Dan Abel’s review published on Letterboxd:
The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs - Season 3 - Episode 5 - Film 1
*When I die bury me deep. Lay two speakers at my feet. Wrap some headphones around my head and rock and roll me when I'm dead*
Red and Mandy live in a cabin near a lake in the mountains. A beautiful home in the tranquility of nature with no humans around to disrupt it. One day on her way to work Mandy is observed by a cult called Children of the New Dawn. Enamored by her they ride out to the house of the couple at night and tie Red up. They make him watch as Mandy is killed and they leave him for dead. What they didn't know is Red is a military veteran and they've taken the only thing worth living for.
I had no idea what to expect going into this film but for some reason I thought it was about a father and a little girl. Maybe it's the name Mandy? Or maybe I was mistaking it for that Arnold Schwarzenegger film? This is my third attempt after previously turning this film off twice within the first thirty minutes out of boredom. Shame on me! I fucked up! This film is bananas! Batshit bananas! I am so annoyed with myself for putting this off for so long. We have a cult with a Manson-like leader, drug ravaged biker monsters, and a badass lead character with the same wounds as Jesus Christ dealing out vengeance for his beloved girlfriend. Excellent writing and a tremendous soundtrack ensure it's presented to you in beautiful fashion. I'm a sucker for 80's synth and neon accented lighting and I got as much as I could want from "Mandy."
The second half of Nicholas Cage's career almost resembles a descent into madness and fuck do I love it. Hollywood apparently had enough of Cage so he decided he didn't care and now he takes on a wide range of roles in mid-tier budget films showing just how amazingly talented he is. By now we expect him to have a "Cage attack" in every film and this one may have the greatest of them all. After killing someone he gets shot at, kills another that he really hates for ripping his shirt and then does a tremendous blast of cocaine and LSD. They didn't know he's some alcoholic veteran badass fuck and they just made him snap. Once he lights a cigarette clip from flames billowing off a corpse that he just killed it cemented this as my favorite role that Cage has ever played. Red is the man!
There are things I don't understand. Especially the biker gang but HOLY FUCKBALLS THIS FILM IS OUT OF CONTROL! Everything up until the last scene will cause you to ask questions. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!? I had to look to FoundFlix to see if I missed something and it helped a little. The only gripe I have with Mandy is it's two hour length. Cutting fifteen minutes of fluff would make this film even better. If you like thriller / horror films that are displayed through an LSD lens it doesn't get any better than this. Highly recommended to everyone! This will definitely be one of those films I watch 10-20 times in my life.
That Cheddar Goblin mac and cheese is looking good right about now.
Joe Bob Briggs Hosted Films on Shudder
Nicholas Cage Films Ranked and Reviewed
Hidden Horror Gems
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