Nicolas Cage wants bloody vengeance in the trailer for Panos Cosmatos' Mandy. The Oscar-winning Cage has spent much of the past several years appearing in forgettable direct-to-DVD or low-budget fare, with exceptions like David Gordon Green's acclaimed drama Joe. However, the actor (in)famous for his gonzo performance style could be on the verge of a comeback. In addition to playing (okay, voicing) the Man of Steel in Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, Cage is starring in this year's midnight-movie-in-the-making, Mandy.

Directed and written by Cosmatos (Beyond the Black Rainbow) with music video/video shorts filmmaker Aaron Stewart-Ahn (This is Why We Fight), Mandy earned raves from critics following its premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The film now has an official trailer that aims to demonstrate just what it is about this action/horror/thriller that has cinephiles buzzing.

Set in 1983, Mandy stars Cage and Andrea Riseborough (Black Mirror's extra-disturbing episode "Crocodile") as Red Miller and Mandy Bloom, a couple living in the wilderness near the Shadow Mountains in California. When Mandy is targeted by the unhinged cult leader Jeremiah Sand (Linus Roache), their quiet existence is shattered and Red begins (as the synopsis phrases it) "a spiraling, surreal, bloody rampage of all out, mind-altering vengeance". For more, watch the Mandy trailer in the space above.

Nicolas Cage in Mandy 2018

As mentioned, the critical response to Mandy at Sundance was almost unanimously positive (case in point: the film is at 97% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes after 29 reviews). Critics generally seem to agree that with Mandy, Cage has finally found a project that matches his psychologically off-the-wall and emotionally explosive acting methods. By and large, the Mandy trailer succeeds in leaving a similar impression, after but a couple minutes of actual footage.

If nothing else, Mandy has Nicolas Winding Refn levels of style to spare, if the trailer is anything to go by. On a sadder note, the film is also noteworthy for being one of the last movies scored by Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario, Arrival), prior to the composer's shocking death earlier this year. Mandy certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for those film buffs who have been waiting for Cage to go, well, full-blown Nicolas Cage for awhile, this one seems like a must-watch.

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Mandy begins playing in select U.S. theaters later this year on Friday, September 14.

Source: RLJE Films