Prisoners of the Ghostland is a weird western about Samurai Town, a corner of Japan cordined off after a nuclear accident, where The Governor(Bill Moseley) press-gangs bank robber Hero(Nicolas Cage) into going into the radiated fringes of the town(the titular Ghostland) to retrieve his lost "granddaughter" aka concubine Bernice(Sofia Boutella).
Cage isn't able to reach his typical neo-shamanistic heights constrained by an utterly confusing and vague script and, simply, not given enough to do. There are a couple surprise moments where he's able to do some actual acting but they are few and far between. Moseley as the heavy is pretty flat and non-descript. Boutella is woefully underutilized as a underdeveloped damsel in distress, particularly when her action bonafides have been proven(Star Trek Beyond, Atomic Blond, Kingsman 2). The supporting cast are, interesting. There are some intriguing set pieces with synchronized movement and chanting which make for interesting tableaus but the narrative is so divorced from anything cogent it doesn't particularly matter how nice it looks.
Extensive practical production design and absolutely stunning costuming work overtime to pull back this story from the morass of incoherence but fail. There's worthy ambition on display but the plodding and murky plotting prevent the movie from succeeding. All the parts are there but they way they are assembled baffles.
A movie desperately, transparently, trying to be/become a cult classic fails the baseline test of being tolerable.
Currently in theaters and available to rent on VOD.
Don't See It.
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