Nicolas Cage headlines in Mandy, a drug-addled hallucinogenic ride in this revenge horror (?) thriller.

Set in the early 80s, but filled with 70s sensibilities in sense of style and set design, Cage is Red Miller who lives out in the woods with Mandy Bloom (Andrea Riseborough). They have a quiet life, he works is a woodsman, and she works at the local store while working on her art.

Things go badly for the couple when Mandy catches the eye of an arriving cult leader, Jeremiah Sand (Linus Roache). He wants her delivered to him immediately, and his people summon (perhaps?) demonic bikers – they look like cenobites on motorcycles.

They grab Mandy and Jeremiah promises Red will be safe if she does everything he asks. She laughs him off, and it costs her. Her life, when she is burned to death in front of Red.

And from there, Reed goes on a mission of revenge.

Drenched in red the film feels like an experimental ride that at its heart is simply a story about love and revenge. Cage starts subtly enough, but as the film builds he gets bigger, bolder, and by its end has gone full Cage.

I’m glad I watched this one, finally, but I’m rather indifferent to the experience of it. There was some interesting things in it. I like the seduction scene between Jeremiah and Mandy where the image changes subtly back and forth between the two, their faces superimposed on one another. I like the biker designs, and the fact that we never really get a clear look at them but they look monstrous.

There’s a lot of that in the film, strange images, strange designs, all of which bring the world to an eerie kind of life. It’s all a wild dream that slinks along and drenches Cage in fire and blood as he descends further into revenge and confrontation.

There is some beautiful art, some fascinating designs, and a hint at something truly bizarre by the end of the film. I also like the fact that there seem to be a couple of classic horror film references; Crystal Lake from Friday the 13th gets name checked, and there’s a shot where the baddies step up onto a ridge, backlit from behind that evokes a similar image from The Lost Boys, and the cenobites from Hellraiser.

It’s an interesting watch, Cage is Cage, but I don’t see this one popping up on my rewatch list. I’ve seen it, I’ve checked this one off the list, I’m moving on. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. Just kind of indifferent.