In the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, many people think it is just a cute kids movie filled with candy and fantastical Oompa Loompas. What many don’t know is there is a dark side to the film as well. The film has themes of survival with the four kids that are pushed away from the factory (spoiler alert: Charlie wins the factory). All of the kids are transported in a strange factory by a very strange man with a sugar obsession, and we never see the four outed contestants after they “leave” the factory. Is this movie a sugary sweet adventure or a survival horror flick?

First of all, Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) is a very strange man. He dresses all in purple and wears a top hat. Not only does he where strange clothes, he invites five children into a candy factory that is running down and is very dangerous. Due to the factory’s dangerous nature, four of the kids’ lives are destroyed while in the factory. After the many transformations of the kids (except Charlie) we never see them again after they are “excused” from the factory which makes us think, “where do these kids go, and do they ever actually leave the factory alive?” One thing that is even creepier is that this weird man and his minions are picking these kids off one by one, and no one ever thinks this is odd?  This seems more like a murderous scheme than a friendly competition. One last thing that must be said is why is the friendliest of the kids chosen? Is it because of his kind leadership ability? Or is it because he is so sweet that he would never tell a soul about the dark secrets about Willy Wonka and his factory. Is he being blackmailed into keeping this dark nature a secret? Something about Wonka is definitely not right.

One scene in particular that makes me reconsider this as a horror movie rather than a sickeningly sweet kids flick is the boat scene. In this scene, all of the kids and their adult guardians are hoisted onto this weird boat with a peculiar man and his minions. The scene gets increasingly dark as they go through what looks like a hallucinogenic acid trip, with the lights going on and off with the black and white swirls. What makes the scene frightening is Gene Wilder singing a horrific rhyme about where they may or may not be going. Then the lights go off as if this were a murder mystery movie where they kill everyone off one by one. This scene helps set up the film as more of a horror than a kid’s movie.