Mandy

I must say I had no idea what to expect when I walked into the screening room. Well, Mandy is a great surprise. Although the film has the late 70’s horror films’ grain and familiar style, it is original and refreshing. Panos Cosmatos, known for Beyond the Black Rainbow, succeeds to transport us into his mysterious and psychedelic horror world through an unusual kaleidoscopic cinematography; it is green, blue, yellow then it turns red. Be ready to dive in a blood bath!

Also, missed Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhanssonn’s synthesizers perfectly matches the genre and transcends the picture. Nicolas Cage portrays Red, a man who lives a peaceful existence with his girlfriend, Mandy, in the Shadow Mountains until they cross paths with the members of religious cult. Cage doesn’t hold it, and delivers an enthralling performance. Linus Roache as Jeremiah, the cult leader, incarnates some delusional guru and failed singer, a surreal Helter Skelter Jesus freak, and shows us his acting range is infinite.

Panos Cosmatos successfully plays with his audience by sprinkling the most horrific scenes with comedic lines or actions and story twists. His homage to the genre and era is a delightful master stroke.

Mandy
Directed by Panos Cosmatos
Produced by Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller, Elijah Wood, Adrian Politowski, Martin Metz, Nate Bolotin
Screenplay by Panos Cosmatos, Aaron Stewart-Ahn
Story by Panos Cosmatos
Starring Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache, Bill Duke, Richard Brake, Ned Dennehy, Olwen Fouere, Sam Louwyck, Hayley Saywell
Music by Jóhann Jóhannsson
Cinematography Benjamin Loeb
Edited by Brett W. Bachman
Production company : SpectreVision, Umedia, XYZ Films
Distributed by RLJE Films
Release date : January 19, 2018 (Sundance), September 14, 2018 (United States)
Running time : 121 minutes

Saw on September 6th, at Wilshire Screening Room, Beverly Hills