Review: “Prisoners of Ghostland” is a gut-busting Nicolas Cage film

Is the new Nicolas Cage movie Prisoners of Ghostland a good film? Debatable. Is it enjoyable? Absolutely.

Prisoners of Ghostland is the latest film featuring Academy Award Winner Nicolas Cage, and while I may be jumping the gun, I think it’s safe to say that this one will rank as one of his greatest. The reasons why are a tangled mess of notes that I still am not sure how to organize. There is too much to say, so let’s just start.

IMDB classifies Prisoners of Ghostland as Action, Horror, and Triller. Google files it under Crime, and Wikipedia calls it a “neo-noir Western.” Nonsense. All of those words fail miserably in describing what Prisoners of Ghostland is. The film is closer to being a Comedy, the best I have seen this year. I laughed so hard in the theater that I honestly felt embarrassed. And don’t get it twisted, it’s not because the film is bad, although that is a part of it, but because it has a genuinely good sense of humor. Prisoners of Ghostland is an Action/Triller/Horror movie in the same way that a clown wearing scrubs is a Doctor.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. What actually happens on this wonderful adventure?

Prisoners of Ghostland follows Nicolas Cage (Nicolas Cage), a criminal set free by order of The Governor (Bill Mosely) to find his granddaughter Bernice (Sofia Boutella), who has run away from home and become trapped in a mysterious land known simply as Ghostland. You could even say that she is a prisoner of Ghostland, if you understand me.

So that’s our story, simple enough in its beginning. But so is the entrance of a funhouse.

“Funhouse” is really the perfect word to describe the setting. The film takes place in a strange, post-apocalyptic (?) place that seems to be a multi-cultural blend of Japan and America. The architecture is reminiscent of Japan, people wear kimonos, and most but not all of the population, I assume, are Japanese. However, most signs are written in English, The Governor is an old white guy with a hammy Southern accent, and everyone seems to speak both English and Japanese. There’s isn’t any explanation as to how this cultural mash came about, if this is in the future or just an alternative reality of Earth, and honestly I’m fine with that. It confused me at first, but once you’re far enough into the film you learn to just accept this world as it is, and it can be a lot of fun.

Prisoners of Ghostland has excellent set and costume design. They put a lot of work into making the film a treat for the eyes. Some impressive visuals include a wall with women poking their head through holes, moving and singing in perfect sync; there is the clocktower factory in Ghostland occupied by a swarm of extras dancing, working, and standing on every platform that can be stood on. The visual stimulation is nonstop, so you never get bored looking at it.

So I want to give credit to the design of the film, because it was fun and entertaining. But I also wonder if was supposed to distract the audience, because without those keys dangling in your face, you would have been bored.

The filmmakers clearly did not have a wealth of locations at their disposal. Scenes are in one of two locations: Ghostland and Samurai Town. (At least I think it’s called Samurai Town, the name is only mentioned once at the end of the film.) Anything not in these two places is in some other unnamed town that we only see in flashbacks, and it might as well be Samurai Town. There’s also a patch of dirt field in some forested area. That’s it.

The plot is constricted by this lack of variety. Spoilers, but Nick Cage finds the granddaughter pretty early in the film, but for some vague explained reason they can’t leave. So they stay in Ghostland, doing I don’t know what. We don’t get a sense of progression in the story. To make up for this, the film has flashbacks, as well as scenes with the minor characters that don’t serve much function; they’re just there to fill time. For instance, there’s an elite swordsman working for the Governor, and he has a scene where he fights some drunk who comes to town and harasses his sister. He kills him, then the sister reveals how the Governor has betrayed him and he should stop working for him. You think that’s setting something up for later? Nope. The swordsman keeps working for the Governor and fights Nick Cage at the climax. So I must ask, what was the point?

That’s a recurring question in this movie, but the answer is right in front of you: there is no point, and the quicker you learn that the quicker you can start enjoying Prisoners of Ghostland, as I have. The script is jam-packed with nonsense and inconsistencies, some so large that you can’t believe they could have been left in by accident. And that, I truly believe, only adds to the joy and laughs the film has to offer.

For all of it’s faults, and there are many, there are just as many reasons to love Prisoners of Ghostland, whether ironically or not. The beautiful sets and costumes, the hokey acting, the nonsense story, and Nick Cage’s ball-busting performance…it was an absolute pleasure. If you’re a fan of the Cage, or love movies that pair well with liquor and weed, then please take my personal recommendation and go see Prisoners of Ghostland wherever it may currently be playing. Even if you have to take the train into New York City and go to the IFC Center on 7th Ave, go. You will not regret it.

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