Two weeks ago I was rushed into the ER with. "[19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 44 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". "So many amazing reviews and watch parties. With the way-out horror-comedy Willys Wonderland, Nicolas Cage continues his recent trend of lending his name and his gonzo acting to genre filmmakers willing to get a little weird. The release of the film follows a traumatic period for Lewis who was recently diagnosed with COVID. Willy's Wonderland is a 2021 American action comedy horror film directed by Kevin Lewis from a screenplay by G. O. So what exactly did he buy? Over the years, they tricked random drifters into cleaning up the building, offering them as sacrifices in order to stop the animatronics' killing spree. During the party, Willy and the rest of the mascots attack and kill the attending guests and staff forcing an evacuation. He soon finds himself trapped inside Willy's and locked in an epic battle with the possessed animatronic mascots that roam the halls. This 10-digit number is your confirmation number. Dive in to. Willy's Wonderland is an old arcade/birthday party place that has been closed down, due to the fact that the mechanical robots inside all come to life and murder people. If the movie was more satirical, I might even give the filmmakers credit for the dumb teenagers reverting to form regardless of circumstances. Does he take on somebody new? Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date if the balance is not paid in full . It's so so cool. Parsons told us. and on VOD. [12] The crew used a desolated bowling alley in the Sprayberry Crossing shopping center in East Cobb, Marietta for the fictional Willy's Wonderland family entertainment center, setting-up a huge basecamp with housing facilities for the crew members due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. That's how miraculously this happened. A quiet loner (Nicolas Cage) finds himself stranded in a remote town when his car breaks down. I never expected it to be as positive and cultish as it was. The movie still presents some degree of fun because that premise is enough to at least hold your attention if you're a fan of horror, Cageisms, or movie kitsch. I was like, "Sounds good to me.". The Janitor. They're trapped in here with him. In the ensuing chaos, Knighty impales Aaron with his sword, Tito and Sara devour Dan alive, and Arty mauls Kathy and Bob to death in a party room. The houses and cars werent the only things Nicolas Cage bought, there was some weird stuff too. A quiet loner finds himself stranded in a remote town when his car breaks down. Not having one single line throughout the entire film was a bold move, but it made it that much more enjoyable honestly. Unable to pay for the repairs he needs, he agrees to spend the night cleaning Willys Wonderland, an abandoned family fun center. [8] Shortly after, Deadline Hollywood confirmed that Nicolas Cage had joined the cast after the script, which became popular on the site, caught his attention. But this wonderland has a dark secret that this "Janitor" is about to discover. Nicolas Cage doesn't regret VOD movies, says they paid off his debts and he "never phoned it in" March 24, 2022 by EJ Moreno For years, Nicolas Cage became a bit of a meme. The problem with Willy's Wonderland is that it seems to have peaked at its inception. From then on it was like the world had caught Cage fever. He doesn't actually apply the tape to his face until after the ostrich fight, which happens shortly after he cleans the kitchen. Theother likely inspiration for Nic Cage's silent Janitor in Willy's Wonderlandisthe silent video game protagonist. "Willy's Wonderland" director Kevin Lewis writes about fighting for his life just weeks before the Nicolas Cage film hits VOD. I had like three cameras set. Kevin had made some movies in the early 2000s and he just felt like he did not get a fair shake with those movies. with updates on movies, TV shows, Rotten Tomatoes podcast and more. Clearly inspired by the horrifying mechanical creatures that traumatise American children in Chuck E Cheese outlets happily never a phenomenon here Willys Wonderland has a cadre of serial killers perform a satanic ceremony that propels their psyches into just such a collection of anthropomorphic vermin. I was very close to not making it. $13.88. Starring: Nicolas CageEmily TostaBeth Grant. With his seven cannibalistic colleagues, he often murdered unsuspecting families, but the authorities eventually discovered them. Directed by Kevin Lewis and written by G.O. Because I knew, with Nic not speaking, visually I have to make it entertaining and interesting. Had something gone wrong, one thing to delay us a week or 10 days or whatever, it would have absolutely ended the film. For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. In the second comic, the backstory of Gus the Gorilla is revealed. His taste is a little suspect. We were able to trade them all in for the ultimate prize: Willy's Wonderland, a movie in which a totally non-verbal Nicolas Cage beats the literal stuffing out of evil animatronics while spending a single night in a haunted family play center of Tartarus-like ball pits and flashy pinball machines. The film stops halfway through and invites one of the younger characters to talk us through the whole deranged backstory.). A new bad guy? Actor Nicolas Cage was once a top earner in Hollywood, worth around $150 million, but he didn't hold onto the fortune for long. Unable to pay for the repairs he needs, he agrees to spend the night cleaning Willy's Wonderland, an abandoned family fun center. Along with these two purchases, he bought Grey Craig, a Rhode Island Estate, in 2007. 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Cage may not talk, but his blas behavior is so bizarre audiences can't help but be sucked in. From Austin Butler and Cate Blanchett to a potential Best Supporting Actress toss-up, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. Cage plays a taciturn, no-named stranger, who gets stuck in a small Nevada town when the locals sneakily wreck his car. Donald Clarke, a contributor to The Irish Times, is Chief Film Correspondent and a regular columnist, Sign up to the Irish Times books newsletter for features, podcasts and more, Nicolas Cage, Emily Tosta, Ric Reitz, Chris Warner, Kai Kadlec, Christian Delgrosso, Isabelle Huppert: People think I have Irish blood because I have red hair and freckles, I pushed people away, although I didnt really want to: Lukas Dhont on the difficulties of teenage friendship, Fashion Reimagined: A game attempt to uncloak dark secrets of a destructive industry, Close: Five stars for Lukas Dhonts powerful coming-of-age film, The Movie Quiz: In which film did Yoda first appear. He starred in. Willy's Wonderland isn't quite as much fun as its premise would suggest -- but it's still got Nicolas Cage beating the hell out of bloodthirsty animatronics, which is nice. It's essentially a Chuck E. Cheese's with animatronic figures in individually themed rooms. Parsons, this defiantly out-of-the-box and in some ways rather cunning grunge horror film, set from dusk till dawn inside a run-down family fun. [27] Nicols Delgadillo of DiscussingFilm.net called the film "unapologetically ridiculous" and "a bizarre hidden gem thrown into Cage's already vast and eclectic body of work. After the animatronics kill a few of the staff, Jed confesses to Tex that the spirits of Jerry and the others are inside the animatronics, but Tex decides to keep the place open as he and Jed dispose of the bodies. As I said, if you go into this film looking for anything else other than Nicolas Cage fighting robots, you're going to be let down. The silent hero archetype used for Nicolas Cage's mute character inWilly's Wonderlandis also clever subversion made better by the audacious actor in the role. At its simplest and best Willys Wonderland is about a mysterious tough guy fighting off goofy-looking robots. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. [9] Cage also agreed to produce the film along with producers Jeremy Davis from JD Entertainment and veteran actor-turned-producer Grant Cramer from Landafar Entertainment, in collaboration with Mike Nilon from Cage's Saturn Films. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? "Those nurses and doctors are the real heroes. Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city. it adds that extra level. Horror, Parsons: The reaction is over the moon. Unable to pay for the repairs he needs, he agrees to spend the night cleaning Willy's Wonderland, an abandoned family fun center. Want more movie news? There's so much cool stuff you could do. I would love to see more adventures with the Janitor. On top of that, he was in serious debt to multiple banks for millions of dollars and they were suing him for unpaid loans. On October 31, 2019 coincidentally Halloween, which was so cool the movie gets greenlit.