Review of Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021) by Thequietgamer — 23 Nov 2021

An intriguing pairing of Nicolas Cage and one of Japan's most notoriously wild directors that seemed poised to be the next Mandy. Playing out like a live-action oddball anime, this samurai western black comedy can certainly be delightfully strange at times. Yet, what keeps it from reaching the same heights as other of the Matchstick Men star's wackier outings like, say, Willy's Wonderland is that its peculiarity is really all it has to offer.

Sion Sono was intent on packing every scene with as many eccentric sights as possible, so there's always something interestingly bizarre to look at and I was left consistently impressed by his ability to direct such elaborate clutters of madness. The vast majority of it though occurs without meaning. An enticingly goofy opening gives way to a lengthy middle portion where the plotting hits a brick wall and only a few noteworthy moments can be found (all of which involve the lead's ballsack), before eventually picking up again in the action-packed finale. This causes the curious flourishes and outlandish visuals to often feel like filler content designed to pad out the length rather than anything of actual significance. Particularly inspired filler, but filler nonetheless.

If you're like me and check out Cage's work just to see whatever kind of ridiculous crap he's getting up to next, you'll get a sense of satisfaction out of knowing you watched what may very well be the weirdest release of his career thus far. It's weirdness without substance however so its staying power compared to his modern successes such as Color Out of Space is limited. Perhaps even being one of the more forgettable entries in his catalog overall, outside of the one or two instances where it delivers some of the most memorable Cage-isms to date.

6.