Well, we’ve officially hit the halfway mark on our march through malevolent movies, and up today is the brilliant, surrealistic revenge tale Mandy. Set in 1983, lumberjack Red Miller (A delightfully manic Nicolas Cage) lives a peaceful life in the woods with his artist girlfriend, Mandy (Andrea Riseborough). The couple’s peace is shattered when Mandy catches a cult leader’s (Linus Roache) eye. Their home is invaded, brutality is done, and a bloody, surrealistic journey of revenge begins for Red. 9.5/10 stars
Mandy is sure to be a divisive film, like some of the best recent horror flicks like mother! and Killing of the Sacred Deer. The film is directed by Panos Cosmatos (Beyond the Black Rainbow) as a surrealistic nightmare, with plenty of homages sprinkled throughout. This is one of Nicolas Cage’s better performances, though while minimalist in spots he delivers a manic intensity that he does so well. The brilliant colors in the film evoke those of Argento’s masterpiece Suspiria, and the soundtrack by the late Johann Johannsson (Sicario, Arrival) is both by turns hypnotic and ferocious. The tone is set from the outset, with “Starless” by King Crimson playing over the opening credits. Red’s journey at times feels like that of Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now, as he moves through an hallucinatory landscape on his quest for vengeance. The movie is hypnotic, brutally violent, and darkly comedic, and though it moves slowly, that works to its advantage. Well worth checking out. Now available on OnDemand and showing in theaters.
