Bullet Points: Prisoners of the Ghostland

What happens when you combine Nicolas Cage with Sion Sono? The answer is Prisoners of the Ghostland. Look for Prisoners of the Ghostland from RLJE Films on September 17th at a theater near you or on Digital and VOD. 

• Nic and Sion: Nic Cage is one-of-a-kind. He is insane in all the fun ways. He always appears to be trying in the countless movies he makes every year. There are no lazy bones in Nic Cage’s body.  Sion Sono is known for making loco movies in Japan. Some of the movies I’ve seen from him are Love Exposure, Cold Fish and Why Don’t You Play in Hell?. Prisoners of the Ghostland is Sono’s first English language film. It should also be noted Sono did not write Prisoners of the Ghostland. He normally writes and directs the movies he makes.
• The Plot: Is there a plot in Prisoners of the Ghostland? The best way to describe the plot is: Hero (Nic Cage) is recruited by The Governor (Bill Moseley) to find The Governor’s missing granddaughter Bernice (Sofia Boutella). Hero soon finds out there is much more to this mission than he first expected. Also, did I tell you he has a device attached to each of his testicles that will blow them up if he doesn’t return in a certain amount of time? Prisoners of Ghostland also stars Nick Cassavetes and Tak Sakaguchi. 

• The Action: I am still not sure if Prisoners of the Ghostland is a good movie, but the action sure does deliver. When the first word out of Cage’s mouth is Banzai, you know it is going to get crazy. There’s gunfights, sword fights, Nic Cage rides a bike and heavy machine gun action. Prisoners of the Ghostland has a Western vibe. It feels like something out of the Wild Wild West. 
• Crazy But Tame: Prisoners of the Ghostland is crazy, but perhaps not so crazy when you compare it to other films by Sono. This will not matter if you are unfamiliar with Sono’s work or other insane Japanese films.  I have never been a huge fan of Japanese Splatter. I like some films in the genre, but I don’t usually seek them out. 

• Final Thoughts: Nic Cage is the reason to watch Prisoners of the Ghostland. I have no doubt in my mind that Cage fans will eat this one up. Prisoners of the Ghostland is a hot mess, but what a beautiful hot mess it is. 
• Grade: B