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Showing posts from June 5, 2021

Review: Willy's Wonderland (2021)

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Willy's Wonderland is a fever dream of a film: strobing lights, bizarre music and imagery, and a premise that's askew from what we're expecting, at least in execution. Sure, this is a movie about a 1980's family entertainment center, complete with animatronic animals that come to life and kill, as no doubt inspired by the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise. Yep, it's also starring Nicolas Cage, an actor who has embraced surrealism and baroque performances the likes of which audiences haven't seen since Vincent Price.  Somehow, in spite of these predictable ingredients, Willy's Wonderland still manages to surprise. Part of the fun the film offers is that IT knows that WE know this story already. Killer robots in a kid's party palace? Yup, been there, done that. So the film serves up the action and thrills in a way that feels both satisfying and as original as it can be, given the tropes it wants to play with.  The biggest delight for me is, believe i