The Darkness of WILLY’S WONDERLAND: Exclusive Interview with Émoi, Composer and Voice of Willy
Josh Millican
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What do you get when you lock Nicolas Cage and killer animatronic characters in a funhouse together? A bloody good time! This is the premise of Screen Media Film’s upcoming horror film, Willy’s Wonderland.
Synopsis:
A quiet loner (Cage) finds himself stranded in a remote town when his car breaks down. Unable to pay for the repairs he needs, he agrees to spend the night cleaning Willy’s Wonderland, an abandoned family fun center. But this wonderland has a dark secret that the “The Janitor” is about to discover. He soon finds himself trapped inside Willy’s and locked in an epic battle with the possessed animatronic mascots that roam the halls. To survive, he must fight his way through each of them.
Think about places like Chuck E. Cheese, the entertainment is always centered around the animatronic performances on stage. Animatronics that have an arm or eye malfunctioning and are never quite working properly. Willy’s Wonderland seems to play on this notion, if the trailer is any indication, with the music also taking front and center. After further investigation into the musical aspect of the film, we learned that the composer, Émoi, also performed the lyrical song you hear in the trailer, as well as other ones in the film, and was the voice of Willy himself. To hear more about Émoi’s contribution to the film, we spoke with him exclusively below. Willy’s Wonderland hits VOD platforms and select theaters on February 12th.
You’ll alo be able to “meet” Émoi at our “Dissecting Horror” virtual panel with the creatives of Willy’s Wonderland this Wednesday (February 17th)! Details in the link below.
Related Article: “Dissecting Horror” Continues February 17th with the Creatives of WILLY’S WONDERLAND
Dread Central: Can you describe your score for the film?
Émoi: From a musical standpoint, the movie really has five parts. There is the town of Hayesville and the exterior/interior of Willy’s which has this haunted, vacant, lonely vibe, so I did a lot of textural landscapes and ambient drones to set the stage. Once inside, I had to address the suspense and terror of flesh-eating animatronics, as well as their dark whimsical nature. Orchestra worked great for that. One of the notes from Kevin early on was that Willy’s Wonderland, at its core, was a punk rock western. So for Nic’s character, I used a lot of guitar that ranged from power chords to western twang. For Liv and her friends, I wanted it to feel more coming-of-age, so I used synth-heavy, beat-driven, electronic vibes. And lastly are the Willy’s jingles that the characters sing. If you listen closely, you’ll catch the dark satire in the lyrics – which makes them fun, but also very unnerving.
DC: Because of the pandemic, we heard that you were basically the film’s music department. Is that true? How did the pandemic affect your creative process?
Émoi: The crew finished filming a week or so before the pandemic was announced, so we got very lucky in that regard. However, when it came to editing, scoring, and other aspects of post-production, nobody could get together in person. Email and video chat can only take you so far when trying to convey creative ideas. Typically, even the smallest music department has at least 2-4 people. To compensate for the inability to collaborate in-person with anyone, I had to just do everything I could to pull it off as a one-man show. So I started by sending the creative team a demo of myself playing and discussing key musical ideas on piano. Once we had a direction locked, I started recording the live instruments myself, used VST’s for the orchestra, and sang temp vocals on all the original songs. Because the pandemic never ended, my singing on the non-character songs also became permanent. I had to become somewhat of a chameleon with my voice, like Robin Williams-style – I was Willy, then a country western singer, then a new wave vocalist. It was kinda crazy, but a lot of fun!
DC: You sang the vocals for the “The Birthday Song” that is featured on the trailer. What goes into making a kids’ song like that, one that’s both happy and creepy?
Émoi: To me, all kids songs are creepy (laughs). I mean if you listen to Barney and some of the classic nursery rhymes, they are terrifying. In the script, there was mention of a song with the lyrics “It’s Your Birthday and we want you to have fun, it’s your birthday and let’s party everyone.” So to demo for the job, I took those lyrics, changed the second “and” to “so”, gave it a melody line, and added more lyrics: “(Hey Kids! Do you know what time it is? It’s birthday time! Ok now kids, clap your hands like there’s no tomorrow!) We welcome you to Willy’s where everyone’s your friend. Here at Willy’s Wonderland, the good times never end. Birthday fun for everyone, how old are you today? Everyone at Willy’s is hoping you will stay (forever!), it’s birthday time, it’s birthday time, it’s birthday time let’s cheer! At Willy’s Wonderland! (Proudly Serving Families Since 1984).” The melody had to be catchy, but also a little dark. The lyrics hint at what is really going on at Willy’s; ‘They want us to stay forever? There’s no tomorrow? And they want to serve families? Serve families to who?’
DC: At what point were you brought on to the project? Did you come on after the film was already shot?
I was approached with the script in November of 2019. [Director] Kevin [Lewis] said he wanted to shoot an old commercial for Willy’s to be used in the film, so I started working on “The Birthday Song/ Willy’s Jingle” in December of 2019. They started filming in January 2020. I officially signed my contract to come on full time on February 13th, 2020, almost exactly 1 year from when it would be released.
DC: Can you talk about your collaboration with the film’s director, Kevin Lewis. Did he have a very specific idea of how he wanted the film to sound? Or were you given the freedom to experiment with different ideas?
Émoi: Kevin and I had an initial phone conversation that ended up lasting several hours. As we started discussing our favorite films and music, we realized that we had extremely similar tastes, and an enormous mutual respect for the genre. We laughed that if we weren’t working on Willy’s, we’d be those guys camped out at the theater before opening night. After that call, Kevin gave me a lot of freedom to explore. He did want the film to have a vintage 80’s vibe, he wanted punk, he wanted electronic, but he also gave me the freedom to interpret that direction myself.
DC: Where did the inspiration for the score come from for Willy’s Wonderland?
Émoi: I grew up in the time of VHS, Chuck E. Cheese, Bullwinkle’s, Golfland, and The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. When I read the script, I was immediately taken back to my youth. So the biggest inspiration for me, was to recreate the vibe of my childhood sonically. The music references for Willy’s were my actual memories, and so I challenged myself to recreate those magical eerie times with great accuracy.
DC: You created the temp voice for Willy Weasel in the film and then the creatives liked it so much they ended up keeping it. Were you surprised by this? Was the voice in the final trailer/ film exactly how you first did it? If not, how did he originally sound?
Émoi: I was very surprised and still feel so grateful and honored they chose me to be Willy. I created my version of Willy’s voice just as a placeholder to sell the songs through, and I always thought for sure it would be replaced, but the team was incredibly supportive and adamant I do it. The recording that is in the film and on the trailer of “Hey Kids! Do you know what time it is? It’s Birthday time!” is from the original recording from back in Dec ’19. It was never re-recorded. I can’t tell you how excited I was when I watched the teaser for the first time and they kicked it off with my Willy voice improve. So flattering and cool!
DC: What instrument did you find was crucial to creating the Willy’s Wonderland score?
Émoi: That’s a tough question considering how diversified the score is. But if I had to pick one instrument that would have no equal in its context, I would actually say the guitar. There is no other instrument besides guitar that would work for the rage of The Janitor/Nic Cage. It’s his spirit animal for sure.
DC: Nicolas Cage has been a frequenter in the horror genre lately, with titles such as Mandy, Color Out of Space and now Willy’s Wonderland. What is it about him that makes him so perfect for this genre in your opinion?
Émoi: Nic has massive star quality. Watching those doughy brown eyes turn on a dime into a rage machine is just so fascinating to watch. Pair that with the fact that he likes to go outside the box, take chances, and allows himself to be random and unpredictable, and you’ve got a perfect actor for this genre.
DC: Are you a horror fan? If so, what are some horror movie that had a big influence on you?
Émoi: As David Lopan would say, “My soul swims in it”. I have a deep love and appreciation for horror films. Especially quirky ones. My favorites of all time are Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Drag Me To Hell, Evil Dead 2, Return Of The Living Dead, Christine, and anything and everything Romero.
You can learn more about Émoi here: https://www.emoimusic.com/
Are you excited to check out Willy’s Wonderland? Will you be joining us for our free “Dissecting Horror” virtual panel series on February 17th? What do you think of our exclusive interview with Émoi? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.
Categorized:Interviews News
