r/horror • u/kaloosa Evil Dies Tonight! • Feb 12 '21
Official Discussion Official Dreadit Discussion: "Willy's Wonderland" [SPOILERS]
Summary:
A quiet drifter is tricked into a janitorial job at the now condemned Willy's Wonderland. The mundane tasks suddenly become an all-out fight for survival against wave after wave of demonic animatronics. Fists fly, kicks land, titans clash -- and only one side will make it out alive.
Director: Kevin Lewis
Writer: G.O. Parsons
Cast:
- Nicolas Cage as the Janitor
- Emily Tosta as Liv Hawthorne
- Beth Grant as Sheriff Eloise Lund
- David Sheftell as Evan Olson
- Kai Kadlec as Chris Muley
- Caylee Cowan as Kathy Barnes
Rotten Tomatoes: 57%
Metacritic: 42/100
Poll Question: Do you recommend Willy's Wonderland?
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u/mynameispointless Feb 13 '21 edited Feb 13 '21
Willy's Wonderland borders on parody (if not fully over the line), and I love it. Overall, it just takes the concept of a typical horror movie and asks, "what if the protagonist was exceptionally capable of defending themselves?", but it plays it so well.
A good chunk of the movie operates off of the audience's prior knowledge of horror tropes, and uses that to turn the whole plot from what would usually be played as a suspenseful horror into a delightfully schlocky dark comedy. I feel like the scene of Nic Cage handing the young girl a switchblade so he can take a pop break, followed by her just opening that shit up and throwing down, perfectly encapsulates what makes this movie great.
It's definitely not going to be for everyone, but it'll hit a good spot for people that get a kick out of movies like The Guest. If Nic Cage stoically annihilating animatronics while everyone else acts like they're in a horror movie sounds like a good time to you, then definitely check this out.
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u/ScootyPuffSSJ Feb 16 '21
I loved the fact that Cage's character was so OP that the entire movie could have taken care of itself if they left him alone.
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u/PopeLeoVII Feb 17 '21
going in with ZERO expectations paid off dearly.. made for a hell of a ride
exact movie you want to burn green prior to viewing
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u/andrxwzsz Feb 13 '21
Exactly what you think it is, and I was totally satisfied.
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u/MovieMike007 Feb 14 '21
There is playing the strong silent type and then there is "I don't want to read the script" and I think this movie falls closer to the latter.
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Feb 15 '21
I really wanted to like this movie. Nic Cage fighting animatronics in a action-horror-comedy spoof movie sounded like a dream come true. But the cinematography, acting (by the side characters), and script were all lacklustre for me. If they had gone all-in on the wackiness, or if it had a so-bad-it's-good vibe, then I might have loved it. As is, there's not much there that is worthwhile.
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Feb 12 '21
Hell of a fun movie! Worth $20? Probably not, but it's a really fun ride.
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u/MondoUnderground Feb 13 '21
I almost gave up. Cage is sleepwalking through the film, and there’s no real build-up to the craziness. The first animatronic fight scene is so abrupt and awkwardly set up. Really inept filmmaking.
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u/WolfsbloodAD Feb 13 '21
That's honestly what made it so funny to me.
Zero build up, zero reaction. Cage just smashes the thing and moves on.
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Feb 14 '21
I found it to be good but not great. Entertaining. My problem is:
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u/joshipoo59419 Feb 14 '21
Just saw this movie, once I saw what kind of movie it was I immediately shifted gears and held on to the wacky ride. I knew everyone not named Nic Cage was probably going to die, but they just had to kill of the one tennager I liked first... Shame. Also I had a blast jamming along with Nic when he played the pinball game. If you like stupid fun with a terrible movie then I totally recommend Willy's Wonderland!
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u/biamallard Feb 15 '21
I thought this concept was impassible to get wrong. I was wrong. In my opinion this film didn’t fully deliver on the premise, at least not in the way I was anticipating and wanting. I found it to be tedious and repetitive for the absolute most part. I hate to say it but I was bored a lot of the time. It wasn’t terrible, there were some fun moments, but overall I was disappointed. Sucks because I was sooo excited for this ever since it was announced.
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u/crazybee84 Feb 12 '21
I’d love to watch it (love Cage!), but I’m not paying $20 for a rental. I’m honestly shocked it’s rental only on iTunes (and probably everywhere else). I guarantee it’ll be $15 when it comes out to purchase in a month or two.
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u/AlcinderFyre Feb 18 '21
I'm so confused by the good reviews. Like.... They had such potential with the concept but the last of tension, the lack of pacing, the lack of threat, the lack of scares and the lack of actual genuine laughs...add that on to the terrible editing and direction... It's just such a waste. The animatronics were sooo well lit, so unthreatening, so poorly executed... They're not silly enough to be funny and not sinister enough to be scary. The fights are so poorly edited and choreographed you can't actually see what's going on and they come out of nowhere with no lead up, no building of tension or atmosphere. The plot is just 2 infodumps. Nicolas Cage never seems like he's actually in danger. The director doesn't seem to understand how to get that kind of threat across so the finale fight is Cage getting beaten up, recovering and then him immediately coming back and killing him flawlessly. With a better director, better editing and a better script it could have been funny, or it could have been scary. It was just disappointing and poorly made.
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Feb 12 '21
Between this and Psycho Goreman I’ve quickly learned that contemporary, schlocky 80s puppets do not do it for me.
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u/monologousmutilation Feb 13 '21
My review of this movie is that it's a terrible, terrible film with an awful plot, stupid characters, and laughable dialogue.
9/10 overall. Completely serious about that. This is one of the most fun, hilarious, fucking stupid movies I have ever ever seen. It's so terrible. It's like if Tommy Wiseau got the chance to make a Five Nights at Freddy's movie.
I highly recommend this to, like, everyone ever. It was already silly as fuck, but Nic Cage alone turns this movie into one of the most memorable messes ever. I love this actor so much. Dude could have a movie about watching paint dry and he'd find a way to make it entertaining.
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u/raisingcuban Feb 14 '21
laughable dialogue.
I dont think the dialogue was so bad-its-good or even awful. It was just bland, unmemorable lines
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u/DJBenz Feb 14 '21
Nic Cage cleans. Takes a break, drinks an energy drink. Kills an animatronic monster.
Repeat.
Cops show up with some kids. Almost everyone dies.
Nic Cage takes another break. Drinks another energy drink while playing pinball. Kills an animatronic monster.
Repeat until final monster.
Fin
0/10
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u/mrmanticore2 Feb 13 '21
I don't understand why people were claiming this is a Five Nights at Freddy's rip-off, the similarities stop at "murderous robots"
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u/trashpizza Feb 13 '21
I'm pretty surprised at folks baulking at the $20 price tag. I ABSOLUTLEY would have gone to theaters to see this and between myself and my husband we would have spent about that, if not more, to do so.
I really liked this. I thought it was really fun. It's a horror-comedy with a trailer that presents it as a horror though so I get that it may not be what some were expecting. Since we were able to watch it at home and have a drink I found myself yelling and cheering unlike the way I'd be able to in a theater. Really fun. My biggest disappointment is
I am 100% getting a WW staff shirt.
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Feb 15 '21
I paid 20 bucks to rent it and it was worth it. That's what I would've paid to see it in the theater, so whatever.
It's a great movie. It's a dumb movie. It's a great, dumb movie. It's a parody of other horror movies and five nights at freddy's, it's a shame it didn't come out sooner at the FNAF height.
Nicolas Cage is great in it, as he is in every role. I will fight anyone who says otherwise. He's a great actor who is perfect for weird roles and nails this one. The other actors are totally forgettable, outside of the sheriff, as was intended I'm sure.
Watch it now if you love weirdness, intentionally dumb movies, or Nicolas Cage movies I'm general.
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Feb 18 '21 edited Feb 18 '21
Howdy folks. It's a Capital G Gamer here to enlighten you all about the movie, because from reading the reactions of everyone here, it appears that many people didn't understand why the movie is the way it is.
Some background. I like FNAF. I respect the lore. Not a big Cage fan generally. I didn't like him in Color Out Of Space, because I am a big Lovecraft fan, and I take that short story very seriously and Cage is not very serious. Loved him in this.
When I first heard about this movie and saw the trailer, I thought to myself, this movie is going to suck ass and be nothing like FNAF. And boy was I right. This movie is terrible. It's so terrible that it's fucking fantastic and I love it.
This is an anti-movie. Does anything make sense? No. Is it well done? No. Is it cheesy? Oh yeah. It's not supposed to be any of those good things.
Why doesn't Nic Cage speak? Because he's playing a fucking video game character. Nic Cage is acting from the perspective of the main player-controlled hero in a FNAF-like video game. Not exactly like FNAF, of course, because in FNAF you're not going around beating the shit out of animatronics -- you're mostly just trying to survive through the night.
That's why he's powered by energy drinks (not from FNAF but a video game trope).
That's why he's very adamant about taking breaks and playing pinball even mid-fight.
That's why he's a total badass and the fight scenes are awkward.
That's why he's driving an unrealistically gaudy car.
Even his image as a douchey wannabe badass works amazing if you think of him as a Gamer.
That's why he lacks real motivation but continues anyway.
That's why he was able to unrealistically clean the entire joint.
I very much appreciate that the movie understands that it is a stupid FNAF ripoff and doesn't try to be anything more than that. The FNAF lore/story is actually very good and deserves a serious movie about it. If you're going to rip it off with Nic Cage, it better not be serious and just be some stupid fun.
I enjoy and appreciate the intricate ways that the movie intends to be poorly made. True art for Gamers.
False Gamers and casuals just wouldn't understand.
The Animatronics were well done, I thought.
Somebody said it's like Tommy Wiseau attempts to ripoff FNAF, and I think that's not far from the truth. Bravo.
This is a cult classic, and there is room at the end for a sequel, just like there is a million FNAF games. I could see Willy's Wonderland 2 at some point coming out. Stay tuned.
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u/AdmirableAnimal0 Feb 13 '21
Wasn’t a fan and hear me out:
I liked The Banana Splits movie
I’m trying to put the pieces together to why I liked the splits yet really wasn’t a fan of this.
The best thought I have so far was that the animatronics were gimmicky and quirky whereas we were supposed to take the janitor seriously, as a badass. I think trying to treat a bunch of gimmick as an actual threat looses impact of cages character and makes the whole thing fall flat.
The Banana Splits though humorous at times kept the tone horror right the way through, the silent strong type worked a lot better for them as well, they felt far more like (and moved more like) animatronics and felt far more dangerous as a result. Seeing (SPOILER) Siren Sara move around like a bullet then fail to take out a teenage girl was a clear indication that one side of the film was taking itself far less seriously and really broke the immersion.
The Splits despite barely talking, moved as a cohesive unit, they used distractions, kept watch for other members and used sneak attacks (shout out for knighty Knight being the only one not to deliver a one liner or make his presence blindingly obvious before attacking.) Also willie and gang attacked One. At. A. Time, a theme that works far better in video games.
But whatever. I hope those who enjoyed had a good time.
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u/EnglishFlyersFan Feb 14 '21
Was it Saint Maud? Definately not. Was it trying to be? No. I had fun with what it was, it is, a terribly made movie, but it is a fun one. I asked myself, if this was made in the 80s and released on a boutique label would I love it? And I thought 'fuck yeah'.
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u/shall_2 Feb 12 '21
It should be noted that "quiet drifter" = Nic Cage literally not saying a single word for the entire movie.