Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Mandy’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​What I’ve come to find truly fascinating about the horror genre as a whole, is how it has fallen into a strange sense of routine over the past decade or so. Because there really is a manufactured feel to a lot of horror films out there, since the market has been flooded with a glut of big-name remakes and stories that follow a specific structure and it is that structure that fascinates me the most. For this push to make a ‘perfect’ horror film has in turn pushed the genre into formula, where you can expect to find similar ideas and tropes when you settle in to watch a scary flick.
 
But my fascination doesn’t lie within the fact that studios are trying desperately to make the genre a simple product, it’s that filmmakers aren’t conforming to that push. Because over the past couple of years, I’ve started to see more abstract horror hit the market, providing the audience with films that remind everyone that horror cannot be contained within a formula, it needs to feel organic and it needs to explore dark places our imagination would prefer not to go and to see this kind of push back is beautiful to say the least and thanks to Shudder, I was able to watch a horror flick that defies every ounce of convention hanging over the industry in Mandy.
 
Now, this is a film that received an insane amount of buzz over the past few months and I now understand why, because this is a motion picture that is unlike any other in the industry right now and well, we won’t talk much about the plot today because it is this film’s structure that needs to be celebrated, starting with the fact that this horror film takes its time in telling its story, something vacant from many films in the genre right now. And being able to get to know Red and Mandy is actually quite the blessing since we come to know this couple in subtle fashion and uncover the fact that they are good people who find themselves in a bad situation and oddly enough, this character courtesy is extended to the baddies since Jeremiah’s troupe of twisted cult members are put on display for the audience as well. 

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​Which makes the unfortunate encounter between these people all the more powerful and tragic since this collision course is what drives the darker aspects of this film and well, what I appreciated about this part of the story is the sheer fact that any mystic air surrounding our villains is removed here and we see them for the cruel and ill monsters that they are and this entire sequence and everything that follows puts on display the greatest monster of all in this world, the cruelty of mankind. And the savage quest for revenge that Red goes upon is just as disturbing and twisted as the actions of the Children of the New Dawn, but you want to see Red enjoy his sense of justice and watch these people suffer, giving the film a solid Last House on the Left vibe.
 
In fact, there are a lot of homages to be found here since Writer/Director Panos Cosmatos pays tributes to all the greats with moments that instantly remind you of Romero, Carpenter and Hooper and Craven. But thankfully, those moments are far and few between and Cosmatos puts his own mark on this story by providing us with haunting and twisted visuals that in many ways make this film feel as though you’re experiencing a terrifying nightmare, one that you cannot wake from and that makes this movie an ethereal experience, one that is of course covered in blood and fury and sorrow but one that definitely leaves you satisfied when the end credits roll since it is in fact a tale that gives our characters a complete journey when all is said and done.
 
But of course, none of this works without a stellar cast and the actors here shine in every single role, but let’s be honest, it’s Nicolas Cage that steals the show in this one since he gives Red incredible depth with his subdued and powerful performance, the kind that helps us to understand that Red is a man filled with rage, who only found peace with Mandy in his life and having that robbed from him created a firestorm that no one could survive and perhaps that’s the film’s greatest trick, that it offers up a great beauty. Because there is something uplifting to be found in the fact that a man as dark and troubled as Red can find peace within the confines of love. Either way, this is in fact, a brilliant film, one that I highly recommend every horror fan out there see as soon as possible. Because it really is refreshing in every sense of the word and honestly, it’s one I need to revisit and soon since I get the funny feeling, there’s more to be found in this complex and haunting tale…

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