Prisoners of the Ghostland (3 Stars)

I gave this film a good rating the first time I saw it. Now I have to change my mind. I was biased towards it because it was made by my favourite director, Sion Sono, and it starred Nicolas Cage. Another positive factor is that it features two of the world's most beautiful actresses, Sofia Boutella and Yuzuka Nakaya, pictured above.

The strength of Sion Sono's films is that they're mad, but they always make sense. Maybe 54 schoolgirls hold hands and jump in front of a train, but there's a logical explanation. Maybe a serial killer replaces his victims' limbs with mannequin limbs. There's always an explanation. Except in "Prisoners of the Ghostland". It's a post-apocalyptic film, and in post-apocalyptic films ridiculous things are thrown together. People are holding on to the hands of a clock because they think they can prevent a catastrophe by stopping time.

Sion Sono faithfully follows the rules of the genre. But it's a genre I don't like. Nicolas Cage called "Prisoners of the Ghostland" the wildest film of his career. Maybe it is. But it's not his best film, and it's one of Sion Sono's weakest films. I doubt I'll watch it again.

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