If murderous animatronic movies were a family, Willy’s Wonderland would be the weird uncle. Starring Nic Cage as a silent protagonist known just as “The Janitor”, Willy’s is a movie that knows exactly what it’s good at. Like all good camp, it plays its ludicrous plot and characters straight. It’s not a perfect movie, but its major flaw is it’s not Five Nights at Freddy’s.
- Directed By: Kevin Lewis
- Written By: G.O. Parsons
- Starring: Nicolas Cage. Emily Tosta. Beth Grant
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One
Possessed animatronics from a children’s restaurant come to life at night and murder unsuspecting night employees; yeah, it’s not a novel concept anymore. There’s also a Banana Splits movie that treads similar ground, as well as classics like Chopping Mall. The biggest name in pop culture in the past few years, as far as this subgenre goes, is FNAF.
What started as an indie horror game blew up into a media powerhouse that includes multiple games, a movie, and a haunt at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando and Hollywood. All of this is just to say that FNAF is the standard that all other killer animatronic movies will be compared to, for good or bad,
Willy’s Wonderland is not FNAF.
Outside the big obvious similarities of course, these are very different movies. FNAF is bright and inviting. It’s a great starter horror movie about remaking family. Willy’s is the grungy, violent alternative. It’s mostly about burning down evil shit and the benefits of hard work and self-discipline.
One of the big differences is the level of violence. Willy’s Wonderland has a very different origin story to its possessed animatronics. Because of this, it’s not afraid to have The Janitor absolutely destroy them when they fight. And they do fight, usually ending up with The Janitor covered in thick black robot blood.
Robot Blood Included
The blood is one of the great visual indicators that this is tonally and artistically a different world. The look of Willy’s is one of my favorite parts. Even when the dialogue suffers, probably because there isn’t enough of it to find a real rhythm, the scenes look great. Everything has a faded look to it. It’s perfect for this kind of stripped-down story.
And it is stripped down. There isn’t a lot of plot or character building going on. So, I hope that’s not what you came for. Gratuitous human-on-robot violence? Yeah, there’s a lot of tha,t and it looks pretty great.
There’s also Nic Cage. Without saying a word, he owns this movie. Hell, for the first act he barely takes off his sunglasses and still sells his character. I can’t call it the perfect Nic Cage movie, because I feel like you really do want to hear his distinct drawl. On the other hand, there is so much good stuff in his world-weary Janitor. His nonchalance at killing off the animatronics then going back to work, or back to playing pinball, is character defining. He’s the type of character where with his skills and mannerisms, it’s easy to imagine his backstory even if little is revealed.
The Bad
It’s repetitive. Because the plot is basically the janitor fights animatronics to survive the night, we see that a lot. There is some bait thrown in for good measure and to up the human kill count, but outside of that subplot, it’s the Nic Cage show.
This is 100% a movie where your personal preference is going to matter more than anything else. From a technical perspective, there are elements that are very well done; the cinematography, for example. On the other hand, plot and thematically speaking, it’s light.
Final Thoughts:
Any 80’s or 90’s kid probably understands the appeal of this subgenre. Chuck-E-Cheese used to be a popular birthday destination, depending on where you grew up. It doesn’t take much to look at that particular mascot and think “yeah I can see him killing someone” Fight Nights at Freddy’s was clearly born from similar thoughts. Willy’s Wonderland takes a more gown up approach to the same story
If you want action, mood, and a touch of dark humor, Willy’s Wonderland is a pretty good time. It’s almost a shame that it stands so close to the shadow of such a massive franchise. Any inevitable comparisons would not look favorably on Willy’s Wonderland. This is a movie that deserves to be appreciated for what it is. Silly violent fun, nothing more and nothing less.
Willy’s Wonderland is available on streaming
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