Nicolas Cage Battles Cosmic Evil in First Trailer for Mandy

Panos Cosmatos, director of Beyond the Black Rainbow, returns with an even more striking vision of his own unique brand of horror in Mandy. Having made the festival circuit this past year, Mandy has received critical acclaim at both Sundance and Cannes, leaving critics and viewers unsure of what exactly they just saw. The whole world can now get a small peek into the cosmic bewilderment of Mandy in its first official trailer, released Wednesday.

Mandy takes place in the Pacific Northwest in 1983. Red Miller (Cage) and Mandy Bloom (Andrea Riseborough) are outsiders who lead a loving and bucolic existence under the shadows of the great pines for which the Pacific Northwest is known. Shockingly, their little slice of heaven is savagely destroyed by a phantasmagorical biker cult led by the sadistic Jeremiah Sand (Linus Roache), and Red is thrust into a cosmically horrific and fire-laden journey filled with gruesome violence and interdimensional horror. The trailer acts as a brilliant tone piece for what the movie is going for and, from the get-go, the music by the late Jóhan Jóhannson introduces the ominous, otherworldly atmosphere. Deep reds and hazy wide shots hint at the evil and quasi-demonic threat that lingers just outside of the frame, and what is in the frame becomes all the more bewildering. An unhinged Cage, whether by ax or chainsaw, rips his way through the cult that has taken everything from him—including himself. By the end of the trailer, Cage’s character is so covered in blood that even he looks like one of the demonic gearheads who form the rank and file of the sadistic biker-gang cult that has taken Red’s love and his thinly veiled sense of peace—in his rage and anger, he has discovered a newfound sense of purpose. After forging an ax that would be at home on any ‘80s death-metal album cover, someone asks him, “So what are you going to do with that thing?” and Cage’s already-unhinged and blood-spattered Red responds with, “I’m going hunting … some crazy evil,” delivering the line with the ability and confidence that make him the go-to person for many a madman role. Equal parts Alejandro Jodorowsky and John Carpenter, Mandy appears all but destined to become a cult hit.

Mandy was directed by Cosmatos based on a script he co-wrote with Aaron Stewart-Ahn. The film stars Cage and Andrea Riseborough with a supporting cast of Linus Roache, Ned Dennehy, Olwen Fouéré, Bill Duke and Richard Brake. Mandy is set to rip and tear its way into theaters on Sept. 14 via RLJE Films.

Check out the thoroughly wild trailer for Mandy below.