Prisoners of the Ghostland

Cage and Sono work in theory. They are both artists who march to the beat of their own drum and navigate the cultural terrain in ways that largely ignore, even obliterate, conventional distinctions (e.g. high and low, popular and alternative, mainstream and underground etc), but Prisoners suffers from a sluggish pace, poor dialogue and moments of forced eccentricity. In short, it tries way too hard to be a cult item, resulting in a discombobulated mess that only 'works' in fits and starts.

It's probably something you will enjoy more if you make an effort to study it rather than trying to sit and be entertained. It's your world though. Maybe you don't sit at all while you watch movies. Maybe you're busy and the only time you have to watch movies is when you're exercising. Maybe you don't exercise but your TV is in a warehouse and the ground isn't ideal for sitting on. I call this Sion Soto brainstorming.

On the one hand, it seems as if Sono, lumped with an awful script, has done whatever he can think of to alleviate his own boredom. On the other hand, there are parts where it seems he has deliberately made it as conspicuously bad as possible, as if to signal that he knows what a pile of junk the whole thing is. Whatever the case, nothing works. Furthermore, if this is at least colourful, it is nevertheless also frequently orange and teal, a fashion that one might have hoped had had its day.

Unfortunately, this was kind of bad. I felt the movie was all over the place in terms of what was going on and with all the tangents and scenes not really going anywhere. Nicolas Cage is surprisingly bland for most of it. I was pretty bored too. To give some credit, the set design and aesthetics aren’t too bad, as well as the costumes and violence. Maybe there were more scenes that didn’t make the cut? It seemed structurally messy and the weird stuff fell flat. Simply not worth the trip.

The poster says "A Sion Sono Film". Which is exactly what you get. But it's not the one you expected or wanted. Especially since it stars Nic Cage. Think less 'Why don't you play in Hell?' and more 'Keiko desu kedo'. But, that doesn't mean it isn't great. It is, just differently.

In a strange post apocalyptic world, Nic Cage is a prisoner who gets recruited for a suicide mission to save an abducted girl. Part Road Warrior, part Army of Darkness, and 100% bizarre yet visually inspired. It's great fun seeing Cage and Bill Moseley hamming it up, but the script here isn't as tight or interesting as it could have been. Sono's stylistic touches and Cage's performance are left to carry the film, with mixed results. Not a great story, but an interesting watch.

A complete mess that wasn't even 'so weird/bad its funny' like I hoped it might be when Cage rode off on the girl's bicycle near the start.

This movie has a bit of everything. Not every choice works in this movie but there are some interesting moments. Overall more focus in the script would have improved this film.

I can't believe people hate this movie. Even though the script isn't good enough, Prisoners of the Ghostland is pure madness. The set design, cinematography, directing, soundtrack and of course Nic Cage were great.

I will give it credit for being absolutely insane but the film just sort of meanders around dreamily doing the same thing over and over. Can't keep up the insanity factor long enough to outweigh the minimal story.

This was just a little bit too weird for me. It's got some amazing visuals, especially with the colored lights. Nic Cage continues being awesome with just doing whatever the hell he wants, but as far as the plot of this movie goes, it's not just very exciting. Cage yelling TESTICLE really loud was the best part.

garbage, only amusing for Nic Cage bits

A little disappointed but it's still a fun genre flick. There is some really inspired imagery and Cage is clearly having a lot of fun here. It was weird but that weirdness didn't always translate to a compelling narrative. It was a little difficult to get invested sometimes. I give it some points for the excellent action sequence in the final act, along with the dual ball kicks which actually made me laugh out loud.

It's not often you come across a truly terrible film. Out of the two Cage offerings this year, (Willy's Wonderland being the other) Prisoners of the Ghostland seemed like the more interesting choice. Boutella does nothing to elevate the film, which remains derivative & brash. Nothing works! The plot is either nonsensical or boring; the characters uninteresting; the dialogue inane. The action & aesthetic are tolerable but wasted on a film that is otherwise painfully unengaging.

Tries way too hard but I wasn't bored by this flick regardless.

Tam bir fever dream olan bu film aslında keyifli görsel tercihleri olsa da senaryo konusunda başarısız.

Although brilliantly bizarre and dystopic, the lack of a coherent/underdeveloped story and too many gaps in the plot ends up dragging the movie down. I did laugh a few times with Cage's over-the-top performance which fits right in.

Zatoichi and the Exploding Technicolor Testicle. It can be legitimately read as bargain-bin Jodorowsky gobbledygook - or, as a portrait of the angst and mania of a post-Fukushima Japan, full of Western controlling interests, a lack of personal identity and agency, and important info filtered through at least two layers of Google Translate. If you believe the latter, you get a theme of healing through ritual. If you believe the former, at the very least you get Cage screaming about his lost Junk.

It is a completely unhinged experience, it is not grounded into anything remotely relatable or human, the tone is so strident and confused. And that's too bad, because I think there was potential here, if only the filmmakers would have replaced at least some of the things they shot to look 'cool' with something that anchored at least one character into something coherent and recognisable.

I really don't understand what this was trying to be. Just disappointing as a Cage fan.

2021'de #IzlediğimFilmler : 263. Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021) Fragmanı olağanüstüydü, posteri de gösterişli. Keşke bu izlenimlerle bıraksaymışım filmi. Benim gibi Nicolas Cage fetişi iseniz izleyiniz.

The film was more meandering and less propulsive and manic than I would have liked, especially for a collaboration between Sono and Cage, but it does have some great moments. The production design of the Ghostland set and the weird cultish society that has developed there make the film worth watching.

watchable

I don't get it.

It's a Nicolas Cage movie. What more do you want?

Such a waste of genuinely great visuals. Love Exposure is one of my favorite films, but this one lacks everything that made the Love Exposure story so great.

Sono seems to want to put his stamp on what, on paper, is a good ol' bargain-bin VHS action flick that could have starred Hauer or Piper or even a Gibson who owed someone a favour. But somewhere in the layers of all the different and contractually-obliged-to-be-cult ways this movie could play out it never really settles for one that works. There are a few really cool things here but far too often, it shoots blanks.

Wow what a fucking campy mess. Something something japanese war guilt american cultural hegemony theater of the oppressed b movie vibes. Genuinely feels ad libbed for much of the movie except for periodic chorus chants. Still pretty fun though.