Willy's Wonderland

The result? Nearly 90 minutes of wordless Cage beating fluffy mascots with broom handles while hard rock plays on the soundtrack. It could be ironic commentary. Or an art-film stunt. But it's mostly agony.

It is one gag...and for me, that's a short film, rather than a feature.

Turns out, the premise of Nicolas Cage going head-to-head with bloodthirsty animatronics isn't a sure thing after all.

"Willy's Wonderland" has the garish stop-and-go rhythm of an '80s slasher film, and I mean that as a compliment.

It ably fulfills its promise as a bonkers saga about Nicolas Cage battling satanically-possessed fantasy robots in a funhouse restaurant, and really, that's no small accomplishment.

At this point, Cage's movies don't have to be reviewed, but rather stamped with official certificates of weirdness.

Needlessly gory and imaginatively graphic, the just-under ninety-minute feature burns on all cylinders, not just using common horror tropes but gleefully abusing them; no sin goes unpunished as The Janitor cleans Willy's house.

A terrific premise, badass hero, and throwback grindhouse sentiment check all the boxes for a successful journey to becoming a midnight cult classic.

Overall, Willy's Wonderland is exactly what we expected. No surprises, just something to scratch that satisfying itch of watching Nick do what he does best don't expect.

There are no really inspired scenes, but it's all quite fun; a one-joke movie that stretches out the joke well enough.