Prisoners of the Ghostland
In the treacherous frontier city of Samurai Town, a ruthless bank robber is sprung from jail by wealthy warlord The Governor, whose adopted granddaughter Bernice has gone missing. The Governor offers the prisoner his freedom in exchange for retrieving the runaway. Strapped into a leather suit that will self-destruct within five days, the bandit sets off on a journey to find the young woman—and his own path to redemption.
- Released: 2021-08-31
- Runtime: 103 minutes
- Genre: Action, Horror, Thrillers
- Stars: Nicolas Cage, Sofia Boutella, Bill Moseley, Nick Cassavetes, Tak Sakaguchi, Yuzuka Nakaya, Young Dais, Lorena Koto, Canon Nawata, Louis Kurihara, Tetsu Watanabe, Yunho, Charles Glover, Cici Zhou, Takato Yonemoto, Shin Shimizu, Matthew Chozick, Constant Voisin, Maya Carraz, Ilsa Levine, Yurino, Chiho Fujii, Christina Virzi, Riko Shibata
- Director: Sion Sono
Comments
- whiteace - 16 May 2024
One Arm & One Testicle
Now where can you begin with this...
The only way I can explain the setting of this movie is if the Mad Max & Fallout universe had a baby and it was set in Japan. However, it took after its father Max much more than it should in terms of story telling.
The plot is quite simple, go retrieve the girl. But it took the wacky wasteland perk from Fallout before writing how. From the choice in dialogue, actors, acting and sound, this is without question the weirdest movie I have had the pleasure to sit through.
The only reason you should ever watch this movie is if you are a fan of Nicolas Cage, otherwise you are not in for a treat. - jmerlino - 3 November 2023
Gloriously silly
When I watch a Nick Cage movie, I'm not looking for oscar-worthy acting (although he's capable of that), I'm looking for over the top, scenery chewing wackiness. On that score, Prisoners of the Ghostland does not disappoint.
You'll see some reviews here saying that this picture is a mess, that there's too much going on, etc. They're right. But I don't care. When I heard that this was the same gang that made Mandy, I was in.
This pic does not include a chainsaw duel (alas), but it does have a lot of crazy, unhinged action including a little girl mowing down a crowd with a gatling gun, Nick fighting with a sword attached to the stump where his hand was, and a group of men desperately trying to avert a nuclear explosion by restraining a clock's second hand.
The setting of this movie is really interesting. Seems like it could be the American west, or it could be japan. It feels like a period piece but there are modern cars, weapons and other modern tech. The dialog is in both English and Japanese, and the cast is multicultural to the point where it just kind of doesn't matter what race the cast is.
The main baddie - The Governer - is played by Bill Mosley, who is probably best known for his role in the Rob Zombie Devil's Rejects movies. Mosley plays The Governor as if he were Dennis Hopper starring as Boss Hogg.
The style of the movie is all over the place. It has nods to westerns, samurai/martial arts movies, and Hong Kong action flicks. There are specific nods to John Woo and Sam Peckenpaugh, and probably others that I missed.
This is just crazy fun, and it's awesome. Is it a great film? Hell naw. But you won't regret watching it unless you hate fun.
