It isn’t a stretch of the imagination by any means to see the dark side of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, the 1971 film adaptation for Roald Dahl’s corresponding novel. After all, you shouldn’t have to look any farther than the famous tunnel scene to start associating the film with any number of psychedelic 1970’s horror movies. But what about the slasher genre? If you think about it, it’s almost as if Willy Wonka is having the group of kids killed off one by one like some kind of maniacal slasher villain. Now a group of visual effects artists have taken it upon themselves to actually present Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory as if it were a R-rated slasher film.
The visual effects artists – Niko, Clint, and Nick from Corridor Crew – were even able to post their end results to YouTube. As you can see down below, their work has resulted in quite a fascinating over 21 minute long video that also delves into their work process.
The idea started to develop after the team started discussing Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It came clear after seeing how dark the movie already is with a G-rating that there are a multitude of setups that could be made into rather gruesome traps. And considering the popularity of horror films like Saw, where trapping and punishing people has become a popular trope for the genre, it does indeed make perfect sense. So all the more credit to Corridor Crew for putting their resources together and making this happen.
Hopefully those of you with a dark sense of humor can appreciate the mad genius that went into creating the slasher film version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. After all, you have to agree that the visual effects artists involved have quite a strong sense of creativity. Just look at the way they interpreted Charlie as a psychopath willing to shank an innocent man to grab his golden ticket.
Of course, even with the disturbing visual effects included, it’s perhaps the original version of the film that remains the most horrifying. After all, in the context of a G-rated film, it really is shocking that the movie includes as much mayhem and kid-troubling scenarios as it does. Again, that tunnel scene comes to mind. Sometimes less is more after all.