Dir. Kevin Lewis | Now Streaming On Tubi | Rating: 4/5

This film was never on my radar, but I stumbled upon it while prepping for a No Bodies episode on possession. Overshadowed by a mid pandemic release and the rise of the buzzier Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023), Willy’s Wonderland never quite got the recognition it deserved. What you see is what you get in this no frills horror comedy. And what you most definitely see, is Nicolas Cage fistfighting animatronics with his bare hands.

Willy’s Wonderland delivers a sugar filled speedrun of a horror comedy. The jokes are mostly physical in nature, since our main character doesn’t speak for the entirety of the film. Our side characters are caricatures of hillbillies, cops, and dumb teenagers. Their only purpose is to show up and get slaughtered by our gang of eight animatronics, as The Janitor approaches his final boss battle against Willy Weasel.

It’s obvious that the writing and acting, other than that of Cage, harshly weaken this film. What has padded my rating is the suburb set design, animatronics, and pacing. The animatronics are creepy and clunky in all the best ways, without any obnoxious CGI overlays. It is hard to deny this film’s clear inspiration from the original Five Nights at Freddy’s and Poppy’s Playtime games. Coupled with Cage’s outrageous and entertaining character acting, Willy’s Wonderland plays out like any good horror video game you’d see in a YouTube playthrough. I

My horror gaming roots may have contributed to my soft spot for this film, but I did think this film was a good time. Believe it or not, I don’t always want to consume some cerebral life changing film. Sometimes you need a low stakes but entertaining comedy to catapult you back in time to the glory days of the true Rat Pack – Chuck E. Cheese and his pizza place band.

Know Before You Watch: Features flashing lights, blood, sex, death.