Terayle Hill as Bob McDaniel, Liv's friend and Kathy's boyfriend.
  • Christian Del Grosso as Aaron Powers, one of Liv's friends.
  • Jonathan Mercedes as Dan Lorraine, one of Liv's friends.
  • Grant Cramer as Jerry Robert Willis, the former owner of Willy's Wonderland and leader of a Satanic cult.

Chris Padilla and Olga Cramer appear in flashbacks as Liv's parents Jim and Judy Hawthorne, while Kamia Arrington portrays a 5-years-old Liv. The animatronic characters' cast includes in-suit performers Jiri Stanek as Willy Weasel, Taylor Towery as Cammy Chameleon, Chris Schmidt Jr. as Tito Turtle, Christopher Bradley as Arty Alligator, Jessica Graves as Siren Sara, Duke Jackson as Knighty Knight, Billy Bussey as Gus Gorilla, and B. J. Guyer as Ozzie Ostrich. Graves, Émoi, Mark Gagliardi, Madisun Leigh, and Abel Arias provide the voices of Siren Sara, Willy Weasel, Gus Gorilla, Cammy Chameleon, Ozzie Ostrich and Tito Turtle, respectively.

Production

Theatrical writer/producer G.O. Parsons was advised to make a film to expand his career, but he was displeased with his first attempt, a short titled Wally's Wonderland. He put the script on Blood List, seeking to have it produced as a feature film. The script was featured on the site and caught the attention of Nicolas Cage, who agreed to produce and star in the film.[citation needed]

The film was announced in October 2019 by Screen Media Films. It was confirmed via Deadline Hollywood that Nicolas Cage had joined the cast, as well as producers Jeremy Davis from JD Entertainment and veteran actor Grant Cramer from Landafar Entertainment, in collaboration with Mike Nilon from Cage's Saturn Films.[6][7] Kevin Lewis was hired as director. In February 2020, Emily Tosta, Beth Grant, Ric Reitz, Chris Warner and Caylee Cowan joined the cast.[8]

The custom Willy's Wonderland pinball machine seen in the film was based on the 1982 Gottlieb table Devil's Dare.[9]Certain changes were made to the film during production. Some of the animatronic characters, Beary Bear, Douglas Dog, Pirate Pete, Pauly Penguin, and Regina Rabbit, were replaced with Gus Gorilla, Arty Alligator, Knighty Knight, Tito Turtle, and Cammy Chameleon. Due to legal issues, the film's name was also changed to Willy's Wonderland.[citation needed]

Principal photography began in February 2020 for a month in Atlanta, Georgia.[10]

Release

Willy's Wonderland was scheduled for theatrical release on October 30, 2020, but this was prevented by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was announced on January 15, 2021 that it would be available for digital distribution worldwide, starting February 12, 2021, through a video on demand release.[11]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 64% based on 61 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Willy's Wonderland isn't quite as much fun as its premise would suggest -- but it's still got Nicolas Cage beating the hell out of bloodthirsty animatronics, which is nice."[12] On Metacritic, the film has a calculated weighted average score of 42 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13]

Variety's Owen Gleiberman wrote: "Kevin Lewis's giant-furry-funhouse-mascot slasher movie knows how preposterous it is but plays it straight".[14] Nick De Semlyn of Empire gave the film a score of three out of five stars, concluding that, "though the dialogue and plotting are no great shakes, that commitment to the concept, combined with Cage's swaggering soda-swigger, is enough to make this a good time."[15] IGN's Matt Fowler rated the film six out of ten, writing that "There's not enough here to score high marks, but there's cartoonish carnage aplenty and that warrants a passing grade."[16] Anton Bitel from VODzilla.co awarded the film a score of seven out of ten, saying: "It is set in an amusement centre for children, but comes with adult doses of foul-mouthed language, sex, gore and death. Its scenarios feel a little rote, but are enlivened by the craziness that Cage brings to everything".[17]

Kimberley Elizabeth from Nightmare On Film Street gave the film a score of 7.5/10, commenting: "Nicolas Cage['s] unique brand of kickassery is the jelly to this animatronic PB & J Horror sandwich".[18] Alix Turner of Ready Steady Cut wrote: "Daft plot, fabulous fight scenes, teenagers in peril and plenty of gore. Sure, the film could have been better, but it didn't exactly need to be: this was thoroughly entertaining" and gave to it a rating of 3.5 on 5.[19] Charles Barfield of The Playlist gave a similar opinion and rated the film with a "B+".[20]

Sequel

In an interview, G. O. Parsons stated that if the film gets enough support, a sequel would be made.[21] In February 2021, it was confirmed that a sequel is in development.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2021/02/movie-review-willys-wonderland-2021/
  2. ^ "Willy's Wonderland (2021) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  3. ^ "Willy's Wonderland (2021)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  4. ^ "'Willy's Wonderland' Trailer Traps Nicolas Cage in a Nightmare World of Killer Animatronics". MovieWeb. January 15, 2021. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "Watch Nicolas Cage battle giant animatronic animals in 'Willy's Wonderland' teaser". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (October 29, 2019). "Nicolas Cage To Star In Genre Thriller 'Wally's Wonderland'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  7. ^ "Nicolas Cage to Star in Twisted Theme Park Thriller 'Wally's' | Hollywood Reporter". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  8. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (February 5, 2020). "'Party Of Five' Star Emily Tosta Joins Nicolas Cage In Genre Thriller 'Wally's Wonderland'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  9. ^ Murrill, Spencer (February 25, 2021). "The Making of Willy's Wonderland Pinball". This Week in Pinball. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  10. ^ Miska, Brad (February 22, 2020). "New Shot of Nicolas Cage in 'Wally's Wonderland'". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  11. ^ "Willy's Wonderland Trailer: Nicolas Cage Must Slay Animatronics To Survive". Screen Rant. January 15, 2021. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  12. ^ "Willy's Wonderland". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  13. ^ "Willy's Wonderland Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  14. ^ Gleiberman, Owen. "'Willy's Wonderland' Review: Nicolas Cage Faces Off Against Animatronic Kiddie Monsters in a Horror Bash That Revels in its Cageness". Variety. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  15. ^ De Semlyn, Nick (February 9, 2021). "Willy's Wonderland Review". Empire. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  16. ^ Fowler, Matt. "Willy's Wonderland Review". IGN. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  17. ^ Bitel, Anton. "VOD film review: Willy's Wonderland (2021)". VODzilla.co. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  18. ^ Elizabeth, Kimberly. "[Review] Nicolas Cage Battles Evil Animatronics in Willy's Wonderland and We Likey". Nightmare on Film Street. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  19. ^ Turner, Alix. "Willy's Wonderland review – punch and pop aplenty from Cage, mighty and moody as ever". Ready Steady Cut. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  20. ^ Barfield, Charles. "'Willy's Wonderland' Is A Bonkers Ode To '80s Horror With A Caffeine-Fueled, Pinball-Obsessed Nicolas Cage [Review]". The Playlist. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  21. ^ Parker, Cris (Interviewer); Parsons, G. O. (Interviewee) (January 21, 2021). Talking To The Creator of Willys Wonderland About FNAF, Animatronics & MORE!. 3C Films on YouTube. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  22. ^ Weiss, Josh (February 17, 2021). "'Willy's Wonderland' director sees his Evil Dead send-up as the next great horror entry in the Nic Cage 'genre'". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved February 23, 2021.

External links

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