Movies
Nicolas Cage Reflects on ‘The Wicker Man’ and the ‘Midsommar’-esque Ending He Pushed For
The New York Times just ran a *fantastic* interview with Nicolas Cage today, which would explain why Cage has been trending on Twitter all morning. In the lengthy, in-depth interview, Cage talks about everything from the line he added into Mandy to the time he purchased a dinosaur skull for $276,000. It’s pure Nicolas Cage, a wonderful trip inside his beautiful mind.
Cage reflects on several of his films in the interview, including the maligned 2006 remake of The Wicker Man. He touches upon his performance in that film, while also revealing the slightly modified ending that he pushed for. Oddly enough, Cage’s idea sounds very similar to the ending of Ari Aster’s Midsommar, a film heavily influenced by the original Wicker Man!
“Well, there are times when I’m intentionally being mischievous with a character. The Wicker Man is me playing with the situation because it’s so absurd,” Cage told the site. “I could have had a little more help with that film. Initially I wanted them to leave me in the bear suit to burn me. That would have made the whole farce of the film more disturbing. Because of what I was trying to do there.”
He continued, “Do you remember an old movie by Roger Corman called The Masque of the Red Death? Vincent Price and Patrick Magee. Patrick Magee gets tricked into wearing an ape suit, and a dwarf throws brandy on it and lights him on fire. What began as absurd and comical became horrifying because insult was added to injury. In The Wicker Man, I was trying to get this whole trajectory to go along with the absurdity by having them light me on fire in the bear suit. That really would have been horrific.”
Of course, Cage’s character memorably disguises himself in a bear suit in The Wicker Man, but the suit comes off before the infamous “bees” sequence and the final ceremony commence.
Hey, at least we got this…
After pulling in $28 million at the worldwide box office this month, director (and star) Dev Patel’s critically acclaimed action-thriller Monkey Man is now available to watch at home.
You can rent Monkey Man for $19.99 or digitally purchase the film for $24.99!
Monkey Man is currently 88% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with Bloody Disgusting’s head critic Meagan Navarro awarding the film 4.5/5 stars in her review out of SXSW back in March.
Meagan raves, “While the violence onscreen is palpable and painful, it’s not just the exquisite fight choreography and thrilling action set pieces that set Monkey Man apart but also its political consciousness, unique narrative structure, and myth-making scale.”
“While Monkey Man pays tribute to all of the action genre’s greats, from the Indonesian action classics to Korean revenge cinema and even a John Wick joke or two, Dev Patel’s cultural spin and unique narrative structure leave behind all influences in the dust for new terrain,” Meagan’s review continues.
She adds, “Monkey Man presents Dev Patel as a new action hero, a tenacious underdog with a penetrating stare who bites, bludgeons, and stabs his way through bodies to gloriously bloody excess. More excitingly, the film introduces Patel as a strong visionary right out of the gate.”
Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.
Monkey Man is produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions.
Looking for New Episodes of “Chucky” on Peacock? Here’s What Changed
‘Mountain Man’ – Joe Manganiello Will Battle Zombies in Upcoming Horror Movie
‘The Blair Witch Project’ – Original Stars Release a Statement Asking Lionsgate for Residuals & Recognition
‘Trap’ – Official Trailer Previews a Wild New Horror Experience from M. Night Shyamalan
‘The Exorcism’ – Russell Crowe Stars in Horror Movie Formerly Titled ‘The Georgetown Project’
You must be logged in to post a comment.