In early June 2017, Nicolas Cage was announced as the star of an action horror film with Cosmatos as director, and penned by Cosmatos and Stewart-Ahn. During a recent interview with GQ Magazine, Cage disclosed that when Cosmatos first approached him to be in the film, he wanted him to play the role of the cult leader, Jeremiah Sand, but Cage said he wanted to play Red instead. Panos told him this was a story about old age vs youth and he didn't think he was right to play Red; no agreements were able to be made. A year later, through producer Elijah Wood, they met again to talk about the film, and this time they explored more in detail the themes of love and the loss of love within the film and they discussed those same themes within their personal lives and by this time, everything just clicked and Panos then felt totally confident in Cage playing Red. In an interview with UK Guardian newspaper, Cage revealed that his fourteen year marriage and divorce to Alice Kim served as an inspiration for his performance. By early July, Andrea Riseborough was cast in the title role, with Linus Roache, Richard Brake, Ned Dennehy, Olwen Fouéré, and Bill Duke. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in late August. Filming took place in Chaudfontaine and Landelies, Belgium. The film was shot on the Arri Alexa Mini and Arri Alexa XT Studio cameras with Panavision Primo Anamorphic, Panavision Primo, AWZ and Angenieux HR Lenses, in order to achieve the film's old-school atmosphere. The chainsaw fight had to be filmed in one night which Cosmatos described as "a straight up living hell" to shoot. The film is dedicated to the memory of the composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, who tragically passed away on February 9, 2018.
The film stars Cage, Riseborough, Roache, Brake, Dennehy, Fouéré, and Duke. Cage gives another deliciously over-the-top performance in this hallucinatory revenge action horror. Cage in particular is very much in his element, proving his reputation as an undisciplined weirdo is less than deserved. His performance is one long freakout, but a carefully calibrated one, escalating as the situation deteriorates. This film is the Cagiest that Cage has been in years - and that's, very much, a good thing.
Cosmatos has created a nightmarish world that's aggravating, hypnotic, and original. For devotees of action horror cinema at its most synapse-frying and voluptuously horrifying, the mother lode is exactly what Cosmatos delivers. There's much to admire about Cosmatos' sophomore effort, but the end result is admittedly not for all tastes.
Cosmatos has created a nightmarish world that's aggravating, hypnotic, and original. For devotees of action horror cinema at its most synapse-frying and voluptuously horrifying, the mother lode is exactly what Cosmatos delivers. There's much to admire about Cosmatos' sophomore effort, but the end result is admittedly not for all tastes.
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