Prolific actor Nicholas Cage has built a career on creating memorable characters that often eclipse the films themselves. From his mad, manic turn as Peter Loew in Vampire’s Kiss to his double duty in the brand new movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (our review), the troubadour is committed to every role.
This week’s streaming picks are dedicated to some of Nicolas Cage’s most memorable genre/horror performances, all showcasing his incredible range as an actor.
You can stream them this week here.
For more stay at home and see horrors, click here.
Mandy – AMC+, Plex, shudder
Nicolas Cage is often so successful in his willfully extreme performances that it’s easy to forget the impressive range of his emotional range, restraint, and complex acting that have garnered award-winning acclaim outside the genre space. Mandy serves as a powerful reminder. His role as Red Miller effectively marries both sides of Cage as an actor; The extremism and raw emotions combined in a fugitive, broken man, forced to seek revenge. The primal sadness that erupts in this crucial bathroom scene stands out. Mandy is directly referenced in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and includes prop replicas, making for an excellent double feature.
Between Worlds – Netflix
Nicolas Cage plays Joe, a lonely man still dealing with the loss of his family. He is recruited by a mother to mentally save her comatose daughter. They succeed, but Joe’s dead wife has taken over the woman’s daughter. Venturing more into melodramatic soap opera territory than outright horror, Between Worlds creates many gory scenarios in this odd love triangle. But for Cage fans, the supernatural film offers no shortage of memorable meta-moments, including Joe having sex reading a book by Nicolas Cage. It’s as outrageous as it sounds.
Bringing up the Dead – Max Go
Director Martin Scorsese could not have found a better actor to portray his deeply haunted protagonist, Frank Pierce. Frank is a paramedic on the graveyard shift who has failed to save the lives of many of his patients for several months. The narrative follows him over three nights as his sanity is tested by a severe lack of sleep and the psychological toll his career is taking. Nicolas Cage plays that bone-weary, perpetually borderline state of mental exhaustion so well in this underrated genre-bending film.
Ghost Rider—Starz
To save his dying father, stuntman Johnny Blaze makes a deal with the devil. But the devil is treacherous and poor Blaze becomes a bounty hunter for Hell, complete with a skull on fire. Leave it to Cage, a lifelong comics fan, to take a different approach to a cinematic superhero role. Instead of playing it completely straight, Cage gives his Ghost Rider an Elvis-like pride. What’s even more entertaining is that Cage avoids taking the character too seriously, going as far as he can in the sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (also available to stream on Starz). Remember the time Ghost Rider pissed fire? You can’t overlook this kind of bold madness.
Mom and Dad – Starz
If you want the unfettered Nicolas Cage in the best possible way, you want mom and dad. The premise revolves around a mysterious virus that exclusively makes parents murderous towards their own children, and as an infected father, Brent unleashes Cage. Selma Blair holds her own against the actor as a mum who’s also messed up, and the two of them are the only reason this B-movie is great to watch. It’s entertaining and funny, and Cage and Blair bring the suppressed anger of parental frustrations.