Prisoners of the Ghostland

Prisoners of the Ghostland

In the treacherous frontier city of Samurai Town, a ruthless bank robber is sprung from jail by wealthy warlord The Governor, whose adopted granddaughter Bernice has gone missing. The Governor offers the prisoner his freedom in exchange for retrieving the runaway. Strapped into a leather suit that will self-destruct within five days, the bandit sets off on a journey to find the young woman—and his own path to redemption.

  • Released: 2021-08-31
  • Runtime: 103 minutes
  • Genre: Action, Horror, Thrillers
  • Stars: Nicolas Cage, Sofia Boutella, Bill Moseley, Nick Cassavetes, Tak Sakaguchi, Yuzuka Nakaya, Young Dais, Lorena Koto, Canon Nawata, Louis Kurihara, Tetsu Watanabe, Yunho, Charles Glover, Cici Zhou, Takato Yonemoto, Shin Shimizu, Matthew Chozick, Constant Voisin, Maya Carraz, Ilsa Levine, Yurino, Chiho Fujii, Christina Virzi, Riko Shibata
  • Director: Sion Sono
 Comments
  • WesY2K-TheOriginal - 28 January 2024
    Nic Cage in a japanese Mad Max Arthouse experience
    I haven't watched a lot of Siona Sono movies. Suicide Circle and TAG before that. Although Suicide Circle had a good atmosphere and truly was a ride, in the end nothing had meaning and didn't make much sense as a movie. TAG was the same but worst. And with GHOSTLAND, for me, he continues his streak.

    Here he presents us with a japanese Arthouse experience which is part Mad Max, part WW2 a reappraisal of the Second World War from the Japanese perspective (although it was pllaned to originally take place in Mexico...), part videogame, part highschool movie club project, part Nic Cage THE BEES craziness but all Pseudo art project.

    The basic premise of having someone rescue someone or otherwise bombs will go off, is not new but always a nice vehicle for an action movie. Although here are a few action pieces, they are of the quality you would find in the 90s at a video rental store.

    Would I recommend the movie? Only if you want to see Nic Cage get one of his testicles blown up. There are worse movies out there but a whole lot of better movies, too. Go watch them instead.
  • AfricanBro - 20 August 2023
    Lacks intensity and thrill
    I'm genuinely finding it hard to figure out why this movie was ever made. It's another crappy Nick Cage movie to add to his filmography. Strangely, it seemed like they were intentionally making a crappy movie, as if this was the director's intended vision. Paired with the abysmal writing, it's a no-go for me.

    The acting was subpar throughout, characters consistently overreacted to various situations, too much screaming. Although I knew it wouldn't be good, I'd watch anything with Sofia Boutella in it lol. It doesn't try to be realistic at all; often looked it should've been a comic, reminding me of Sin City. The juxtaposition of outdated technology and modern elements was jarring - one moment, it felt like the Wild West era, and then suddenly smartphones and modern cars appeared. Didn't look like a place where cell signals should exist. Having recently watched Twisted Metal, the world here also felt somewhat reminiscent.

    Taking itself more seriously might have salvaged the movie, as the plot was basic but not terrible. Character motivations remained largely unexplained, and the few that were weren't quite convincing. Gratuitous nudity was out of place and didn't add anything at all.

    The pacing wasn't great; the movie actually made me sleepy by the end. The story lacked intrigue and originality, and above all, it lacked coherence, leaving behind plot holes that I wasn't invested enough in to care about. While the film did have impressive sets and costumes, the visuals weren't enough to redeem it.

    You'd expect a movie touted as a dystopian, samurai western, horror-fantasy heist rescue mission to be an instant cult classic, yet this stands out as one of the most uninteresting films I've ever watched.
  • Darryl1127-1 - 16 August 2022
    Manage your expectations
    For what this is supposed to be, it's well done and fun! If you go into this expecting pacer worthy monologues and serious subject matter then the mistake is yours. It's a Nic Cage movie. Make some popcorn, turn off as much of your brain as is safely possible and just have fun. Yes it's surreal bordering on absurd. Yes the plot is crazy and the writing is amusing. Did I mention it has Nic Cage?! What did you expect?!
  • inacan-90-894261 - 22 May 2022
    Car crash Arthouse
    Let's be honest. If this movie was in bock and white, made in any other language but English and had clarinet prominent on the soundtrack it would be viewed as artistic genius.

    Nic Cage in a weird pseudo Japanese western with flashbacks, Shakespeare allusions and 1 testicle. Do I like this movie? No. Do I hate it? No Is it worth watching? Yes Maybe it's the jumbled mash of ideas. Maybe it's just I wanted to like it. Maybe it was the wine and beer but either way. Worse ways to spend an evening.
  • Delrvich - 30 March 2022
    Its passable
    Not an ardent fan of Japanese sci-fi, but can still appreciate it. Three fourths into the movie and were the reel to break, I wouldn't be too upset. IMO, Cage bears most of the load. Were he not in it, I would have passed on this movie.