Prisoners of the Ghostland - Movie Review

What do you get your drop Nicolas Rage into a Japanese Post-Apocalyptic Western Mad Maxian Landscape? I don’t know if I have the words.

Let’s discuss.

No, that isn’t a typo. You read it right. In the midst of his renaissance, Nicolas Cage has been reborn in the fires of his madness. No longer will he be known as a Nic in a cage. He is Nicolas Rage.

Anyway.

Prisoners of a Ghostland is a Science Fiction Western Tokusatsu film brought to us from the brilliant mind of writer/director Sion Sono. If you don’t know that name, you should. He’s a pioneer of gritty mind bending films that push the limits of Japanese cinema. His filmography is a catalog of groundbreaking bangers like one of my favorite movies all time Suicide Club. He also brought the chilling Cold Fish to the screen which is by far one of the creepiest movies ever made. His films range from seriously dark thrillers to over the top Troma-esque fever dreams. Prisoners of the Ghostland falls into the latter category.

Is that a bad thing?

Depends on who you are.

Are you someone who likes a tight plot and crisp dialogue?

Do you like things that make sense?

Then this isn’t for you.

If you like movies like Versus, Tokyo Gore Police, and Mutant Girls Squad. Then you sir/ma’am/non-binary, this is for you.

Also, you have fantastic taste.

Prisoners of the Ghostland centers on Hero, played by Nicolas Rage. Following a botched bank robbery that involved the death of a dozen people, including his partner, Hero is jailed in the dungeon of the Baron, played by Bill Moseley. When the Baron’s favorite “daughter” runs away, Hero is strapped into a bomb laden suit and deployed into the ghost land on a rescue mission. He has three days to traverse the strange, demon filled highway before his testicles are set to explode. Will he find the girl or will he be hitting some new high notes. Find out in Prisoners of the Ghostland.

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I watched this movie during a bout of pain inspired insomnia while under the influence of Grape Ape. Pain aside, I feel like this was the perfect mindset to be in for this film—sleep deprived and stoned.

The crazy thing is that as for as Sion Sono films go, this movie might be the most beautiful he’s ever done. He’s known for doing almost entirely handheld footage and you can definitely feel that here, but its not as gritty as his previous works. While films like Suicide Club and Noriko’s Dinner Table have a thick varnish of grain on them, this is closer to Sono’s recent Vampire Hotel miniseries. It’s 4k and Sono knows it. He plays with colors and textures throughout the film. While the Ghostland is drab, withered, and beige—Samurai Town is a neon spectacle. I watched this on my 82” Samsung QLED with HDR10 and it was seamless. This looks like an expensive film, but it’s still more akin to something like Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl.

Then there’s the script…

…I don’t think there was one for anyone other than Bill Moseley.

Nic Rage doesn’t need words to act. He is a swirling vortex of fire and determination. Also, he’s channeling Elvis in this one. No really, the leather suit looks like the black leather get-up the King used to wear on stage in his skinnier days. Nic also flashes the signature lip curl and in his fight scenes tends to resort to kung-fu akin to what the flying Elvises did in Honeymoon in Vegas. But you know what, it’s fantastic. The great thing about Nic Rage is that you never know what’s going to happen. I feel like most times you hire Nic, its in his contract that he will perform in the movie sans direction. He contextualizes his character based on the set dressing, costume, and the actors around him. You just never know what he’ll do. There’s a moment in the film where he is standing in a diaper (yes I know its a sumo wrap, but a diaper is funnier) and a woman screams, “Show us your balls!” I was actually scared that I was going to see Nic’s sack. That’s how unpredictable this man is and that is what he brings to the table. There are some moments in the film that just feel like Nic did something random and everyone played along. Like when he leaps out of the bitchin’ 90’s Toyota Celica they give him to ride a little girl’s bike out of town.

So, we’ve got a visionary director, check.

We have very little script, check.

Oh right, the cast.

For as bonkers as this movie is, it’s not a bunch of nobodies. You’ve got the previously mention Nicolas Rage and Bill Moseley. You’ve also got Sofia Boutella.

Ohhhh Sofia Boutella… She has low-key become a stable in the horror genre. She’s also a flat out legend. People mistake her as French, but she’s actually an Algerian dancer and actress. You may recognize her from films like The Kingsman, The Mummy, Atomic Blonde, and Climax. When she’s on the screen, you can’t take your eyes off of her. Much like Zoe Saldana, Sofia is a lifelong professional dancer. The way she moves is so deliberate and controlled, but it comes off as fluid. She’s just beautiful in every conceivable way. She has such a unique face with unbelievable bone structure and her voice is smokey. I think she’s extremely talented, but she rarely gets to show it. Atomic Blonde and Climax are the two best examples of the real Sofia Boutella, but what do I know?

I know that Tak Sakaguchi is in this film, that’s what. If you’re a fan of splatter horror and Japanese grind house cinema from the late 90’s into the 2000’s, you know this face. He’s the star of legendary films like Versus, Death Trance, Alive, Tokyo Gore Police, Godzilla: Final Wars, and Mutant Girl’s Squad. He’s been a fixture of Japanese horror cinema for two decades. He has a face straight out of an Anime. More than that, he’s a trained killer. He legit is a black belt in Judo and an accomplished boxer. He was working as a street fighter when he was discovered by a director Ryuhei Kitamura and was cast in Versus. When he performs the fight choreography in the film, he puts everyone else to shame. Every movement looks real, every cut precise, but he also imbues an almost Kabuki-like flourish to his movements. It’s high theater with a blade.

Then there’s Bill Tutti-Fuckin’ Fruiti Moseley, who horror fans will always remember as Chop-Top from Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, who in my childhood was the second scariest movie villain to David Cronenberg’s Decker from NightBreed. He then went on to play the best character in Rob Zombies criminally mishandled Firefly Family trilogy, Otis. He’s cemented his place in the horror hall of fame by this point, so why not do a post apocalyptic samurai western science fiction flick? Not only that, why not steal the show? This might be Moseley’s best performance since The Devil’s Rejects. I don’t care what anyone says, that movie is a masterpiece and Bill Moseley portrayed psychopathy better than most anyone ever has. There’s a grating charisma to Moseley’s performances. Sometimes it comes off as one note, but in this film I feel that it felt dead on to what the movie needed. He plays the pedophile pimp take on Boss Hog with gusto. He not only gets to deliver his signature screaming, he also gets the only truly coherent dialogue in the film. He also looks like he’s having a blast in every scene, especially the musical numbers.

Those are the big names, but even the smaller roles are filled with legends like the prolific Japanese television actor Tetsu Watanabe and Hollywood royalty Nick Cassavetes. It’s just wild the group they put together for this crazy mess of a film.

Yes, it’s a crazy mess. This isn’t a film for sane moviegoers who expect a clean narrative or plot structure. This is film is more akin to The Holy Mountain than it is to Con Air.

This is splatter punk caviar for neon burned retinas.

It’s part Escape from New York, part Death Race 2000, and part What Dreams May Come.

It’s a mess, but I loved it.

Watch this movie is you’re a splatter punk fanatic or if you just need something flashy on in the background. If you love Japanese fringe cinema or if you’re a fan of Troma films. This will be right up your alley.

Prisoners of a Ghostland is streaming now on Shudder.