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Willy's Wonderland, 2021
A seemingly mute drifter (Nicholas Cage) ends up with four busted tires in a small town in the middle of nowhere. A local businessman offers to let him work off the cost of the repairs if he will spend the night cleaning an abandoned Chuck E Cheese like family restaurant. It soon becomes apparent that the restaurant has bigger problems than graffiti in the bathrooms, and a gang of local teenagers and the town's sheriff (Beth Grant) have their own ideas about how to deal with the strange happenings.
So look.
Look.
Seriously.
There were about 20 minutes of this movie that was just Nicholas Cage silently doing a really satisfying job of deep cleaning, alternating with pulling the spines out of evil animatronics that was just *chef's kiss* perfection. I am 100% serious.
You know how people will say "I would watch so-and-so read the phone book!"? Well, apparently I would watch Nicholas Cage meticulously clean the edges of a pinball machine with a toothbrush for HOURS.
Unfortunately, the film doesn't seem to realize just how brilliantly it has created a new genre (clean with me/horror), and so it throws a group of stereotypical teenagers into the restaurant with the drifter so that they can get naked and be stupid and get eaten by a bunch of evil puppets. The quirky charm of the first third (which is mostly like . . . what is even happening right now?) dissolves as these cookie-cutter victims squabble and have sex in a ball pit or whatever, and the rhythm of the film reverts to something much more predictable.
The performances are . . . fine. I have to imagine that the total lack of dialogue was a big selling point for Cage. I'm not sure what his character's deal is--the film seems to gesture at some sort of disability (intentional or not, the selective mutism and strict adherence to a schedule and only wanting to drink a specific drink all points in one direction), but that element is not well developed. Beth Grant gives the sheriff a bit of heft, and adds some much needed frisson to the interpersonal interactions. Emily Tosta is alright as the main teen (and sheriff's adopted daughter), Liv.
The film also spends a lot of time on backstory, which just isn't necessary. Do we really care why the singing turtle wants to eat everyone's face? Plus, the more the film explains, the less it makes sense. (For example, we are supposed to believe that this town is "the size of a stamp", and yet it was also supposed to have had enough people to support a ton of businesses, including the family restaurant?).
Despite what it is, I had fun watching this movie on a Friday night. It really is what it is. If the idea of someone doing a great job cleaning a dining room and neatly stacking chairs doesn't thrill you, subtract like a star and a half from my rating.
Willy's Wonderland, 2021
A seemingly mute drifter (Nicholas Cage) ends up with four busted tires in a small town in the middle of nowhere. A local businessman offers to let him work off the cost of the repairs if he will spend the night cleaning an abandoned Chuck E Cheese like family restaurant. It soon becomes apparent that the restaurant has bigger problems than graffiti in the bathrooms, and a gang of local teenagers and the town's sheriff (Beth Grant) have their own ideas about how to deal with the strange happenings.
So look.
Look.
Seriously.
There were about 20 minutes of this movie that was just Nicholas Cage silently doing a really satisfying job of deep cleaning, alternating with pulling the spines out of evil animatronics that was just *chef's kiss* perfection. I am 100% serious.
You know how people will say "I would watch so-and-so read the phone book!"? Well, apparently I would watch Nicholas Cage meticulously clean the edges of a pinball machine with a toothbrush for HOURS.
Unfortunately, the film doesn't seem to realize just how brilliantly it has created a new genre (clean with me/horror), and so it throws a group of stereotypical teenagers into the restaurant with the drifter so that they can get naked and be stupid and get eaten by a bunch of evil puppets. The quirky charm of the first third (which is mostly like . . . what is even happening right now?) dissolves as these cookie-cutter victims squabble and have sex in a ball pit or whatever, and the rhythm of the film reverts to something much more predictable.
The performances are . . . fine. I have to imagine that the total lack of dialogue was a big selling point for Cage. I'm not sure what his character's deal is--the film seems to gesture at some sort of disability (intentional or not, the selective mutism and strict adherence to a schedule and only wanting to drink a specific drink all points in one direction), but that element is not well developed. Beth Grant gives the sheriff a bit of heft, and adds some much needed frisson to the interpersonal interactions. Emily Tosta is alright as the main teen (and sheriff's adopted daughter), Liv.
The film also spends a lot of time on backstory, which just isn't necessary. Do we really care why the singing turtle wants to eat everyone's face? Plus, the more the film explains, the less it makes sense. (For example, we are supposed to believe that this town is "the size of a stamp", and yet it was also supposed to have had enough people to support a ton of businesses, including the family restaurant?).
Despite what it is, I had fun watching this movie on a Friday night. It really is what it is. If the idea of someone doing a great job cleaning a dining room and neatly stacking chairs doesn't thrill you, subtract like a star and a half from my rating.