Mandy

Well, how to approach this? On the one hand, we have impressive formal confidence that warrants praise. All those colour filters, sound deformations and blurry visuals look a bit cheap and become boring after a while, but they do build a sufficiently thick atmosphere to overcome the initial monotonous pace and WTF dialogues. The insane villains felt annoying rather than terrifying and the logic is something nobody thought too much about, but that’s not what this is about; this is a film about Nicolas Cage coming out of a hallucinogenic haze wielding a home-made mace to massacre religious fanatics with a smile on his face, and this is something that’s fits perfectly not only Cage, whose performance is flawless, but also Cosmatos, someone who doesn’t do routine and presents a chase after cult-nuts as an authentic road to hell, and he deserves all my sympathy for that. For the time being, 70%, and I’m keeping the fourth * for next time. (2018-10-29)

Oh, no, not this. Again, one of those films that critics praise to the skies but is literally painful for the average viewer. Nicolas Cage is a dead actor for me, this guy won't be in a good movie anymore and he certainly can't act. The strange pink and red filter covering the financial shortcomings was annoying, absolutely nothing happens for an hour, and if by some miracle you are still awake after an hour and not completely disgusted, you won't find much satisfaction in the second one either. I suffered, I went crazy, this is not for me. 35% (2018-09-15)

Panos Cosmatos finally found a suitable topic for his distinctive and visually extravagant LSD experiments - a lumberjack nightmare on bad drugs with brutally bloody orgies, chainsaws and bikers from hell. Only the hallucinogenic passages and the demonically-psychedelic music of Jóhan Jóhannsson save the first half and its extremely relaxed pace, but then such a sectarian trash metal epic starts that it is difficult not to succumb to it, although resistance to extreme violence is a necessary precondition. Nicolas Cage's crazy performance amounts to a guilty pleasure on a trip. Mandy is a cruel and evil film, but it is equally distinctive. (2018-06-30)

Mandy is a hallucinogenic grindhouse revenge bloodbath, at the beginning of which there is a love story engulfed by cosmic darkness. It is surprisingly compelling and conceptually cohesive, given the cheap filters and B-movie budget. It is also pleasantly refreshing in the context of the artsy festival mood. The highlight, of course, is Cage drinking in white shorts and an orange t-shirt with a tiger emblazoned on it. [Cannes] (2018-05-14)

This is the essence of what the audience of a film festival expects from the midnight screening, but rarely gets. An incredibly crammed butchery especially tailored for horror fans. Plus, it is made with love. And it has the best Nicolas Cage in years. If you have the impression, during the first half, that Cage’s performance is modest and intimate, then the other part will prove you wrong by bringing one of the most frantic creations of his career. Hats off to director Panos Cosmatos for being able to manage the whole thing; I’m eager to see what he will do next! Last but not least, I also take my hat off to the recently deceased Jóhann Jóhannsson for his music – a superb farewell. Mandy is a pure gem! [KVIFF 2018] (2018-06-29)