Rented the latest “Nicholas Cage is gonna Nicolas Cage” flick Mandy. This is in limited theatrical release and available streaming (at least on iTunes). It begs the question: is Nicolas Cage making the freakout weirdo movies he wants to make because he’s Nicolas Cage and he LIKES these flicks, or is he just paying the bills best way he can and riding the coat-tails of his past performances (like in Vampire’s Kiss)? Who can say?
Mandy is basically just a revenge film… but it’s so much more. It IS a Nicolas Cage going full freak-out Nicolas Cage flick. So that’s fun. But it’s also a trippy, surreal, synth-heavy 80s throwback full of revenge, cultists, mutant bike gangs, naked men getting laughed at, chainsaw duels, face-melting drug freak-outs, occasional anime, extreme amounts of blood, and so much more. There’s barely a plot beyond Cage and his wife run afoul of some cultists, Cage spends a few minutes in his bathroom FREAKING OUT, and then he goes on a quest for vengeance (which may or may not be happening on Earth but IS happening in 1983… though the year barely matters beyond hearing Ronald Reagan for 5 seconds on the radio).
I’m not sure you would like it. I’m not sure any right-or-wrong minded person would like it. It’s too damn weird for squares and weirdos might think the synth score and lugubrious pacing isn’t freakout weirdo enough. The movie takes its damn time… intentionally so… and that might make folks get antsy and want to fast forward.
This flick was made by the same guy who created the 70s inspired, synth heavy flick Beyond the Black Rainbow. That movie was a bit of an experience…. one that I kind of ended up hating since it doesn’t mean anything or go anywhere. I think Mandy might be a reaction to that… there’s less story and a more definitive ending (I guess)… but he retains the general feel and style of that flick (only ramped up with more mutant biker gangs, blood, and face-melting drug trips). If, by some weird chance, you’ve seen Beyond the Black Rainbow, you might like this one. Or maybe you wouldn’t. I can’t say.
Because, hell, I’m not sure I recommend the movie. I rather enjoyed it and was weirdly never impatient with it. I thought it was kind of mesmerizing in its dreamlike, synthy portions and kind of fascinating when it drives off the rails. I kind of recommend it but with caution. You might not like it for every reason I’ve mentioned above and probably a half dozen more.
Score: 82