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Cast: Nicolas Cage (Mom & Dad, Leaving Las Vegas), Andrea Riseborough (Battle of the Sexes, Birdman) and Linus Roache (“Homeland,” “Vikings”)
Pacific Northwest. 1983 AD. Outsiders Red Miller and Mandy Bloom lead a loving and peaceful existence. When their pine-scented haven is savagely destroyed by a cult led by the sadistic Jeremiah Sand, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance and laced with fire.
It is 1983, Red and Mandy live a secluded and peaceful life in the mountains of California. But one day their lives are changed forever when she meets the cultgroup, Children of the New Dawn. Their leader immediately becomes obsessed with Mandy and demands that his followers go and get her. This sends Red into a rage as he sets out to seek justice against the drug fueled religious group.
There is a reason 'Mandy' did not get a wide release in theaters and that is because the studio felt it was not mainstream enough and they were right in thinking so. Right from the start you can tell this is more an Indie, artsy type horror film with its use of colors its dream like sequences. The film starts off slow as we meet Mandy and Red and get a feel for their relationship together. The film remains slow for a good bit of time and the action does not really kick in until an hour or so into its two-hour run time. But once the action does start, it does not stop until the very end as Red takes out all his rage on the hippies and their leader.
One of the things that made the film good was the cast. Nicholas Cage gives one of the best performances of his career as Red. We all know he has done a lot of over the top acting before but it has never served him this well than it has now. Andrea Riseborough is also excellent as Mandy. Linus Roach as well as the rest of the supporting cast were all terrific as well.
Writer/Director, Panos Cosmatos has created a throwback to the 70's/80's grind house films and if not original it is certainly unique. Like I said before this is not going to be for everyone. Most are either going to love it or hate it. For me I liked it, it did start off a bit too slow for me and stayed that way for too long but once the action picked up the film got a whole lot better.
'Mandy' is going to appeal more to the Indie scene with its style and use of colors and music while only relying on dialogue when needed. My suggestion is to not read too many reviews for the film and just watch it instead of maybe having your expectations either too low or too high. To be honest I liked it a lot but I did not love it like a lot of others did.
'Mandy' will be on DVD and Blu-ray October 30, 2018 with Special Features that include:
Behind the Scenes
Deleted & Extended Scenes
Released by RLJE Films
*** 3/4 Out Of *****