Review: ‘Willy’s Wonderland’ Is The Campy Gore Fest We Wanted It To Be

Willy’s Wonderland has officially hit theaters and VOD today. The film was directed by Kevin Lewis and stars Emily Tosta, Beth Grant, Ric Reitz and Nicolas Cage. Set in a one horse town at a fictional restaurant with deranged possessed animatronics. Willy’s Wonderland is exactly as advertised and you’ll love every fantastically silly minute of it!

You’ve seen the trailer, watched the fake commercials and have read the fine print. You know what you’re getting and the filmmakers aren’t ashamed of owning that, in all the best ridiculous ways! A mysterious man, only credited as The Janitor (Nick Cage), barrels down the highway through a small town with no internet. He falls victim to a spike strip in the road and is left stranded. Local blabbermouth and town mechanic Jed (Chris Warner) tows him to his shop with a flimsy story about local mischief makers planting the strip in the road. 

Once there, the Janitor is left at the mercy of much needed repairs totaling $1,000. Enter Tex Macadoo (Ric Reitz) with an offer to pay for the repairs in exchange for spending the night cleaning a run down kid’s birthday joint, Willy’s Wonderland. Tex leaves the stranger with a new t shirt and instructions to clean the restaurant. When he’s done he’ll have a fixed car waiting for him in the morning. The stranger sets out to do the job, but as Tex reminds him, it’s good to take breaks.

Enter local teen Liv (Emily Tosta) and her group of friends that know the truth about Willy’s and the dark secret the town is hiding. Their plans to burn the building down are put on hold when Liv notices the Janitor working inside. The teens enter the building to convince him to leave, with no luck. Willy and his staff of sadistic, possessed animatronics take the fun from there. 

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Willy’s has the type of performance we’ve come to expect from Cage, with supporting actress Tosta driving the story around him. The always amazing Beth Grant (No Country for Old men, Donnie Darko) delivers a comedic turn as the town sheriff with her own secrets to hide. The group of teens manages to bring some laughs, even as they fall for some classic horror movie tropes. 

This film has everything. Lots of good gory fun, plenty of splatter filled sequences, dancing and lots of pinball! If you’re a fan of over the top, gory films with a sadistic twist Willy’s Wonderland is for you (ie Tucker and Dale Vs Evil). You will not be disappointed as the band of former satanic cultists turned fluffy animatronics are defeated by the janitor. But not before taking some of the unsuspecting teens with them in fun ways. It’s a movie where you sit back and enjoy the ride, wherever that takes you. 

With a soundtrack that will play in your head long after the movie is over, Willy’s Wonderland is a fun treat. One that will bring 80’s kids back to those cheesy pizza place birthdays we all had for whatever reason. The constant malfunctioning singing robots that seemed to truly terrify that one younger sibling, still to this day perhaps. 

So smile, “It’s your birthday and we want you to have fun”! Willy’s is the type of film that knows exactly what it’s about and the filmmakers are there to deliver. So make sure you take a break, pack a punch and bring plenty of duct tape to Willy’s Wonderland. 3/5

★★★

You can check out the trailer for Willy’s Wonderland below. As always, be sure to follow ScaryNerd for more of all things horror.

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