PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND (2021)

PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND (2021)

Tagline: Before the internet, Before cell phones, Before roller-blades, There was a time... 1985. Don't pretend you don't remember.

(Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller ) [R]

Note: This movie doesn’t have a rating that I can find, but it’s definitely an R. 

I am radioactive!

In this one, a bank robber is broken out of jail by a warlord that just goes by the name “Governor”. His adopted granddaughter is missing and he wants the bank robber to find her. If the robber (known as “Hero”) can find her, he will be granted his freedom. He is tasked with doing it within three days because if he doesn’t explosives are rigged on his body to kill him. Can the bank robber redeem the crimes of his past? 

First off, this thing is pretty nuts. I don’t know if it’s the wildest movie I have ever seen, but it is definitely pretty bonkers. The setting is basically an old western type Samurai Town. The aesthetic is also crazy and involves what is essentially a chemical and nuclear wasteland where the people there feel like they have to wear pieced together doll-like face coverings to hide themselves. There are dudes that look like they were stolen from the set of MAD MAX, and all kinds of other crazy stuff including Nicolas Cage's character just blacking out and having bizarre dreams throughout. 

A lot of the reviews on this thing are saying that Nicolas Cage is really good in this and that is definitely the case, but the other performances are also really good and also quite dark at times. Sofia Boutella is probably given the least to do for too much of this movie. This is a bit odd because she can actually act and is best known for THE MUMMY. 

Where this movie just totally goes off the rails is in any attempt to be cohesive at all for a movie that took the writer 17 years to get made. There are just a ton of bizarre unnecessary moments and the direction is actually pretty terrible in a lot of shots. That isn’t a personal shot against Sion Sono who actually had a heart attack making this movie, but he has done a lot of weird crap that I don’t see myself ever watching. This movie does have some good lighting during the night scenes which I always appreciate. 

I wouldn’t say this is a horror film, but a lot of people categorize it as that. I will say it definitely has some creepy horror-like elements that separate it from other action flicks. Then again, the fact that this movie also isn’t all action also separates it from other action flicks. 

While the last half of the movie redeems a lot of the crap that happens in the first half, it’s still not very well shot and a lot of the ideas introduced never actually even get used. I find it odd that this world had the tech to create an explosive device that knows what “Hero” is doing at all times, but they can’t do much else in the tech space that we get exposed to?

For me, this is a very “middle of the road” film I would expect someone like Tarantino to shoot but has an oddly satisfying ending.

It lacks the soundtrack and even a few bits of humor that could have improved it, but it’s still a 4 out of 7 for me. If you do watch this one, you have to be in the mood for something pretty freakin crazy.

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