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Prisoners of the Ghostland

Play trailer 2:02 Poster for Prisoners of the Ghostland Released Sep 17, 2021 1h 40m Action Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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62% Tomatometer 158 Reviews 50% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
In the treacherous frontier city of Samurai Town, a ruthless bank robber (Nicolas Cage) is sprung from jail by a wealthy warlord, The Governor (Bill Moseley), whose adopted granddaughter Bernice (Sofia Boutella) has run away. Strapped into a leather suit that will self-destruct within five days if he doesn't find the missing girl, the bandit sets off on a journey to find the young woman -- and his own path to redemption.
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Prisoners of the Ghostland

Prisoners of the Ghostland

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Critics Consensus

Prisoners of the Ghostland is far from Sono's most distinctive work, but viewers in the mood for a deliriously gonzo genre mash-up featuring an explosive performance from Nicolas Cage just might have a ball.

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Critics Reviews

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Wendy Ide Observer (UK) Utterly barmy. Rated: 2/5 Sep 19, 2021 Full Review Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times Prisoners of the Ghostland isn't campy enough to be camp. Rated: 2/4 Sep 17, 2021 Full Review Nick Allen RogerEbert.com No movie with Nicolas Cage, directed by the wonderfully weird Japanese director Sion Sono, should be this taxing, drawn out, and plainly boring. Rated: 2/4 Sep 17, 2021 Full Review Maxance Vincent InSession Film Prisoners of the Ghostland lacks any excitement and catharsis that made Sono the filmmaker he is today. Rated: D Mar 5, 2024 Full Review Manuel São Bento MSB Reviews A world of total anarchy where samurais, cowboys, nuclear explosions, modern cars, and more collide to surround an otherwise simple narrative with nonsensically hilarious storylines and awesome action sequences. Rated: A- Jul 24, 2023 Full Review James Croot Stuff.co.nz If you thought Mandy, Color Out of Space, Willy’s Wonderland or Pig offered up Nicolas Cage at maximum unhingedness, wait until you get a load of Sion Sono’s “delirious mash-up of Western, samurai movie and post-apocalyptic thriller”. Rated: 3.5/5 Mar 8, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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logan mac This film is not for everyone, by no stretch of the imagination. But if this is the film for you, it is hands down the craziest Nicolas Cage movie ever made. Im not sure how to describe it, a Japanese Arthouse Fantasy Western? The trailer for the movie makes it seem as if its a balls to the wall action flick. It is not that at all. While we do get some great fight scenes, this is more of a slow, mythical, almost dream like adventure. If you want some nice Cageplotation, I would highly recommend this movie. There is a scene so crazy in this movie, my jaw dropped to the floor... Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/21/21 Full Review Deanna I thoroughly enjoyed this most recent Nick Cage film. It was gore filled, a great nod to kabuki noh style plays. I really enjoyed the symbolism and the dreamlike style was reministent of othe films I enjoy such as Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/20/21 Full Review Knots Cowboys and Samurais in the post apocalypse are badass. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/19/21 Full Review john r I have a high tolerance for these deeply strange Japanese-made genre movies. But whereas a director like Takashi Miike can pull off an absurdly surreal story and somehow make you suspend your disbelief, this movie couldn't hack it. I can't emphasize enough that even if you like "weird for weird's sake," like I do, you may find this movie boring. Samurai, cowboys and other non sequiturs mill about menacing each other unconvincingly. You can get as weird as you want with your screenplay as long as the characters act like human beings with motivations. From the very first scenes, characters in "Ghostlands" act in random ways for mysterious reasons. I also think the screenwriters needed dialogue help from a native English speaker, because the English dialogue sometimes sounds like it was badly translated or written by AI. One example: Immediately preceding the opening title, a prisoner inexplicably shouts, "I am not a prisoner." Or how about "You will be my clock until Bernice returns." Of course, the Japanese dialogue is only legible by comparison. Some of the visual design and choreography is interesting, and Nicolas Cage always puts in a respectable performance. But there's really not much here to enjoy. The pacing is slow, so you have time to really take in the baffling dialogue and thin characterization. Even if you're a fan of bizarro cinema or Nick Cage, I suggest you look elsewhere for a good time. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 09/16/24 Full Review Oaklee D With a bigger budget this film could of went a long way. I feel like with this concept you need to go all out with CGI, set designs etc and it just wasn't there at all, definitely felt like it was trying to be a Hollywood blockbuster on a straight to DVD level. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/11/24 Full Review Taffie F I love Nicholas Cage, but this has got to be the one film he regrets doing. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 07/23/24 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis In the treacherous frontier city of Samurai Town, a ruthless bank robber (Nicolas Cage) is sprung from jail by a wealthy warlord, The Governor (Bill Moseley), whose adopted granddaughter Bernice (Sofia Boutella) has run away. Strapped into a leather suit that will self-destruct within five days if he doesn't find the missing girl, the bandit sets off on a journey to find the young woman -- and his own path to redemption.
Director
Sion Sono
Producer
Nate Bolotin, Michael Mendelsohn, Ko Mori, Laura Rister, Reza Sixo Safai
Screenwriter
Aaron Hendry, Reza Sixo Safai
Distributor
RLJE Films
Production Co
Untitled Entertainment, Boos Boos Bang Bang, Patriot Pictures, Baked Studios, XYZ Films, Eleven Arts, RLJE Films
Genre
Action, Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 17, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 17, 2021
Runtime
1h 40m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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