A quiet drifter (Nicolas Cage) finds himself stranded in a remote town when his car breaks down. Taking on a janitorial job at the now-condemned Willy’s Wonderland seems like an easy way to earn some cash … but the mundane task suddenly becomes an all-out fight for survival when he must do battle with wave after wave of demonic, murderous animatronics.

For thoughts on Willy’s Wonderland, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its theatrical release here.

Video Quality

What a difference a couple of years make…back in April 2021, Screen Media released Willy’s Wonderland on Blu-Ray and opted not to provide a 4K UHD Blu-Ray option for fans, which disappointed us quite a bit. Apparently, our objections were heard because Scream Factory decided to swoop in and give fans what they have been clamoring for ever since. The new 4K UHD Blu-Ray offers a pleasing uptick in quality over the new accompanying Blu-Ray, but we do not have the original Screen Media Blu-Ray to track the jump in quality with that release.

The biggest gains in this presentation come from the contrast and color. A majority of the film takes place in shadows or the cover of darkness, and on this disc, they are more vivid and finely delineated. The black levels are especially strong in this presentation, staying deep and inky with great detail. The few instances of compression artifacts and banding present on the Blu-Ray are eliminated with this 4K UHD disc. The highlights in the film are likewise more defined with whites more pure and balanced with no instances of blooming that we noticed. The implementation of Dolby Vision really snaps things into place to meet the stylistic ambition of the feature.

While the film takes on a more lifeless and desaturated look in terms of aesthetics, the increased range of the color spectrum is a welcome sight. Scenes taking place outside are deeply muted, yet there is a greater sense of accuracy compared to the Blu-Ray. This 4K UHD presentation goes all in with strong gains in clarity in every frame. There is some really cool production design and gory makeup effects featured in the film which you can appreciate with this transfer. Every room with nuanced lighting is handled with the precision of an expertly authored disc. The Blu-Ray is solid, but Scream Factory has delivered another fantastic transfer on this latest 4K release.

Audio Quality

This 4K UHD Blu-Ray release boasts a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 lossless track that brings this film to life just perfectly. This disc deftly brings the thrills to life with nuance and clarity of sound worthy of the mix. The characters mostly stay situated in the titular space, and the sounds of each room flow out of your side and rear speakers for a fully three-dimensional experience. Every sound is carefully placed for maximum effectiveness. The track engages all of the channels with sound effects and ambient noise that push the level of immersion to great heights.

Kinetic sequences ramp up in the latter half and have a dynamic sound design that springs to life without fail. The activity in the low end is substantial and never lacks strength. Dialogue comes through clearly in the center channel without getting drowned out by the music or any sound effects. The score utilized in the film comes through with a rich fidelity. Scream Factory has offered a welcome audio experience for this film. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided on this disc.

Special Features

Inside The Fun: A nearly eight-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the appeal of this genre mash-up, the basic plot outline, the facets of the characters, the special effects work, and more.

Set Tour with Christian Del Grosso: A nearly three-minute set tour with “Aaron” who shows off the facets of the production design you may overlook while watching the film.

Fresh Meat: A minute-long piece on the younger cast members on board for this journey.

Colorful Darkness and the Demon-Atrons: A two-minute look at the animatronics terrorizing the characters.

Character Teaser Gallery: A gallery of some of the animatronic characters in animated poster form.

Character Poster Gallery: A gallery of some of the animatronic characters in animated poster form.

Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Willy’s Wonderland is decently entertaining, but it does stretch a bit too much to not have Nicolas Cage deliver any traditional dialogue. The supporting characters all make capable cannon fodder for the killer animatronics, but we never really care about most of them. The fun of the movie comes from the gnarly kills, and on that level it delivers. While we wish the movie was not trying so hard to be cool, it is a fine way to pass the time. Scream Factory has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring an excellent A/V presentation along with a small sample of special features. If you are a fan, the film has never had a better presentation on home entertainment. Recommended

Willy’s Wonderland will be available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray in a Standard and SteelBook edition on February 13, 2024.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Scream Factory has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.