Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

Prisoners of the Ghostland Blu-ray Movie Review

"The quickest review I've ever written" - Randy Miller III

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 5, 2021

Nicolas Cage is no stranger to anything. He's racked up a triple-digit filmography and counting, enough so that his two most recent projects -- the other being Pig -- are both being released on home video within two weeks of each other. With the occasional hits come a few misses, and Sion Sono's sloppy genre mash-up Prisoners of the Ghostland certainly qualifies: it's idiosyncratic to the nth degree, a film so bizarre in execution that mixed reviews are all but guaranteed. (Our own Brian Orndorf scored it a 7/10 in his theatrical review, but I can barely muster of half as much enthusiasm.) Watching this thing wasn't a total Grandpa Simpson moment for yours truly, but my snarky one-sentence summary is this: Prisoners of the Ghostland is what happens when you order Mad Max: Fury Road from Wish.com.

The story can't be explained very well in one paragraph, but who cares? Taking place in post-apocalyptic Japan within the walls of "Samurai Town", it follows recently-freed prisoner Hero (Nic Cage) who's been recruited by "The Governor" (Bill Moseley), a love child of Colonel Sanders and Old Man Marley from Home Alone, to rescue his "granddaughter" Bernice (Sofia Boutella). The young woman -- who's not really a relative but rather a sex slave, like countless other women in Samurai Town -- recently escaped her trade with two friends but is now trapped in "The Ghostland", an area full of outcasts resulting from a nuclear accident years ago. The catch? Hero only has five days to find her, or else his custom-made leather suit will explode and do unspeakable damage to his throat, chest, and/or both testicles.

Of course there's more -- much more -- absurdity where that came from, including the awkward fusion of several cultures and time periods, plenty of colorful characters, and an intermittent back story concerning Hero's previous crime: a chaotic bank robbery with his fittingly-named partner "Psycho" (Nick Cassavetes) that left several victims and still haunts Hero's memory at every turn. But as a whole, the film is so confusingly constructed and carries so much unresolved baggage that most first-timers will instead just resort to staring blankly at the screen while every oddball story element unfolds. I'm all for a bit of tasteful mish-mash and occasional detours, but Prisoners of the Ghostland just feels like a failed attempt to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. There are bright spots, of course: the production design is admittedly intriguing, a few unavoidably great one-liners are dropped, and some of the samurai action is pretty inspired. (Nicolas Cage, on the other hand, is clearly getting too old for this shit.) But what should be a breezy and kinetic 102 minutes feels like every second of its running time and then some: it's not the kind of movie most will be eager to immediately revisit, although perhaps time will be kinder to it than expected.

Even the first time, your mileage may vary: those receptive to previous films by subversive director Sono (such as Love Exposure, Cold Fish, and Why Don't You Play in Hell?), not to mention the more gonzo work of Nic Cage, may find a lot more to like about this one. But at the very least, RLJ Entertainment's new Blu-ray edition offers a decent amount of support including solid A/V specs and a few surface-level extras. A more tempting 4K/Blu-ray Steelbook, which will be reviewed in the coming days, should also showcase the film's colorful locales in more stunning detail.

Prisoners of the Ghostland Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Cultures clash strongly in this 1080p presentation, which serves up admittedly memorable visuals that include neon-tinted feudal Japanese locales, a dusty stretch of wasteland, a surprisingly sterile bank with a giant gumball machine, at least one Sanjuro arterial spray, and numerous razor-sharp close-ups of Nicolas Cage's obviously glued-on beard. There's a lot to take in here, and RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray largely does what it can within format limitations. Stray drawbacks can be seen, such as mild compression artifacts and banding spotted during a handful of foggy shots and harsh gradients, but most are kept in check with only a few moments of nagging softness and patchy black levels. Most will find it a perfectly fine presentation on more modest home theater setups, with the separately-available 4K/Blu-ray Steelbook most likely stepping into more intriguing visual territory. (I'm not all that eager to watch the film again, but it should at least be even nicer to look at the second time around.) Either way, this Blu-ray offers a decent presentation for those who haven't moved on to the newer format, although a dual- layered disc would've been preferable.

Prisoners of the Ghostland Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Not surprisingly, Prisoners of the Ghostland delivers anything but a painfully straightforward presentation, with the included DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix serving up a delightfully chaotic mixture of surround activity, deep LFE response, crisp dialogue, and a well-balanced dynamic range that feels decently at home in a small home theater environment. Channel panning and discrete effects are numerous and not limited to stray action scenes, with many moments dipping into the sides and rears during moments of room-filling echoes, disturbing flashbacks, and other stylistic detours. Like the visuals, it's at least a well-rendered effort that seems more digestible in a full-on chaotic form, even if some of its biggest moments can't help but border on overcooked. Still, there's a lot to like about this 5.1 mix and, short of a full-on Dolby Atmos presentation, there's precious little room for improvement.

English (SDH) subtitles are offered, although a few bits of Japanese dialogue include burned-in subtitles.

Prisoners of the Ghostland Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with Cage-y cover artwork (including a quote from the actor, which may be a home video first), a matching slipcover, and no inserts. On-board extras are minimal.

• The Making of "Prisoners of the Ghostland" (8:14) - This short featurette offers a very brief overview of the story, characters, and on-set experience, including rehearsal footage and short interview snippets with actors Nicolas Cage, Bill Mosely, and Sofia Boutella.

• Movie Still Photo Gallery (25 photos, manual navigation)

• Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery (14 photos, manual navigation)

Prisoners of the Ghostland Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Depending on your personal preferences, there's a lot to like or not like about Prisoners of the Ghostland. It's an absurd genre mash-up with colorful characters and little regard for coherence. The dialogue is bad enough that it plays like an English dub. Nicolas Cage goes full-on "Nicolas Cage" and still isn't always the focal point. None of these elements won me over, although its raw ambition is at least admirable at arm's length. This doesn't make Prisoners of the Ghostland a recommended blind buy, but it's a least worth a once-over due to that whole "your mileage may vary" thing, and RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray offers a mostly great A/V presentation. Still, anyone halfway interested in taking the plunge will probably opt for the 4K/Blu-ray Steelbook which is, as of this writing, somehow the cheaper option.