Mandy - Review - The Best Moviegoing Experience I've Had All Year (No Spoilers Until  

Best movie in a looong time. Not cold calculated intellectual crap. Not marvel like kids movie. Not a boring jumpscare horror. Just pure cool movie done by someone who love his work

Rented Mandy Friday, I've watched it 3 times already. It's like the perfect blend of Drive and Evil Dead.

I went to a movie theater near my house, they were showing it for just one day, smoked a bit and relaxed before watching it, Coke and Hot-dog.... There were 8 people total, and at the end of the movie everyone clapped, we knew we saw something special.... It is recommended for people that have been exposed to exploitation, midnight movies, horror, or art films in general...I have seen people give it a 1 on IMDB.... This movie is a visual feast, I could not stop talking for it for at least 3 days, best movie I have seen in the last 10 years....

It is a high watermark of modern horror for sure!

Just watched it about an hour ago in the local independent theater where I live. INCREDIBLE. It was like being in a dream/nightmare, seriously. In fact, after I watched it I was so shocked I didn't know what to think of it. I'd watched Panos' other movie "Beyond the Black Rainbow" years ago and loved it and wondered when and if he would do another movie. When I heard he was doing "Mandy" I was happy as hell. I wasn't disappointed, it was a mash of genres, not only a cosmic horror movie, but a psychedelic drug film and a biker film. I am also a huge metal head, and the imagery in particular was fucking metal to the core. Panos has said he wanted "Mandy" to be his "Doom Metal movie" he succeeded beyond belief. Watch it, people.

First video I’ve seen from this channel. Fantastic. SUBSCRIBED !!!

In the golden age of mediocrity, this movie came out as a real piece art , absolutely stunning! Loved it

possibly nic cage's finest performance. panos is a wildly talented writer/director. i was blown away by this movie.

There’s an extra layer of surrealism for us Brit’s you may not be aware of. Linus Roache (Jeremiah) is well known as the son of William Roach. Most Americans won’t know, but Bill Roach is a household name for playing the character of Ken Barlow in the soap Coronation Street, he’s been in it since the first episode in 1960! Linus even played his dad in a documentary about the making of the first episode 😆

Nick Cage is so fucking intense in this film. That scene where he is talking to Bill Duke (the now notorious "Crazy Evil" scene) is such pure, unadulterated Cage yet so real that I think it might be one of Nick Cage's best moments ever.

I watched the review until spoilers section and if I was interested in what I'd heard until now, you have sold it to me in the best possible way. I can't wait to watch it. Sad that it won't have the proper release a film like this deserve. I must say that still I can't accept that in Spain, "Enter the Void" never was released. I don't understand why visionary films are hidden this manner. A real pleasure to hear your review and I promise to watch the rest of it once I watch the film. Have an awesome weeekend, James!

Nicholas Cage is back baby! Mom and Dad was so much fun and now this!

still my favorite movie of the year as of 10/8. Im not even really a horror fan and up until Mandy it was probably Hereditary. Good year for horror.

Immediately after i saw the trailer, i was glued to the web hunting for where it would play in my home town. They were surprisingly playing it in my old neighborhood, not to far from where i stay now. There was 2 showings displayed leading up to it's release but on the week of, the theatre dropped the later one. So my friend and i had to settle for the 7:25 p.m. but we got off work at 6:00. We changed at the office (seperately) and flew over to the cinema. It was dead cause it was Thursday but there were maybe another 25-30 in the showing. Everyone dead quiet, mouths agape in wonderment. After the cheddar goblin commercial people were laughing and the mood lightened. But as those of us that saw the film know, that's when it got real intense. Long story short i was blown away. Literally felt charged up and clear minded as hell. It was such a refreshing trip that it was therapeutic. It's been now 3 days and i won't shut up about it. The imagery and music still burns through my mind. Such a masterwork from a true stylistic genius. Panos knew exactly what he wanted. And patiently and carefully got there. What an achievement. Can't wait for that bluray!!

You cut my shirt .... I loved this flick

Phenomenal experience. I was lucky enough to see it in the theater. It blew my mind. So much fun. A true landmark film for horror fans and fans of mondo cinema. I'm so grateful to everyone involved, for creating this rare gem of cinema!....And, I love your very enthusiastic review of the film as well ; ) Cheers!

I watched it on a large RPX screen. Thank god the people who were there kinda knew what they were getting in to. Im lucky i caught it. Was only showing thursday night at 7pm and only one night. Not since Mad Max: Fury Road or Bladerunner 2039 have i seen somthing so beautiful so violent come to the theater. It needs to be seen on a big screen to bad it is not playing longer.

Thanks for review! You should watch his first one "Beyond The Black Rainbow" - very good too!

just watched it 10 minutes ago... I too am basking in a sort of post orgasmic bliss.. the script is neither horror or drama, more like a goofy stoner fairytale, but every line is funny, the comic timing is perfect, and it is visually one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen. When I watched Clive Barker's "Lord of Illusions", I wanted to see less of Scott Bakula's detective character, and more of the creepy acid/magick cult. This movie gives us the scariest acid cult ever... Manson Family, Processarians, Heaven's Gate, EST... they've got nothing on the cult in Mandy, and Cosmatos, quite brilliantly, imbues the cult members with an incredible depth of latent biography. Watching the film, I could easily imagine all of the characters, good and evil alike, sort of passing through the withering psychedellic culture of the seventies and choosing to emerge into a new identity and destiny in the eighties. It reminds me of "ALIEN", not just because of slithering strobe lit monsters, but because it is cheesy shlock deconstructed and subverted into high art by an attention to detail by a perfect cast and crew under the direction of a fearless auteur. What a fucking gem. P.S. If Quentin Tarantino is a walking dictionary of screenwriting tropes, Then Panos Cosmatos is surely a repository of the language of cinematography. I loved the George Miller, Ridley Scott, and John Boorman references. The cult's magickal horn and knife are lit like "excalibur", the scene where red wakes up nailed to a floorboard by the Gimp are very Blade Runner, and scene where the Black Skull gang attacks Red and Mandy is a remake of the xenomorph stowing away aboard the Narcissus in Alien.

ABSOLUTELY agreed with your statement about Cosmotos's love of italian cinema...!

My theater only had 5 other people in it, we were all completely silent and amazed at what happened on screen. I love this movie.

I just saw this a couple nights ago and it absolutely FLOORED me. I am jealous you got to see it in the theater, but I have to say that seeing it alone, in the dark, on a massive screen with a hefty speaker system, while smoking juuuuuuust enough weed, was AMAZING. One of my favorite movies ever, and why I love movies in the first place. Seriously blew me away, and I can't wait to watch it again.

Did you watch this at the SF draft-house? I saw it at the Alamo Drafthouse.

What a absolutely beautiful work of horror. The visuals and soundtrack are so captivating. This movie will become an essential piece of film horror as the 1974 Texas chainsaw massacre is.

best cinematic experience since i was a child

Mandy is great the lighting is superb a classic for sure :)

Great review. Spot on. I saw it last week at Alamo Brooklyn as well.

It’s incredible ! I was with you through twin peaks and i am checking back in to agree fully ! love your videos man

What an amazing film. I have now seen it twice. Most original horror flick I have seen in years. Great review !

Did anyone else see the post credits scene?? Spoiler below: It shows illustrations of Red with the tiger and few others, I think one of the bikers, and it appears to be done by Mandy. This is also after (obviously) we see Red driving away with multiple planets in the background. I think the movie could have been another sci-fi novel Mandy was reading, or perhaps writing of her own. And at the end (post credit scene) we see her illustrations.

I saw it in theatres and own it on blu-ray. It’s one of the best examples of blending arthouse with grindhouse. I’m looking forward to any future Panos Cosmatos projects since Beyond the Black Rainbow and this are amazing.

Couldn’t agree more, although I think Mandy is head and shoulders above all three of the classics you mention, because not only does it have the expressive chops, and the authenticity, but it packs a massive and deep emotional wallop. First time I saw this was on video, as I live far from a city. The first half was like perfect cinema, while the second has taken some getting used to, as I’m not a fan of action films. But it really is excellent from Beginning to end. Wish I could have experienced it the way you did!

This crazy ride of a film proves that Gonzo Cage is the best Cage!!! What a movie!!!

Dude, I loved this movie review! You're awesome!

I watched it on VOD tonight, was awesome lol

The first hour of the film is my favorite hour of 2018 by far! I couldn't stop repeating in my head the word "GENIUS!!!"

Amazing

Great review! I rented it from Amazon last night. I really do wish I had the same theater experience you had. It's one of those movies you just can't get out of your head for a few days, even when viewed solo... which doesn't happen often. Definitely going to need to watch it again.

LOVED IT SO RAW AND TRIPPY

I watched this movie sober and then watched it a few days later completely stoned, both times in pitch black on my own. Watching it baked is an even more of a rollercoaster ride. Definitely a range of emotions, I did shed out some tears during the movie. Loved the trippy LSD effects and colours and the gore was awesome too! Definitely would recommend, although it does have a slow start the visuals, score and acting are top class.

the trailer had me sold and the movie did not disappoint

Thank you so much for the recommendation!! "Mandy" is playing at an indie theater tonight and I was hesitant to see it. Some warn that it's super violent. Which I don't mind if it's not gratuitous. The cinematography in the trailer looked amazing. So far, "Hereditary" is my pick for this year's best movie. I look forward to seeing if I change my mind!

Great Review! I can feel your energy through the camera!

What I want to know is where Cage's character suddenly gets a metal forge and a mould for a huge war axe from.

"YOU RIPPED MY SHIRT!! YOU RIPPED MY SHIRT!!!!"

Found the film Mandy after watching Beyond the Black Rainbow. With BTBR, you either like it or hate it. Mandy may play to multiple audiences. My "film" friends mostly hated BTBR but Loved Mandy. To each their own I guess.

Goosebumps, man... you totally nailed it! By the way, MANDY is my favorite movie, love it!

Glad you qualified that to best movie experience, as interesting to see that younger generations praised the movie as the best they've ever seen. Loved it, but wouldn't go that far. When you've seen so many great movies of similar ilk before, its hard to give something that badge. Felt immersed from start, but had to dismiss the media references throughout and get back in the saddle. Homage to old Saturday night KungFu/Horror double bills. This may be the GhostRider film Cage really wanted, and what about the nod to Cage's 8MM? So many references or similarities. "Very very slow". Cultural. Too slow for Americans. Bikers were not supernatural. Bill Duke explained all that. But initially there was enough ambiguity thrown in to think that. HellRaiser; 8MM; True Detective; Apocalypse Now; Escape From New York; The Evil Dead; Conan The Barbarian; Carrie; Rosemary's Baby; Communion; The Ninth Gate. Frank Frazetta; Michael Moorcock. So let's accept although not an obvious reboot, there are enough references to say its homage territory.

When a movie can make you forget that you just saw a 50 year old man clipping his toenails in the middle of the theater, you know it's a masterpiece.

I just saw this ........it is wild !!.......like "Only God Forgives"

David Lynch meets Hell Raiser meets The Hills have eyes.

I can't believe something so goddamned dark put such a big-ass smile on my face. That giddiness of realizing you're seeing a masterpiece.... The scene where he's making the axe is I think a nod to Rolling Thunder and the scene where Devane makes a sawed off shotgun while wearing aviator shades.

I still fell in love with season 3 of twin peaks so much more.

you should totally check the previous movie from this director: beyond the black rainbow. similar audiovisual experience but with a science fiction vibe

Sop many people complaining about the first hour.. i dont get it

Wow James, thats so crazy and so fkn interesting what you said about the train ride home. I totally get it man. I wasnt lucky enough to see it in the theater, but I did rent it on demmand the 1st night it was available, and I too absolutely loved this film. I actually watched it a 2nd time right away the following day. I can not wait to get my brother to see it and see it again myself.

I wish I could see this on the big screen, it's not playing at any theaters near me :(

I love Mandy. I wore the headphones and watched close up (and took an ambien). It was a trippy magical experience.

Wow I watched this movie on Hulu recently and I must say, being a big Nic Cage fan at first I wasn’t really feeling it but then, it started to happen and I pieced together what was going on and I actually quite enjoyed it

I really have movie envy for you guys in the US - here in the UK watching a movie is done in staunch silence. I would love to check out the full fat US movie going experience - I'll be watching this movie soon. i'll chime in when I've seen this baby :)

I got to watch it from home, it was a different experience. I can believe watching with others was probably way more fun. Its a lot slower and you have to really be patient, but there's some fun moments even without having a crowd with you.

Saw this last night and felt the same way.

I'm in the process of procuring a projector so I can stream this flick wall-sized on a loop at my Halloween party. Aside from that, the OST is *FANTASTIC*. Rest well, Johann Johannsson. Trippy, funny, culty, Nick Cagey!? I had a very odd, very new grin on my face for the majority of the movie.

Great film! Saw it in the theater and I wish I had as great an experience as you. Unfortunately I had some high af jackasses next to me who kept talking about the movie at full volume after anything good happened. Saw it Thursday night with the Q and A and I'm still thinking about it 😀

Pure Cinema. I've been saying, you've said, many others have said it. It truly is Pure Cinema. I haven't been as enthused by a film since Mullholland Drive.

Great one. Nick is back.

Great review. Totally agree.

Just watched Mandy for the first time - at home on DVD - Good Weird. Own the dvd so will definitely watch again and again........

hit the nail on the head, planning on seeing it again in the theater before it goes away

Thank you. I hadn't heard of it.

I saw this at the IFC Center. Memorable experience indeed.

I tried watching this last night and to be honest I was tired and fell asleep. I was going to let it go but your review makes me want to watch it again.

This is a classic, and I so agree with everything you are saying, I also wrote a review and surprisingly we made some of the same points

Me and my roommate ate some mushrooms and watched this movie. We went into this film blind not knowing anything about it just that you said it was an experience. This movie tore my mushroom riddled brain apart it was completely surreal and terrifying. It was a hell of a ride but I'm glad I took it.

Mandy was a real let-down for me, only because it was clear from the first half that this could have been a truly great horror film on par with The Exorcist. Unfortunately, the stuff with the bikers and Nicholas Cage's revenge spree brings it back down to the realm of a "just-above-the-fray" revenge flick. it's such a shame, because the first half is absolutely some of the most riveting stuff I've ever seen in horror. By the way, although Nicholas Cage is pretty much everything you could ask for in Mandy, the real award for acting definitely belongs to the bad guy, Jeremiah Sand, played by Linus Roache. Not only was his performance irresistible, but it was brave, and he showed full commitment (along with a few other things). The direction obviously deserves a lot of praise as well, as it's a big step up for the most part from Beyond the Black Rainbow for director Panos Cosmatos. I do think, though, that his use of lighting is a tad overused, and hence detracts a bit from the uniqueness of scenes centered on the cult. Most of the striking visual style might have been better utilized by confining it to them, because when those effects are used in that context, it's extremely powerful. Also, as a little aside, while I appreciate a certain scene involving body shaming, I really feel it's important for a lot of men out there to know that in fact there was absolutely nothing actually out of the ordinary in that regard. As a urologist from Portland, OR, please believe me when I tell you that there wasn't, in reality, anything worth the laugh it received, capiche? Perfectly normal. All of that said, I highly, highly recommend the first half of Mandy if you can tolerate truly emotionally disturbing stuff. If you have experience with psychedelics as I do, you maybe even be more deeply effected, as I was, I can tell you that, to my knowledge, this is bar-none the most authentic-feeling portrayal of a Manson-family-like cult that has ever been put to film. It is spoiled quite a bit in the end by plot points that feel extremely clichéd by today's standards, but overall, if you are a fan of realistic psychological horror, you would be the fool of fools to miss Mandy.

YOU RIP MY SHUUUUURTTT! YOU RIP MY SHUUUUURTTT 😂

Huh i thought Panos was a fine public speaker... he seems to choose his words very wisely and also makes the crowd laugh in every q and a

Love your passion, great review! The movie was surprisingly good!

Hey James! I been watching your episode reviews since the latest season of Expanse. I think a good TV series for you to watch is the BBC's new TV series 'BodyGuard' Starring Rob Stark The reviews are through the roof for this show. It is defiantly a sleeper hit, the same way Sharp Objects was for HBO. It is really, really good. I think you would like it. Just do a quick google search and you'll see it has a ton of traction. Do your best to avoid spoilers though, they are all over the place. I would love to hear your thoughts on each of the of the episodes. Its only six episodes.

This movie is brilliant.....unlike anything I have ever seen. I am yet to hear anyone say they didn't like it. I just want to show it to everyone.

It's on RU-vid for $6.99 to rent.

I just saw this on Shudder. Wow. Loved every second of it.

Okay, James, you've sold me on it.

Just saw it at hime. It's an odd feeling for me. I think if I saw it on the big screen with your audience I might feel a little differently, but... It's a cinematic masterpiece. BUT. There's an inner ugliness to the film. A genuine hedonistic hatred. It's WAY more mean spirited than Django, or Inglorious, or Wick. It's insanely well done. Total immersion. I know I'm making a taste assessment, but for me the film lacks any mediocrity, but that insensitive makes me both love and deeply revile it. But I can't stop thinking or talking about it.

Wow, I didn't see the spoiler caption in your title, until it was far too late. Holy shit, this sucks... I literally had to cover my ears and hum as I walked back to the computer. Great review tho, easily the best one I've heard thus far.

The ending broke my heart

Wait it's a personal movie about his dead parents? What?

My go to guy for reviews. Period.

I go to Alamo NYC in Brooklyn too!!!!

Thank you for this review. Such an incredible movie.

I'm from Baltimore, MD. I saw Mandy last night at special theater 20mins from me (I know awesome huh) its special art performance theater that has movies like phantasm playing later this month (awesome again) So to Mandy, my thoughts? Amazing. I saw beyond the rainbow amazing bug pantos nailed Mandy for a wider audience. So much stands out. The movie is very realistic granted you understand what's going on with the characters. Its pantos directing, cage and the other limited but powerful cast provide, everything visually was amazing. The soundtrack breath taking. My favorite scenes Cage in the bathroom The chainsaws Bonus Mandy with the cult bees and eye drops the scene that follows after Horror action fantasy drama romance comedy shit is perfect man art to

Best movie of the year. No contest.

the symbolism was off the charts!!! well thought out movie for sure and Cage was fuckin awesome. Stay til after the credit roll :)

great review! can't wait to see it.

Really great film. Definitely an experience. Really nice to see something very new and fresh. Definitely going to go down as a classic

Caught this at a alamo too and lovedddd it, also teared up of pure cinema happiness

Saw this on the big screen in Toronto and YES it is an amazing film. One of my absolute favorites this year. Just for reference though, to anyone outside of the USA it's a bit weird to say an uncircumcised penis is abnormal. Here in Canada and the rest of the Western world that's the norm!

I am so delighted to see some one so positive

I like the visuals of the movie but as a horror , I never jumped once

And and and....i like the two men comparison scenes. First the sect leader naked and so full of himself. And than the Nicholas Cage scene a man almost naked in the bathroom. This was such a strong thing. I mean its not so often you see a man beeing stripped off of all mans dignity and screaming like a baby and crying...i found this scene so strong almost i was feeling like an intruder who has to "look away" out of respect...what the other guy doesnt get and he has to scream "dont look at me" ... i loved the movie and you are right - sometimes its good just to say "i loved it"...thank you!