willy's wonderland [2021]
what, pray tell, is this movie about? with a title like that the mind reels at the provocations. simmer down! y'all expecting something rated x? nic cage stars as a man-with-no-name drifter who finds himself trapped in a small town in the american south. cage, billed as The Janitor, is addicted to energy drinks & playing pinball. The Janitor speaks not one word. instead, cage's wonderful facial expressions & body language carry the film. so what the hell is Willy's Wonderland?
imagine a place very like Chuck E. Cheese but the animatronic characters are serial killers trapped by satan in these robots. they need to feed & after a while the small town that is home to Willy's Wonderland, led by its sheriff, played by a fantastic beth grant, makes a deal with the devil. the animatronic robots will stay in place if the town gives them a nightly sacrifice. travelers are promised all kinds of rewards if they stay the night at Willy's Wonderland. rather they become bloody sacrifices to Willy & Co. in turn, Willy, & the rest of his robot psychos, will leave the town alone.
all is well & good until The Janitor is tasked with cleaning the establishment. in recompense The Janitor will have new tires installed on his hot rod. Willy is waiting for dinner. however, The Janitor is lacking the requisite fear in a horror movie, plus he seems to possess superhuman strength. he takes out one evil animatronic after another. his only quirk is his regularly timed consumption of energy drinks the mandatory round of pinball. why? maybe it's the drinks that give The Janitor his strength.
also, there is a survivor, liv, played by emily tosta, who was a child when her parents were taken by Willy & Co. she was raised by the sheriff. liv's goal is to burn down Willy's Wonderland & kill all the psycho robot demons & perhaps lift satan's curse. she finds The Janitor inside. liv wants to save him. The Janitor has a job to do, mainly clean up the place. & by god, he will finish that task. & take out a few of the robots too. soon liv & The Janitor are on the same side of killing demon robots. all of them.
this was a fun movie. as a father, i logged many hours in places like Willy's Wonderland, & i have, indeed, wondered about the inner life of the creatures stuck on stage. now i know what they might be like if they were possessed by the souls of dead serial killers. nic cage is a game anti-hero. he says nothing. no dialogue. but by the way he carries his body in some sticky situations are marvelous.
but what's the deal with The Janitor's regularly scheduled breaks for energy drinks & pinball? maybe the drinks are special in that they give the consumer greater physical gifts. as much is hinted at the conclusion. at any rate, this is a fun that apes the aesthetics of the 1980s, including a synth score. director kevin lewis did well with a small budget. lewis knows how to keep the action rolling too. cage is a delight as the mysterious Janitor who somehow knows the best ways to kill satan-possessed serial killer animatronics. & look good doing it too.
boo!
