Like most recent events, the 2021 edition of the Sundance Film Festival has shifted from a personal showcase to a virtual one. Despite the change, we will still provide you with reviews and insights on some of the most interesting experiences we find, from indie movies to VR experiments.
Prisoners of the Ghostland seems like a movie made for Nicolas Cage. It’s the English-language debut of prolific Japanese director Sion Sono – Western audiences may know him best from the weird and gruesome series Tokyo Vampire Hotel on Amazon Prime Video – and it blends elements from westerns, samurai films, and post-apocalyptic action films. Cage’s genre work has become a genre itself, thanks to cult hits like Mandy and Color from space. So at first glance it sounds like a perfect match, but Prisoners of the Ghostland never manages to rise to the level of its cast or premise.
The premise is, admittedly, incredible. Playing a hardened criminal known only as Hero, Cage is hired by a man called the Governor to rescue his granddaughter from a treacherous and potentially supernatural place called the Ghostland. But he takes some elaborate precautions, as Hero is notorious for escaping capture. Cage’s character is equipped with a leather suit full of explosives and a questionable array of sensors. For example, if he gestures as if to attack a woman, a bomb will explode in the arm. Likewise, if he gets excited too, a bomb will explode in his crotch.
The world, meanwhile, takes from various inspirations to create some visually beautiful sets. Sheriffs in cowboy hats mingle with sword-wielding rōnin, and the Ghostland itself is like a trippier version of a Falloutwasteland in style, complete with a strange cult that turns people into mannequins and fights to keep the hands of a giant clock from moving, so time stands still. When the people of the Ghostland Hero first see it, they inexplicably begin to sing about his “thick, red blood.” It’s a strange and disorienting world, and it’s a lot of fun to watch.
Sadly, the premise and world build feel largely wasted on a movie that doesn’t deliver either. To begin with, there is the star performer. The main draw of this film is undoubtedly Cage at his most Cage: manic, wild, exaggerated. But his performance is disappointing. For the most part, he’s just mad, but not the kind of fun-mad that makes a B movie fun. There is an uncomfortable rage when he shouts, “I’ll chop you!” to a crowd of strangers or yelling at the woman he rescues to undress. There are some nice dialogues – the most noticeable thing is that Cage uses the word “testicle!” Roars. for a large audience – but they are far too rare.
And then there is the story, which is completely incomprehensible. This isn’t always a bad thing as there are plenty of genre movies where the story is just an excuse for cool action sequences, but that’s not the case here. (The only interesting fight sequence takes place at the end of the movie.) Ghostland overwhelms you with story elements, but somehow things never get clearer. The story is both underdeveloped and exaggerated. There are abundant flashbacks, dream sequences, and even a literal slideshow scene about the horrors of toxic waste. All of this serves to complicate what should be a straightforward story.
This is really a movie that gets in the way in its own way. I want to watch Nic Cage in an explosive leather suit dig through the wreckage of a post-industrial wasteland while battling samurai, cowboys, insane cults and poisonous zombies. I mean, who isn’t? But Ghostland doesn’t give you enough of that. Instead, you have to wade through unnecessarily long exhibits and way too many “weird for weird” moments to get to the good stuff. It’s still a movie that will achieve cult status based on its premise alone. But if you’re going to a theater from now on to indulge in a marathon of Cage’s best genre work, this certainly won’t be the headliner.