Willy's Wonderland (2021) #504

Nicolas Cage is a treasure and we must recognize him for the genius that he is. Only he could give us such memorable performances in such movies as "The Wicker Man" and "Mandy" Adding to that phenomenal list is "Willy's Wonderland". Only an actor of Nicolas Cage's degree could be so entertaining without saying a single word. With only actions and complete commitment to the role is he able to make this movie all that it is and more. Mr. Cage also served as a producer, becoming attached to the production after the script garnered a cult following while posted online.

The premise is simple, The Man was minding his own business driving through Nevada when his tires are shredded. He's picked up by a local mechanic who offers to fix his car for cash or work for a night for Tex Macadoo, the owner of Willy's Wonderland. Willy's is a decrepit and haunting old restaurant with eight rundown animatronic animals. All The Man has to do is clean the place up, take his breaks, and wear the uniform, a Willy's Wonderland t-shirt. The Man wastes no time and gets straight to work, taking brakes to sip soda and play a functional pinball machine.

One by one, the animatronic critters, all of which are possessed by a cult of children killers, come to life and try to kill The Man. Not surprised by what's going on, The Man dispatches each oversized character as they come, as long as it doesn't interfere with his break schedule. First Ozzie Ostrich attacks in the parlor, then Gus Gorilla tries to take down The Man in the restroom. Each fight is quick and brutal, and lucky for The Man, there are plenty of clean t-shirts to change into after the fighting is done.

While The Man is busy cleaning and kicking ass, teenager Liv and her friends arrive at Willy's with the intention of burning it to the ground, knowing it's evil legacy. When they realize that The Man is inside, Liv breaks in to get him out, but her and her friends become trapped inside. Having potential victims beside The Man, the killer animatronics go after the teens. The Man saves Liz while the others die in classic slasher fashion, until the town sheriff comes to stop The Man from killing the possessed animatronics. It's revealed that the mechanic, the sheriff, and Tex have been sending drifters to Willy's as a form of human sacrifice for years to keep the town safe. But as killers do, Willy himself takes out the sheriff so he can go toe to toe with The Man. Never get in the way of a deranged weasel.
 

Most people who have seen this movie will agree that it has one of the most catchy and repetitive theme songs ever, played over and over and over throughout the movie, sung by Willy.

 

Mandy (2018) #473

“Mandy” is psychedelic mind trip of colors, false messiahs, drugs, bikers, and a Nicholas Cage that you’ve never seen before. The movie will leave you wondering what you just saw and additional viewings may not help answer any questions, although the film will still be fascinating. It’s a unique film that caught the attention of many and currently holds a 91% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes 

There is no better way to describe Nicolas Cage’s performance in “Mandy” as anything other than elemental; he is a force of pure energy. He is finally able to tap into whatever zone he enters mentally when he steps in front of a camera now days and completely let go. There are moments where he is allowed to be calm and reflective and other times where he literally gets to scream and let all of his rage and anguish flow. No one ever saw this performance coming and those who haven’t, prepare yourselves for a brand new kind of Nicolas Cage.

The film’s story is nice and simple, which allows the events that take place to have their own weight and importance in each scene. Red and Mandy live a simple, quiet life in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Red works as a logger and Mandy works as a cashier at a gas station. They have deep philosophical conversations that lead you to believe that they are both recovering from past traumas. Everything is going fine until one day when a van drives by Mandy and one of the occupants, Jeremiah Sand, sees her and becomes obsessed. Jeremiah happens to be the leader of a hippie cult that calls themselves The Children of the New Dawn, and Jeremiah truly believes that what he wants is his with the permission from god himself. He has members of his cult kidnap her, which begins a violent, manic turn of events as Red seeks vengeance and does not allow anything to get in his way.

One thing that makes this movie so odd and yet wonderful is that you have no idea what is supernatural and what isn’t. Is Red merely a man seeking revenge or is he some kind of immortal? Are the bikers really just mind fried junkies or actual demons? What other atrocities have the Children committed to satisfy Jeremiah? There are no back stories save one, and that teases the audience in the best way in this film. What I do know is thaT this movie will leave a little imprint scarred on your brain that reads “Mandy and Red we’re here”.

The Wicker Man (2006) #466

The 2006 remake of “The Wicker Man” is an example of what not to do when making a movie but the end result still ends up as a cult classic. “The Wicker Man” has a painfully awful script, bizarre costumes, and stars an unhinged Nicholas Cage as police officer Edward Malus.The film also has the dubious honor of having won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Remake. 

The first 15 minutes of the movie are the worst, in my opinion; so much do that I almost turned it off. The dialogue is so terrible throughout the film, but the beginning is by far the hardest part to get through. Once Edward gets on the island, the dialogue and story improve slightly, thank god. The acting is also a bit cringe worthy, but ultimately it is the narrative of the story that pushes everything forward and keeps the whole film from becoming a complete dumpster fire. 

This remake shares inspiration from both the novel “The Ritual” by David Pinner and the original film. Edward is personally motivated to solve his missing persons case, unlike Sergeant Howie who was just following up on an assigned case. This simple change makes the viewer more invested in the character’s journey in this instance; it gives the story deeper emotional stakes. The leader of the island, Summerisle, is a woman in the remake and the majority of the population is female; this is an important detail for the remake’s narrative.

Edward Malus is a police officer who is suffering PTSD after a deadly accident that he witnessed. He is finally coded out from his apartment when he learns that his ex-fiancée needs his help to find her missing daughter. He travels to a remote island in the Pacific Northwest in search of the young girl and his ex. The island is shrouded in mystery and he is unable to get a straight answer from anyone. When Edward begins to piece together what’s going on, it may already be too late.

Color Out of Space (2019) #446

H.P. Lovecraft was a pulp magazine writer from the 1920’s and 1930’s who left behind a small treasure trove of fantastic short stories after his death. Since the mid 1980’s, Lovecraft’s popularity has grown to incredible heights. Because of this, movies have been slowly adapted from his stories. Scores of independent and amateur films have been produced and shown at film festivals around the country but only a handful of adaptations have been big budget spectacles, which include director Stuart Gordon’s classics “Re-Animator”, “From Beyond”, and “Dagon”. Finally Lovecraft’s classic “Color Out of Space” has received the royal treatment.

Before it's theatrical release, “Color Out of Space” was screened for the loyal fans at the 24th annual H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland, Oregon in October of 2019. Returning guest of honor Richard Stanley, the film’s director and  co-writer, was full of pride as he presented his film to a sold out audience with appreciative standing ovations. Mr. Stanley was also on hand for a Q&A session. Those in attendance know what many others have come to know, that “Color Out of Space” is one of the best, craziest, and most fun film adaptations of an H.P Lovecraft story ever made.

At first glance, seeing names like Richard Stanley, Tommy Chong, and the ever unpredictable Nicholas Cage attached to a Lovecraft project may cause anyone to have serious doubts about the film being any good, but those names are exactly why this movie works. Mr. Stanley has been a fan of Lovecraft since he was a child. I had a chance to talk to him briefly at the 23rd annual H.P.L.F.F and he told me that he had been working on this script and fine tuning in for quite some time. His version of this well known story stays true to the nature of the narrative while adding visuals and events that add, and not detract, from Lovecraft's original vision. Casting Nicholas Cage as Nathan Gardner is perfect; it's a role that allows Mr. Cage to go all out crazy as he is known to do and horror movie fans are still talking about his recent role in the film "Mandy". Tommy Chong rounds out the noticeable casting choice as Ezra, a reworked version of Ammi Pierce. This is one of the biggest changes from the source material but it fits in perfectly in the narrative of this film. 


 

The rest of the supporting cast bring their respective characters to life and help make this particular film amazing. Joely Richards (Event Horizon) plays Theresa, Nathan’s wife, and Madeleine Arthur, Brendan Meyer, and Julian Hilliard were cast as the Gardner children, Lavinia, Benny, and Jack. Naming Madeleine’s character Lavinia, and having her performing a magical ritual in her opening scene was a clever nod to another well known Lovecraft character from the short story “The Dunwhich Horror”, a detail that I’m sure most Lovecraft fans will notice at once. 

In this adaptation of Lovecraft’s famous short story, an unusual meteorite crashes on the Gardner family farm, releasing an evil, malicious force that corrupts the land, animals, and the family themselves. There is a fair amount of high quality special effects as well as a few surprising moments of gore and body horror.

There is also a gracious amount of purple and pinks representing otherworldly color, so please accept that fact and enjoy the film.