Japanese auteur Sion Sono has been Japanese cinema’s most subversive filmmaker for 30 years now. Now, the man behind the likes of 2001’s “Suicide Club” and 2010’s “Cold Fish” makes his English-language debut with a leading man who can match his provocative style: Nic Cage.
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For those familiar with Sono’s filmography, “Prisoners Of The Ghostland” will feel right at home alongside the likes of “Tokyo Gore Police” and others. The film puts Cage’s notorious crook hero on a quest to rescue a corrupt governor’s daughter from a twisted supernatural universe.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND is set in the treacherous frontier city of Samurai Town where 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 three days, the bandit sets off on a journey to find the young woman—and his own path to redemption.
Joining Cage on the adventure are Sofia Boutella (‘The Mummy‘), Ed Skrein (‘Naked Singularity‘), and Nick Cassavetes in his first film since 2011’s “The Hangover Part II.” In addition, Yuzuka Nakaya, who had a starring role in Sono’s 2019 Netflix series “The Forest Of Love,” returns to work with the director again.
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Cult movie lovers take note: Bill Moseley, Chop Top from Tobe Hooper‘s 1986 sequel “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2,” has a role in the film. So does Tak Sakaguchi, best known as Prisoner KSC2-303 from Ryuhei Kitamura‘s 2000 cult classic “Versus.”
Sono directs a script by actor Aaron Hendry (‘Inhumans’) and Rexa Sixo Safai (‘Western Wonderland‘). Joseph Trapanese (‘Tron: Legacy‘) composed the film’s original score.
Sono flirted with stateside success with “The Forest Of Love” and 2017’s “Tokyo Vampire Hotel” on Amazon Video. So, will his English-language feature debut be accessible enough for American audiences? Find out on September 17 when “Prisoners Of The Ghostland” hits theaters and VOD from RLJE Films. Check out the trailer below.