Mandy (2018)

Written by Per Gunnar Jonsson on March 30, 2019

This is one weird movie. I have to confess that I am quite a fan of Nicholas Cage. I know he has made more than his share of really crappy movies but I can not help myself. When I see a movie with him in the lead role I still have to watch it. This movie is one of those.

There are definitely some interesting cinematic aspects to this movie. As a piece of cinematic art I would say that it is not bad at all. However, it is definitely weird and whoever wrote this script, well he was on drugs when he wrote it, there is no doubt in my mind about that.

It is part a grindhouse movie in the spirit of Tarantino and Rodriguez and part a far out psychedelic visual experience. I do not regret watching it. It was a experience if nothing else. Was it a good movie in general? No, not really. The 3 out of 5 score from me is barely and it is largely due to the cinematics, a few cool (and violent) scenes and Nicholas Cage.

The movie seems to focus on delivering one weird scene after another. There is not really any explanation to most things. I especially would have liked to know more about and get more of a conclusion on this (supernatural?) bike gang. But they just show up and then they kind of disappear from the story.

The main bad-guy is an absolute nut-case but we never really get to understand what drives this weirdo. He has created some cult with a few followers but that is about it. His demise, although satisfactory, is just a show of insanity.

In short the movie is a mix of heavy metal, horror, violence and psychedelic weirdness and I would say that the audience for this movie is a quite small group of people. I’m not really sure that I am in that group.