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.... (Full plot summary below)
Enjoy FREE movies and series with your Prime (USA) subscription or when you start a 30-day free trial!
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.
Leave your thoughts about Prisoners of the Ghostland.
| PolygonMatt PatchesIt’s one of the director’s more mainstream efforts. What could easily devolve into a Crank-like exercise in hyperactivity is conducted with a steady hand and an appreciation for the details. Sono wants his audience to luxuriate in the brutal beauty of Boutella wielding a gatling gun. |
| Film ThreatLorry KiktaI think that Prisoners of the Ghostland belongs in the category that was previously only really reserved for Jodorowsky’s El Topo, and that is the Acid Western. It embodies and revives that category of movie. If you like Westerns, martial arts, Japanese cinema, Nicolas Cage, or anything weird AF, then this is certainly for you. |
| New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriSion Sono’s Prisoners of the Ghostland throws so much extreme weirdness and violence at us that we might overlook the fact that there’s method to its madness: Beneath the craziness and cacophony lies a tender, tragic tale of emotional paralysis and a civilization eating away at itself. |
| Paste MagazineDom SinacolaGhostland is a movie and place borne from nuclear disaster, populated with the denizens of countless B-movies and the spectres of whiplash Hollywood careers. |
| The PlaylistJessica KiangIt’s not very good except sometimes when it’s fantastic. |
| IGNSiddhant AdlakhaYou know exactly what brand of “weird” to expect from Nicolas Cage and Sion Sono, but what you might not expect is how much the film feels like a death dream about movies. |
| IndieWireDavid EhrlichEven when nothing else in the film makes sense, the unhinged ethos of its own creation leaves a clue behind with the clarity of a body-chalk outline. |
| We Got This CoveredScott CampbellPrisoners of the Ghostland isn't going to be for everyone, but if you're on board with one of the craziest movies you'll see this year, then strap in and prepare for Nicolas Cage at his most unhinged. |
| Screen DailyTim GriersonThe film is held captive by its myriad influences, but Cage is so high-spirited that you won’t mind being its prisoner. |
| New York PostSara StewartPrisoners of the Ghostland is equal parts visual delight and narrative head-scratcher. Most of all, it’s a hefty dose of Nicolas Cage set to full-tilt gonzo. |
