If it isn’t already obvious enough as to why Willy’s Wonderland is this week’s trailer of the week, I can sum it up in two words: Cage rage. Considering the high-level performance his rage fueled in Mandy, I have high hopes that the spectacle of seeing Nicolas Cage go mental against a gang of sinister Chuck E. Cheese style animatronic robots could win him an Oscar. Though that likely won’t be the case, it’s still going to be something to behold and hopefully more satisfying than The Banana Splits Movie.
The trailer opens up with Cage getting a Shining–esque proposition to be caretaker of a family amusement park arcade after a flat tire wrecks his ride. The owner’s request is simple enough: spend the night cleaning up the arcade and he’ll pay to fix Cage’s character’s car. The twist of course coming into play as a group of teenagers show up to tell him he’s a human sacrifice for the supernatural automatons within. Why any human would show up at a human sacrifice to warn another human about the sacrifice and not expect to be added to the list of sacrifices themselves seems pretty silly, but at least it ensures the audience a body count so who am I to argue? Things twist again when the teens realize Cage’s character is there to turn the tables on the flesh-crazed robo-animals and put them out of order… for good!
I have to admit its premise is delightfully demented and absurd and that’s why I love it. It holds that odd level of giddy excitement one felt when Samuel L. Jackson announced he agreed to make a movie called Snakes on a Plane. That boisterous, silly elation to see Cage unleash his most primal of natures on what are normally family friendly mascots is enough to make it a non-stop talking point among myself and my friends. Add in the fact that Cage doesn’t say a word throughout the trailer and the admirable looking practical animatronic effects and this deranged piece of celluloid is looking like a pretty viable piece of entertainment.
Willy’s Wonderland will premiere on VOD February 12.
So what do you think of the trailer for Willy’s Wonderland? Do you agree with Sean that it’s delightfully demented? Let us know in the comments!