One of the weirdest, wildest, and bloodiest films in ages, MandyOpens in a new tab is a midnight movie to its core. Not only was it one of the best moviesOpens in a new tab of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, but it is destined to become an instant cult classic, thanks in no small part to Nicolas CageOpens in a new tab‘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!
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While at SundanceOpens in a new tab, 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 reviewOpens in a new tab 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 WarsOpens in a new tab and the AvengersOpens in a new tab. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCaseyOpens in a new tab).
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