Nothing within that Scottish warehouse is as scary as the infamous “tunnel scene” in “Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory.” Led by Gene Wilder as the enigmatic chocolate maker, the families visiting the Wonka candy factory grow increasingly terrified as their boat ride enters a darkened tunnel. Soon, they start screaming for Wonka to turn around, but he remains steadfast. (That’s one word for it. Another is that he seems demonically possessed as he demands that the boat go faster.) Then, there’s the song! After saying there’s no way of telling where the boat is going, Wonka follows that verse with this horrifying rhyme: “Not a speck of light is showing / So the danger must be growing / Are the fires of Hell a-glowing? / Is the grisly Reaper mowing?”
Sure, everyone lives on after going through the tunnel, but Wonka’s whole approach to the situation is unhinged. So, what did the Scottish exhibition do to try and compete with its predecessor? They introduced a character nobody had ever seen in the Wonkaverse before: The Unknown.
