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Review: ‘Mandy’ Is A Berserk, Genre Busting, Revenge Epic

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Where to even begin? Panos Cosmatos, director of 2012’s genre melting Beyond The Black Rainbow is back with another borderline indefinable movie that is another audio-visual feast for the eyes. And he’s brought Nicolas Cage along for the ride, front and center. Mandy is a movie like few others.

Image via IMDB

The story, set in the Californian Shadow Mountains circa 1983, Red Miller (Nicolas Cage) leads a quiet and comfy life as a lumberjack with his beloved Mandy Bloom (Andrea Louise Riseborough). Their happiness is brought to an abrupt end when Mandy catches the eye of cult leader and drug kingpin Jeremiah Sand (Linus Roache) and he decides to take her as his own. In the aftermath, Red has become enraged beyond comprehension, arms himself to the teeth, and vows revenge against Sand, his zealots, and his psychotic minions.

Image via IMDB

That’s as basic a presence as I can provide. Per Cosmatos’ usual style, the film carries a lot of ambiguity and interpretation- and is all the better for it. Though it is definitely far more of a narrative film than Beyond The Black Rainbow and a bit more straightforward, it’s something that needs to be experienced. I was fortunate enough to attend a screening with Cosmatos, Cage, and Roache in attendance, and the director gave us some insight into the creation of the film: He wanted to make ‘the antidote’ to BTBR and he wanted to make a distilled action/revenge movie. He succeeded in both objectives by leaps and bounds. Mandy is aggressive, violent, loud, and angry as opposed to BTBR‘s cold and methodical sci-fi story.

Image via IMDB

In terms of being an action/revenge movie, it checks every box in the genre and makes some new ones. It brings to mind everything from Death Wish, to Phantasm to all manner of influences that blend into something entirely new and beautiful. Featuring a hypnotic score by the late Jóhann Jóhannsson with synth tracks that haunt during the scenes of dread and creepiness and peaks into cries for battle during Red’s quest for revenge.

Nicolas Cage truly shines in the role of Red Miller, and what is assuredly one of the Oscar winner’s best performances on screen. Cage has garnered a reputation for his memorable, over the top scenes, and in Mandy that is stretched to the entire second half of the movie. Red in his domestic and work life is just a guy wanting to live his life and love Mandy, but when push comes to shove, he let’s loose an Incredible Hulk level of rage against his enemies and enacts brutal vengeance against them. Cage’s performance is exemplary, because the sheer tsunami of emotions he unleashes really cements his character and highlights his spree. And as reported previously reported, Cage takes some cues from everyone’s favorite summer camp slasher, Jason Voorhees. Fueled by madness, drugs, and adrenaline, Red becomes a force to be reckoned with and gets fairly creative and brutal with some finishing kills.

Image via IMDB

The villains in the movie stand out in their own ways as well. Jeremiah Sand is a cult leader and former folk rocker in the vein of Charlie Manson, with an emphasis made on his toxic influence and misogyny, lashing out at his followers more often than his perceived enemies. He’s the flipside to Beyond The Black Rainbow‘s main antagonist, the psycho psychologist Dr. Barry Nyle played chillingly by Michael Rogers. While Barry was cold, calculating, and methodical, Jeremiah has a hairtrigger temper, childish tantrums, and lives a hedonistic lifestyle. While Barry dons a cold black suit toward the end, Jeremiah wears a stark white robe when trying to indoctrinate Mandy as ‘his’ property. Though his strung-out ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’ act as his main minions, he has some genuinely terrifying allies. A quartet of insane, hyper-violent bikers called ‘The Black Skulls’. Summoned by blood and drugs, they enact Jeremiah’s horrifying will. These four definitely stand-out as antagonists, like a cross between the Hellraiser cenobites, The Plague duo of hitmen from Hobo With A Shotgun, and an Iron Maiden album cover. Needless to say, the fight between them and Red is unforgettable.

Image via IMDB

Which is the only issue I had with Mandy, Red faces off with The Black Skulls and after this excellent set-piece and series of duels, the pacing slows down a little bit… with the exception fo the equally stand-out chainsaw duel. That issue aside, Mandy is everything I could have ever wanted and never realized I would have wanted in such a movie. It is an absurd homage to the 80’s movies where one man can seek justice for a wrong-doing while heaping on an other-worldly experience on top of it. Even if you don’t think it’s your thing, I cannot recommend Mandy enough. It’s a spiritual experience.

Mandy is  now available in select theaters and VOD and will be available on Blu-Ray October 30th. Just in time for Halloween.

Image via IMDB

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‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt

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Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.

In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.

The Strangers

This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.

The Strangers

Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.

“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”

The Strangers

The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”

The Strangers

The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.

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‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time

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It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?

It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.

Fede Alvarez and Ridley Scott

Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.

Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.

Great Movie Ride

The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.

It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.

Alien Romulus
Alien (1979)

The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.

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Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween

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Halloween is the greatest holiday of them all. However, every great holiday needs amazing props to go with it. Luckily for you, there are two new amazing props that have been released, which are sure to impress your neighbors and frighten any neighborhood children who are unfortunate enough to wander past your yard.

The first entry is the return of the Home Depot 12-foot skeleton prop. Home Depot has outdone themselves in the past. But this year the company is bringing bigger and better things to their Halloween prop lineup.

Home Depot Skeleton Prop

This year, the company unveiled its new and improved Skelly. But what is a giant skeleton without a loyal friend? Home Depot has also announced that they will release a five-foot tall skeleton dog prop to eternally keep Skelly company as he haunts your yard this spooky season.

This bony pooch will be five feet tall and seven feet long. The prop will also feature a posable mouth and LCD eyes with eight variable settings. Lance Allen, Home Depot’s merchant of decorative Holliday gear, had the following to say about this year’s lineup.

“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites. Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”

Home Depot Prop

But what if giant skeletons just aren’t your thing? Well, Spirit Halloween has you covered with their giant life size Terror Dog replica. This massive prop has been ripped out of your nightmares to appear frighteningly on your lawn.

This prop weighs in at almost fifty pounds and features glowing red eyes that are sure to keep your yard safe from any toilet paper throwing hooligans. This iconic Ghostbusters nightmare is a must have for any fan of 80s horror. Or, anyone who loves all things spooky.

Terror Dog Prop
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