Mandy (2018) #473

“Mandy” is psychedelic mind trip of colors, false messiahs, drugs, bikers, and a Nicholas Cage that you’ve never seen before. The movie will leave you wondering what you just saw and additional viewings may not help answer any questions, although the film will still be fascinating. It’s a unique film that caught the attention of many and currently holds a 91% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes 

There is no better way to describe Nicolas Cage’s performance in “Mandy” as anything other than elemental; he is a force of pure energy. He is finally able to tap into whatever zone he enters mentally when he steps in front of a camera now days and completely let go. There are moments where he is allowed to be calm and reflective and other times where he literally gets to scream and let all of his rage and anguish flow. No one ever saw this performance coming and those who haven’t, prepare yourselves for a brand new kind of Nicolas Cage.

The film’s story is nice and simple, which allows the events that take place to have their own weight and importance in each scene. Red and Mandy live a simple, quiet life in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Red works as a logger and Mandy works as a cashier at a gas station. They have deep philosophical conversations that lead you to believe that they are both recovering from past traumas. Everything is going fine until one day when a van drives by Mandy and one of the occupants, Jeremiah Sand, sees her and becomes obsessed. Jeremiah happens to be the leader of a hippie cult that calls themselves The Children of the New Dawn, and Jeremiah truly believes that what he wants is his with the permission from god himself. He has members of his cult kidnap her, which begins a violent, manic turn of events as Red seeks vengeance and does not allow anything to get in his way.

One thing that makes this movie so odd and yet wonderful is that you have no idea what is supernatural and what isn’t. Is Red merely a man seeking revenge or is he some kind of immortal? Are the bikers really just mind fried junkies or actual demons? What other atrocities have the Children committed to satisfy Jeremiah? There are no back stories save one, and that teases the audience in the best way in this film. What I do know is thaT this movie will leave a little imprint scarred on your brain that reads “Mandy and Red we’re here”.

The Faculty (1998)

Another great ensemble horror film from 1998 is “The Faculty”, starring established horror or sci-fi actors like Robert Patrick (“Terminator 2”), Famke Janssen (“House on Haunted Hill”), and Piper Laurie (“Carrie”) as well as younger actors like Josh Harnett and Elijah Wood. The film was directed by Robert Rodriguez, who had already shown us that he knew how to have fun with a horror flick after directing “From Dusk Till Dawn”! “The Faculty” is basically a variation of the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” story with a few plot points adjusted so it comes across as its own movie. The special effects are fine but a bit outdated compared to today’s picky standards. I really enjoyed the film and the tension that is builds when the characters become aware that there might be an alien amongst them.

High school students from various cliques and social circles are forced to band together when their school faculty members become influenced by a water-based alien that is able to take over its host. First the school and then world conquest! The school’s drug dealer Zeke (Hartnett) becomes the unintentional leader of the group after he figures out that his special drug cocktail can kill the alien host. Armed with the drug, Zeke and Casey, the school’s paper photographer, go out hunting for the queen to save their school and their friends.

Favorite moment – there is “The Thing” like scene where Zeke forces the group of students to take his drug in order to prove that they are still human.  Like the scene from “The Thing”, one of them isn’t and destroys the lab and most of the drug supplies they need to kill the invaders.

Maniac (2012)

“Maniac” is a “stalker/slasher” film about a serial killer who scalps his victims and staples his trophies to the headpiece of his mannequins. Starring Elijah Wood in a very different role than we are used to, this was a remake of a movie from 1980. The movie is film from the perspective of the killer, Frank, using the P.O.V technique. We rarely see Frank except for moments when he sees his own reflection or at brief moments that are used for artistic purposes. Because you are watching the film through the eyes of the killer, the viewer isn’t able to experience the horrible events from a distance and in a different context. The film was produced and the script was co-written and Alexandre Aja, who was also the producer and writer for the excessively violent French film “Haute Tension”. This was a very difficult movie to watch and I found very few moments entertaining. I will admit that the best scene in the film is at the end when Frank is killed by his inner demons, and oddly enough, the perspective is from his victims looking down at him as they tear his face apart.