One of the weirdest, wildest, and bloodiest films in ages, Mandy is a midnight movie to its core. Not only was it one of the best movies of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, but it is destined to become an instant cult classic, thanks in no small part to Nicolas Cage‘s gleefully unhinged performance and the phantasmagoric orgy of violence he leaves in his wake. The film stars Cage as Red Miller, a man whose quiet, blissful life in the Shadow Mountains is burnt to the ground when a sinister cult leader (Linus Roache) commands his followers to murder his girlfriend Mandy (Andrea Riseborough). What follows is an Orphic journey into hell itself as Red slaughters his way through crazed zealots, abyssal horrors, and anyone and everyone who stands in his way. Hell, at one point he even smelts his own battleaxe!
[brightcove video_id=”5725074914001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=“rJs2ZD8x”]While at Sundance, I sat down with director Panos Cosmatos and stars Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, and Linus Roache to pick their brains about their first reactions to reading Mandy‘s script, the scenes of which they are proudest, and how Nicolas Cage delivered a masterclass in acting in one scene in particular in which Red has a full-on vodka-fueled breakdown in the bathroom. Fulminating with fury and erupting in guttural yawps of agony, Cage commands the viewers’ attention and makes their skin crawl for what feels like an eternity–which is exactly what Cosmatos wanted. It is far more than just Cage Rage; rather it is a tour-de-force in a film that demands to be seen.
Read our full review of Mandy, then let us know what your favorite Nicolas Cage movie is in the comments below.
Images: SpectreVision
Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCasey).
More from Sundance!
- Our review of Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind.
- See the trailer for Hereditary.
- What would you do if your loved one turned into a dog?
