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Cheddar Goblin = CG = Computer Generated = Death of Classic Horror. 44 Shirt = 44th President Obama = Death of an Era and Rise of Religious Fanatics. Starlings = Agent Starling from Silence of the Lambs = Speech about running away from father killing an animal.
The axe, scythe thingy is a reference to the revenge film, Rolling Thunder (1977). William Devane saws off a shotgun and sharpens his hook hand while wearing Aviator glasses...
They have actually done tests on LSD's LD50 and LSD doesn't really have one for humans. There have been fake LSD substances that have killed people, but there have been reports of people taking thousands of hits and living. They said it was a bad batch, though in the movie.
LoyaltyCup I was going to say mention the Jesus connection, with the barbbed wire being the crown of thorns; Jeremiah mentions Jesus not offering a sacrifice, then stabbs Red in the same spot Jesus gets stabbed by a Roman soldier. Then later in the movie with Red being nailed through his hand to a wooden board. Also Jeremiah referances "do like the carpenters?", Jesus being a carpenter himself. But then Jeremiah plays his album instead, saying "this is better!" Implying that hes better than Jesus. Even having the name Jeremiah, a prophet of the old testament and spokeman for God. The book of revelation talks about a trumpet blast (the special horn blown,) , then the four horseman of the apocolypse (or four demons on 4 wheelers) are summoned. // You guys are great keep up the great work.
Yes! Glad somebody else is digging these connections. If you want to steer a bit away from Biblical canon too, Jeremiah has an eerie resemblance to Satan in Paradise Lost. A major part of Satan's character is his hubris, which Jeremiah dives through in such a chilling way during his monologue to Mandy. And then you've got some references to Dante's Inferno (of the Divine Comedy), with Red being Dante descending through Hell after losing his love (Mandy/Beatrice).
When Mandy and Red are discussing their favorite planets, they choose Saturn and Jupiter respectively. These two planets are of particular significance in Gnosticism and other esoteric or occult conceptions. Mandy even alludes to this vaguely in talking about Saturn, saying it's one of the first planets we discovered and there are a load of "cool myths" about it. Regarding Gnostic concepts in Mandy, The Children of the New Dawn may be practicing some twisted form of Gnosticism. Gnosis essentially means knowledge, and the concept of undergoing Gnosis is essentially meaning to "ascend" beyond this infernal physical plane or matrix, something that Jeremiah Sand promises his followers, ascension to a higher plane (the act of undergoing "Gnosis")... Perhaps counter to the "abyssal layer" that the blade they ritualistically stab Red with supposedly hails from. Saturn is associated with darkness and what most would arguably call evil, or at the very least associated with death, and sometimes ritualistic sacrifice depending on the sect that worships it. In certain circles Saturn is believed to be an Archon (a servant of the Demiurge) or even the Demiurge itself. Jeremiah mentions that Jesus' mistake was to not offer a sacrifice in his stead (as opposed to the arguably more noble act of Jesus, offering himself up as a sacrifice for the sake of taking into himself the sin of man). I won't even touch on the explicit namedrop that is the "horn of Abraxas" and the fact that it's the tool with which they summon hellish, arguably otherworldly men, all cursed with perpetual pain and darkness in service of forces of mindless evil and regression. When Red meets the Chemist, the Chemist says two things of note: He immediately appraises and characterizes Red as a "Jovan warrior sent forth from the eye of the storm", Jovan being a form of Jove, aka Jupiter. Mandy originally stated she likes Jupiter because its storm has been raging for thousands of years and could swallow up all of the Earth. Mandy and Red are paradoxically, ironically connected. He also claims that Red exudes a cosmic darkness... could this be an allusion to his "ascension" being brought about by tainted means, the same "ascension" as the bikers via the brainfuck LSD? Or maybe an allusion to Mandy herself hanging over him and omni-presently guiding him in his cosmic journey... Maybe it makes sense if you take their choice of planets to represent not what they see in themselves but what they sort of twistedly love in each other? Red to Mandy is Jupiter as Mandy to Red is Saturn (surely in an endearing way; Mandy IS "dark"). Just some musings.
Very nice. Also, on a surface level Saturn is near Jupiter. He changed his answer. Maybe he just wants to be next to her. I mean, he wanted to leave the area and she wanted to stay. Maybe.
Remember, Red changed his mind when they were picking favorite planets. He decided to choose a black hole that eats the planets over Jupiter--hence the cosmic darkness he is seen to exude. This Hesse quote about Abraxas is interesting to me as well, in the unification of dualism or reversal of light and dark (as seen in the show off with the Luciferian messiah Jeremiah and the black holy god Red)
I think the love Red and Mandy felt for each other was really well expressed in the scène they watched night beast together, both totally absorbed in the movie without mocking it, or even blinking. It really showed they had a unique relationship together.
I noticed a Charles Manson connection as well. He was a song writer/musician that wanted fame, but never got it with music. He didn’t like the rejection a lot like Jeremiah.
Right we noticed that too, Jeremiah felt like a mix of a few maniacs by the end! We briefly discuss that in our analysis video! Thanks for the comment, be sure to subscribe to catch whats next! :)
You can also view this film as an inversion of the christian savior trope in horror movies. Typically with horror films, the events are initiated by an act that can be considered either pagan or sacrilegious toward christianity, and eventually defeated using christian imagery. Mandy however, begins with Mandy and Red representing a goddess and demigod type figures draped in nature motifs, which could be connected to paganism or wicca, or any other nature based religions. Jerimiah, using christian imagery and motifs, kidnaps and tries to control mandy, and upon failing kills her using a method reminiscent of a witch burning, initiating the events of the film. And once Red has finished killing everyone involved and kills Jerimiah, the last bit of evil dies with the burning of a church.
I’m late to the game and just saw this movie but there are SO MANY elements I haven’t seen anyone online catch when trying to figure this movie out. 1. Mandy’s dilated pupil and other eye with a scar beneath. This means she has gone through this before probably a long time ago. The cult put LSD in her right eye and then tried to put some in her left eye but she fought back resulting in the injury. This is why Mother Marlene put the drops in her damaged eye once they recaptured her to “finish” the process. 2. Mandy unknowingly recognizes Brother Swan and Jeremiah when they drive past her and they recognize her which is why that scene is so foreboding and intense. This is also why Jeremiah asks her if she recognizes him and tells her he recognizes her once she’s captured. 3. The story about Mandy’s father and the starling birds. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND SUBJECTS CHILDREN TO BASHING BABY BIRDS INTO THE GROUND AND WHAT KIND OF SICK CHILDREN PARTAKE IN THAT. The kind of people in the Children of the Dawn Cult. Which leads me to believe that Brother Swan is Mandy’s father and the other members are the children she was referring to. Notice she also mentioned how this happened when the children were playing after “church”.. like the church the cult lives in? She couldn’t do it and she ran away, forging a life of her own. 4. The face morphing of Mandy and Jeremiah. The Children of Dawn was created before Jeremiah was a prophet and was based on the notion that Jesus would come back in human form. Apparently in their belief this could only be brought to light through LSD so their prophet could show its true self. Mandy was supposed to be the prophecy. But she had too pure of a heart and ran away as a child which is why it is hard for her to recognize them. Jeremiah was another child subjected to the cult by his mother (more on that later). He left to become a self-absorbed musician only to realize the cult was his calling since they were the only ones who would embrace his narcissism and failed music. His mother leads the cult to believe it is actually her son who is the prophecy despite Brother Swan having another child. This is why she is titled Mother Marlene as opposed to a sister. 5. The family ties. Brother Swan is Mandy and Sister Lucy’s father. This is why neither of them smile while Mandy is being burned alive and the rest of the cult does. Sister Lucy never knew Mandy but feels a sympathetic connection to her. This is also why Brother Swan looks regretful and almost sick when Jeremiah asks for Sister Lucy so that he can rape her even though he obliges to his “Jesus”. When Red kills Brother Swan, his lasts words are “She burned brightly, Mandy. That’s better than fading out.” He meant it. He’s crazy and that’s his way of justifying his daughter’s death. Red spares Sister Lucy because he can see Mandy in her. We know Mother Marlene is Jeremiah’s blood son and this is symbolized everywhere. When she tries to console J in his bed he mocks her and speaks to her as a spoiled teenage child would to their mother. She is so proud of him and is exuberant when Mandy is burned since there is no chance of her becoming the true prophecy of the cult. The end scene depicts her outside of the room J is in essentially wearing diapers. We also see her slap Mandy for no reason and call her “Buster”, most likely a childhood nickname she called Mandy. The slap is a form of resentment that her son now wants Mandy again despite her being deemed the cults leader as a child because he feels they are “one”. He feels naked without her.. 6. The book Mandy reads. She begins reading “silently” but aloud to the audience in a voice that morphs into the voices heard in everyone’s LSD trips. Because she can’t escape her past. 7. Mandy doesn’t want to move. Red suggests it, and Mandy quickly protests. This is where she grew up and she’s never been outside of the area. She immediately begins telling the story of her father and the Sterlings. Again, because she cannot escape her past and she knows it. When she is staring into Red’s eyes as they are being captured, she looks entirely remorseful because she knew this would happen eventually and she subjected Red to being her “reaper” which is now his entire fate. This is reiterated in the very end scene when he is trapped in her world she has painted.
Did you come up with this theory on your own? It's fantastic and definitely changes the point of it being a revenge story. Did or do you study film in school because that's a lot of minor detail to pick up on and you explained very well!
It's rare when I find a video with more than one person hosting/talking that I don't find annoying. You two compliment each other well. Subscriber earned. Thanks for covering Mandy.
"MANDY" ruled! One of the best films of past few years. Some thought the 1st half was slow, but I thought it was perfectly paced and made for a gorgeous exercise in tension-building and character development through all the subtle clues and mysterious visual hints. There's also some great, hypnotic performances from Cage, Andrea Riseborough and the supporting cast. For me, it all contributed to a very vivid sense of mounting dread before the second half exploded into its pink-and-purple-drenched beautiful disaster of manic Nic Cage weirdness, mind-blowing 80s VHS visuals, and a full-throated opera of stylishly-executed, bloody violence. BTW: the villain's full name JEREMIAH SAND is a secret anagram that explains a lot of the film's backstory and religious themes. If you want to understand the wild ending, theres a couple "magical realism" books from the 1980s you should read. I'll give you a clue about one in particular: MARK TWAIN, 1986. (Need more? Look at the number on Red (Nic Cage)'s favorite T-Shirt!) "YOU RIPPED MA SHIRRRRRT!"
For me the whole plot is a biblical metaphor. Each main character has a couple of roles. "Shadow mountains" part is the vision of paradise where Red and Mandy live happily like Adam and Eve until Mandy meets the "Serpent". In the final scene she reads "the serpent's eye" and then she's seen in the woods from Jeremiah perspective, as through the serpent's eye. Red also mentions Saturn (the rebel, Satan) as his favorite planet. "The children of the dawn" is a story of misleadings of religion through the millenia. Here, Mandy becomes a witch or the whore of babylon. She's a freethinker, artist, rebel, she can tell the right from wrong without a religious guidance. Jeremiah (pope, false prophet, God's emissary wicked by wealth and ego) tries to convert her by force, not to God, but himself. When she rejects him, the "children" burn her, just like the church burned the witches who refused to renounce the devil. In that case Red might be seen as Satan (witches lover), but also Jesus (stigmatised hands, pierced side) who spent time talking to sinners, wrongdoers and whores (like the scene at the gig where he was charmed by Mandy). I found that some people connect the number 44 (favourite shirt) with Jesus. Black skulls are obviously the riders of apocalypse, summoned by horn. Jeremiah's disciples wield some true power by using artifacts. The book of Revelations also mentions Jesus reign with iron scepter (axe?) in his hand. There's a meaningful scene when Red's '44' shirt is destroyed, and he equip a vest with Lucifer's sigil on the back. Then he visits The Chemist (God), who's preparing massive amount of acid blotters, as for keeping the humanity in their dreamland. He's allknowing, as he reads Red thoughts and knows what he came for. He's dissapointed how the 'children' could have wronged Red so much, which fits perfectly with the theory that Jesus get so outraged by the sin that he brings revenge on the wicked church on the day of the apocalypse. The Chemist mentions that everything is ok when Lizzie (beast of apocalypse) is calm, but after hearing (reading?) Red's story, he releases her to roam the surface of the earth. He also knows where to find the 'children'. When Red enters the empty church, he finds an old book on the altar that appears as a forgotten relict. Cellar door and long, underground corridors, resembles churches secrets and hidden agenda. When the old woman speaks to Red, he looks the other way, as Jesus is said to do to hipocrites on the day of judgement. Jeremiah starts to pannicly accuse Red for all that happened. Red's devilish voice suggest that Jeremiah sees him as the devil, cause he stays convinced that God is on his side. His final scream is also downpitched which may repreasent the Serpent manifest in the end. Red crushes Jeremiah's head, the same way as the snake is foretold to die in the bible. Red sets the corpses and the church on fire (false prophet is cast to the lake of fire in revelations) and Jesus also said that he'll come, and destroy the temple. In one of the animated visions of Mandy, she stands upon a dead crimson beast. In revelations the whore of Babylon gets burned by the seven-headed Crimson beast (wasn't there 7 people in the cult?). In the end Red rides in the dark alone, with unreal sky in the background, maybe as a symbol of the new world beginnig after the apocalypse.
I see the film as mostly being Mandys imagination. She obviously loves fantasy through her art and reading. The moment when she sees Jeremiah drive past her, right before it theres a shot of the woods with a fast flickering light and smoke filling the screen. I think this is the point in the story that it turns into her dream as the following shots are soaked in red, which is the first point in the film that stylised look happens. And essentially she dreams up this story where her husband becomes a badass and avenges her death. Hence the illustration of Red and the tiger at the end. Beyond the Black Rainbow has the same sort of thing at the end of the credits to imply the film was all imagination.
You picked up on something nice there! In an interview with birthmoviesdeath, Panos Cosmatos said this about setting both films in 1983: "Both of these movies exist in a sort of "mythical" realm, and that's was 1983 represents: the realm of imagination where, when I was a kid, I would look at VHS tapes of horror movies and pulp novels. I'd read the backs of them and look at their cover art, imagining what they actually looked like based on those paintings and descriptions, because I wasn't allowed to rent them. But that's what 1983 truly is for me: this intangible realm of memory and imagination." I don't think it necessarily means that the movies only happened in the characters' imagination, but the post credit scenes could be Panos Cosmatos imagining what his young self would have looked at to dream of the movie we just saw.
This is what I was thinking too! Especially with that last shot and the post credit scene it looked as though Mandy was just riffing off of the book she was reading and going into her own head. The homages to other movies all seem to be about from that era as well. Like her imagination is just taken from bits of media and general knowledge she has absorbed.
Yes this is sort of what I was thinking about it. Some people say that the movie Point Blank is mostly a revenge fantasy taking place in the main character's head before he dies, and I wondered if the second half of Mandy is actually a similar thing - it's her revenge fantasy. It's at that point that the film shifts and Red suddenly becomes this major badass, and so much of the content of the film from then on is imbued with Mandy's personality and influences (the fantasy landscapes, the heavy metal references, etc), that I thought either her 'spirit' is guiding all this and watching over it, or it's taking place in her own mind. I've seen people predictably criticise the film saying that Mandy is just there to look good, be kooky, and get killed, but I couldn't disagree more; she IS the film, if anything it's Red's character who is the conduit for all that.
@@aliquidcow It's been said before the film's release in a few reviews and interviews that all the animated bits are Mandy's spirit watching over Red as she's residing in the hereafter.
I loved how at each stage of Red's rampage he consumes a different drug to fuel the insanity of what's coming next, initially the vodka once he frees himself, then weed, then acid, then cocaine (not sure if that's the correct order).
At first i used to think when mandy said her favorite planet is Jupiter because of the storm, it seemed as if she herself represents Jupiter, and Red is supposed to be the gigantic Red Storm that circles around Jupiter, thus why Red in the movie had this Red Cosmic Glow the entirety of his Raging Spree. Edit: Also Red answered Mandy back about his favorite planet he said "Galactus" which is a powerful Cosmic Being who can literally consume planets and in Marvel is considered a God, another reason why Red in the end before crushing the Cult Leaders head says "Im Your God Now" suggesting that like Galactus consuming a planet, Red consumes the leader through Fear And Death
I found a weird attachment to this film. I'm on my 10th time watching it tonight. This film and "I'm thinking of ending Things". Both spectacular movies!!! Watch a 2nd and third time to fully embrace the message.
nice catch on the david lynch connection. I felt him in the soundtrack, the psychedelia and mania, and in the Pacific woods environment too. Also, nice low key boxes of cheddar goblin on the table there :)
Yeah the film definitely had some David Lynch moments, and the Pacific atmosphere felt like a darker version of Twin Peaks! That line of dialog was spot on Blue Velvet though, haha! We love Cheddar Goblin!!!
Lynch is hardly ever psychedelic, he's more kafkaesque and dreamlike in a style that's not particularly psychedelic, whereas Panos's fever dreams are drenched in psychedelia. I give you that the dialogue line from "Blue Velvet" may be there, but stylistically, "Eraserhead" is the closest thing Lynch has ever done to Panos's style...well, up until the legendary episode 8 of the third season of "Twin Peaks", which came seven years after the release of "Beyond the Black Rainbow". My take on it is that episode 8 has revealed to us that all of TP and specifically all the scenes in the Red Room have always been an extended hommage to Kubrick's "2001" (the scenes in the apartment room that Dave finds himself in after the monolith has sent him through the Stargate), and BtBR may have shown Lynch how to reference and honor Kubrick's style in an even better way.
So Cool. I just watched Blue Velvet in the theatre at an art house we go to a month ago and then saw Mandy at the same theatre last week. Happy Coincidence. Thanks for highlighting that.
Amazing analysis, really well done! *Mandy is otherworldly haunting masterpiece.* It will forever stay in my top-3 movies along with Gaspar Noe's *"Enter the Void"* - it's just perfect that you brought it up!
*Plot Twist:* He made a deal with the Devil before he met his wife that's why he's unstoppable in the movie,the Devil made him his "bounty hunter" so he can have the power/s to flood his Vengeance to the cult that killed Mandy. *So he's basically Ghost Rider*
Mandy says her fave planet is Jupiter. Red says his fave planet is galactacus, or something like that that's made up. He says it's a planet that eats other planets. In the final scene of the film, he has made it to that planet by devouring their enemies on his journey.
I haven’t quite seen a movie where the visuals practically are the context This was more of an experience than “watching a movie” If you really go into it open minded; really is a great ride I can see how someone wanting to watch your “typical” horror may not like it But for me, man, one of the most unique films I’ve seen. And I’m including all the epic bangers from later 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s (earlier to mid) It wouldn’t be a fair, or even a relevant comparison for many films that are absolutely masterpieces - but again, to say this “wasn’t” an experience? No-it absolutely was
Just remember that the first half is *NOT* about Nic going nuts. The first half is slow and beautiful, until "the thing" happens which makes him go on a rampage during the second half.
Noe does not influence Panos. Noe and Panos simply both reference Kubrick's "2001" in style. Panos is better at it, already in "Beyond the Black Rainbow", while Noe tries to kinda "modernize" and de-contextualize it a bit.
"From a band called King Crimson." Ok, saying it that way tells me you never heard of them before. I suppose that's understandable especially if you're a movie person and not a music person. Same thing with "the band Celtic Frost."
I Love your guy's channel becuase its reminds me of the days we had before it became all about our phone's and social media and people would wait in line at the theaters and people would actually talk to each other about what they think the movie I gonna be about, predictions, discussions between one another and so on... Openly being interactive about This One Thing All Paid to see... Movies! The passion for making these videos and discussing it and analyzing it is remarkable. When you subscribe to this channel, it's like bringing a Loyalty Cup to the theaters becuase its worth the investment and makes the movie experience even that much more fun.. (becuase we know how prices for movies are noawadays am I right?) So in conclusion, don't stop making vids becuase you guys are gonna get there someday and God Bless!
I think it's a way of acknowledging that Red CAN be as evil and twisted as the monsters he is fighting in order to revenge Mandy. With the cues to Red being a recovering alcoholic, and him having to hide his crossbow (and the weird subtle Vietnam connections of the helicoptor and the date/era) it is assumed that Red might have had a trouble past and is "dark"... clearly he has been trying to live a normal life but in order to enact revenge, that underlying darkness needs to come out. The cosmic part might relate to Mandy "helping" him from the other side sort of...
I think it means one of two things, or both: a.) His grief, b.) the fact of how he became this unfeeling, mechanical, unstoppable "golem" (which is the official term, right from Panos's mouth!) by means of the hellish drug he drank a drop of in the Black Skulls kitchen. But yeah, the fact that he's had a troubled past (akin to Cage's character in "Joe") and is a recovered alcoholic may add to it.
I think the the drug is some super strong special drug (not just acid), but also non toxic. After all, it'd have to be for the chemist to not just overdose from that kind of exposure. But I think it's meant to be portrayed as more than a drug, as something that is almost spiritual and actually unlocks another way of seeing and understanding the world around you, as if being not on the drug closes you off from actual reality. They are brought into a higher mental plane, or at least, they feel and think that way. After you've taken soo much of the drug, you reach some level where you basically just exist in the reality the drug creates in your mind. This is another reason why the bikers could mutilate themselves and be fine. Because they were just soo mentally twisted by such excessive doses of the drug that they didn't feel pain and didn't even care about their self mutilations like a normal person would. Pain at that point might have even been perceived as pleasure, and mutilating themselves was the only way to feel "good". All they knew is the reality the drug created in their minds. They were soo mentally changed by the drug that they lost nearly everything that makes one human.
The first act unusually took up the first half of the movies run time which i thought was different and a good call, seeing as the rest of the film was more or less just red killing everyone in the cult. it really adds to the heart and substance of the film imo
Not sure this has been said. But I've heard. Seeker of the serpents kiss, The book Mandy is reading is actually the story of Mandy. How she describes the green glow . If you listen to what she says when Mandy quotes the book. It is 100% a scene in the movie. Maybe it's the secret title of the movie.
Also when Red is handcuffed to the radiator in the bikers clubhouse, one hand up, one down = as above so below, the posture of baphomet, possibly him becoming the beast also 4 bikers= 4 horsemen as well as he was peirced on his side where Christ was with the spear of destiny and he seemed to become somewhat immortal from that point
The Black Skull guy that was doing blow and watching porn on TV was wearing a blade fallus thing that was a lot like one in that movie Seven, and that whole scene also reminded me a lot of that movie 8mm. Thank you for reading this
One thing I noticed that I think is on purpose is when Red is getting his crossbow from the black dude in the camper. Just after the man tells Red that he will probably will die there is a fly crawling up Red's arm. I have no clue what it means but I am pretty sure it means something, simply because not a thing in this movie is accidental - it's so thought through, which is one reason this movie is so great!
There's quite a few references in the film to the soundtrack of the movie itself. You mentioned some at the beginning but one I thought was cool is the title of the song that's played in Mandy's death scene is called "Sand" and it's a reference to Jeremiah's last name, Sand.
Like after any really good movie, people start reflecting the whole thing with their own personal resonating experience. Some religious, some exoteric. I try to see it for what it is, - bored people take drugs to get some entertainment. The changes they seek may destroy not just them, but their beloved ones, the other people. In the move, the ending showed the actual reality for Red. It’s a warrior trip for the sake of whatever. Just to get going. We don’t know how ancient heroes lived their idle, ordinary days, but we remember them for their immortal journeys, like Homer, Dante, Don Quixote, Jesus.
I thought there was a kinda strange gun metaphor in this film maybe. Every single gun portrayed in the movie fails. The female cult member forced to play Russian roulette and the gun doesn't hit the loaded chamber and discharge. The biker fires at Red in his truck and misses on the road. The other biker fires a shotgun at Red and also misses. The chemist reaches for a gold plated Luger but then refrains from using it. No firearm in this film works! Is that a statement maybe? Guns do not work in this universe. Red goes on his revenge quest only armed with archaic weapons for some reason.
Just wondering if you've ever looked at the aspect of Ted traveling through his own hell ...and that he puts on the vest with Lucifer's sigil on it when he starts to fight the bikers....or red over coming his demons?
Came here thinking I knew what most of these would be but was pleasantly surprised to learn some neat tidbits! good work guys, you got yerselves a sub :)
I love that you picked up that Frank Booth (Blue Velvet) reference. Also the scythe image I take also as a refrence to Saturn, Red's favorite planet who is named for a God that ate his children whose names also go to planets (Neptune/Podseidon and Pluto/Hades) while Galactus whom Red changes to favorite planet eats the planets. Visceral.
Another interpretation could be that it is Mandy who is the ender of worlds. The poster has her as a God like figure above everything and we never really get to know her. She appears in the car with him at the end on another planet, but of course we could take that as Red having gone nuts.
Are the cheddar goblin boxes actually full of mac n cheese mix? I just bought 1 from the Mandy website store so I can make a custom t-shirt with the box art.
No one seems to have noticed, or at least I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, the wink at Scatman Crothers from The Shining in the "Caruthers" character.... also, when they discuss their favorite planets Red mentions his favorite is a black hole that consumes planets, which is basically what he becomes--an all-consuming black hole. I just noticed as well, the squirming worms in the jar next to the batch of acid in the lab, which makes me think of the psychoactive parasites in Upstream Color...
I've said to a number of people that Caruthers incredibly reminds me of Scatman Crothers in "The Shining", but everybody just keeps replying to me, "Nah, yer way off, he's from 'Predator', so no way this is ever a reference to 'The Shining'..."
Upon reviewing, the first thing we see Red doing is killing a living thing. And walking away from that action in disgust. Yet the action still takes place.
you missed the biggest piece of symbolism being that he became the abyssal pale knight after he received the jesus wound while Red was tied up with barbed wire. the ending scene was red entering abyssal space as the new pale knight. possibly to kill more void demons.
What about the fact that Mandy had 1 dilated pupil during the beginning of the movie, possibly implying that she had had a run-in with these type of people, or at least this batch of "bad" LSD before? The scar under her eye is also never explained. I'm not sure what else to draw from this but it seemed intentional
When I saw the boxes of Cheddar Goblin on the table, I was sure you guys were going to talk about "Devane" as one of your points. I came out of Mandy thinking that the name's gotta be a nod to 70s movie mainstay William Devane. Not sure it relates in any way as I have not seen it, but Devane did star in a movie released in Cosmatos' fave year of 1983: Testament, a drama depicting life in a suburban town after a nuclear war.
i interpreted the cosmic imagery in this movie as mandy essentially narrating, or a least from viewing from her perspective, the second half of the movie.
As the guys from Men on Films from In Living Color would say...." Hated It". Actually, I did like Cage's rampage at the end. And Linus Roach over the top, Manson wanabee was good for a giggle of two. Basically an homage to biker films of the late 60's and 70s.... Born Losers and Race with the Devil.
It's funny you guys brought up a similarity between Dennis Hopper's roll in Blue Velvet here. Though I didn't make the same connection at the time myself I had my own. The whole chainsaw scene towards the end made me think of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 where Lefty (Hopper) and Leatherface have a chainsaw duel. May be a stretch, but in my mind I considered the whole scene as a nod to TCM2. Anyway, great video. Still giddy about the Celtic Frost/axe connection. Got yourselfs a new subscriber.
William Burns shit, its hard to tell, im not sure if i see craters or not, then again Jupiter does have some spots i think, then again i think u can also see some of the stripes im not sure,
A big 'reaper' reference you guys missed is that when Red knocks on his black friend's trailer door, he says he's come for 'the reaper'. meaning the crossbow that he then takes with him.
I was thinking more along the lines that with her fascination with fantasy novels she created a scenario where she dies to see Red exact revenge on her behalf(act2 forward).Some clues like the drawings revealed after film(done before predict what happens). Also Jeremiah and her face becoming one in the same as well as rules of reality being bent(cheese goblin, 1st black skull member flipping his vehicle). This breakdown does an excellent job explaining things from this perspective: ua-cam.com/video/1UBuW6BhU0w/v-deo.html&t=279
Awesome! God, I loved this movie.. Did you guys notice the birds at the very end of the credits? I think they are the birds that Mandy mentions in the beginning..
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Cheddar Goblin = CG = Computer Generated = Death of Classic Horror. 44 Shirt = 44th President Obama = Death of an Era and Rise of Religious Fanatics. Starlings = Agent Starling from Silence of the Lambs = Speech about running away from father killing an animal.
The axe, scythe thingy is a reference to the revenge film, Rolling Thunder (1977). William Devane saws off a shotgun and sharpens his hook hand while wearing Aviator glasses...
OMG, Cheddar Goblin is produced by DeVane, according to the comercial!
They have actually done tests on LSD's LD50 and LSD doesn't really have one for humans. There have been fake LSD substances that have killed people, but there have been reports of people taking thousands of hits and living. They said it was a bad batch, though in the movie.
It's a tiger set free from it's "Cage".
Fuckin A'
LoyaltyCup I was going to say mention the Jesus connection, with the barbbed wire being the crown of thorns; Jeremiah mentions Jesus not offering a sacrifice, then stabbs Red in the same spot Jesus gets stabbed by a Roman soldier. Then later in the movie with Red being nailed through his hand to a wooden board. Also Jeremiah referances "do like the carpenters?", Jesus being a carpenter himself. But then Jeremiah plays his album instead, saying "this is better!" Implying that hes better than Jesus. Even having the name Jeremiah, a prophet of the old testament and spokeman for God. The book of revelation talks about a trumpet blast (the special horn blown,) , then the four horseman of the apocolypse (or four demons on 4 wheelers) are summoned. // You guys are great keep up the great work.
Yes! Glad somebody else is digging these connections.
If you want to steer a bit away from Biblical canon too, Jeremiah has an eerie resemblance to Satan in Paradise Lost. A major part of Satan's character is his hubris, which Jeremiah dives through in such a chilling way during his monologue to Mandy. And then you've got some references to Dante's Inferno (of the Divine Comedy), with Red being Dante descending through Hell after losing his love (Mandy/Beatrice).
That's a good observation. I had noticed the spot where Jesus was speared but the carpenter bit is a good one. Good find!
I made the connection with the 4 horsemen but the carpenters part I never picked up on. Good interpretation dude
Nice catches there.
There was a Ghost Rider reference in the movie when he swings a chain at the guy and makes him fall onto his own chainsaw
Yessss it annoyed me how so many UA-camrs and filmmakers reacting on Mandy didn’t catch that .
That’s a great fucking shot !
When Mandy and Red are discussing their favorite planets, they choose Saturn and Jupiter respectively. These two planets are of particular significance in Gnosticism and other esoteric or occult conceptions. Mandy even alludes to this vaguely in talking about Saturn, saying it's one of the first planets we discovered and there are a load of "cool myths" about it. Regarding Gnostic concepts in Mandy, The Children of the New Dawn may be practicing some twisted form of Gnosticism. Gnosis essentially means knowledge, and the concept of undergoing Gnosis is essentially meaning to "ascend" beyond this infernal physical plane or matrix, something that Jeremiah Sand promises his followers, ascension to a higher plane (the act of undergoing "Gnosis")... Perhaps counter to the "abyssal layer" that the blade they ritualistically stab Red with supposedly hails from.
Saturn is associated with darkness and what most would arguably call evil, or at the very least associated with death, and sometimes ritualistic sacrifice depending on the sect that worships it. In certain circles Saturn is believed to be an Archon (a servant of the Demiurge) or even the Demiurge itself. Jeremiah mentions that Jesus' mistake was to not offer a sacrifice in his stead (as opposed to the arguably more noble act of Jesus, offering himself up as a sacrifice for the sake of taking into himself the sin of man). I won't even touch on the explicit namedrop that is the "horn of Abraxas" and the fact that it's the tool with which they summon hellish, arguably otherworldly men, all cursed with perpetual pain and darkness in service of forces of mindless evil and regression.
When Red meets the Chemist, the Chemist says two things of note: He immediately appraises and characterizes Red as a "Jovan warrior sent forth from the eye of the storm", Jovan being a form of Jove, aka Jupiter. Mandy originally stated she likes Jupiter because its storm has been raging for thousands of years and could swallow up all of the Earth. Mandy and Red are paradoxically, ironically connected. He also claims that Red exudes a cosmic darkness... could this be an allusion to his "ascension" being brought about by tainted means, the same "ascension" as the bikers via the brainfuck LSD? Or maybe an allusion to Mandy herself hanging over him and omni-presently guiding him in his cosmic journey... Maybe it makes sense if you take their choice of planets to represent not what they see in themselves but what they sort of twistedly love in each other? Red to Mandy is Jupiter as Mandy to Red is Saturn (surely in an endearing way; Mandy IS "dark").
Just some musings.
This^^^
Thank you.
Very nice. Also, on a surface level Saturn is near Jupiter. He changed his answer. Maybe he just wants to be next to her. I mean, he wanted to leave the area and she wanted to stay. Maybe.
Remember, Red changed his mind when they were picking favorite planets. He decided to choose a black hole that eats the planets over Jupiter--hence the cosmic darkness he is seen to exude. This Hesse quote about Abraxas is interesting to me as well, in the unification of dualism or reversal of light and dark (as seen in the show off with the Luciferian messiah Jeremiah and the black holy god Red)
Fuck all that, just because you wrote all 3 paragraphs long doesn't make yoh relevant lamo
I think the love Red and Mandy felt for each other was really well expressed in the scène they watched night beast together, both totally absorbed in the movie without mocking it, or even blinking. It really showed they had a unique relationship together.
And the scene where they first meet at a party. There's an instant chemistry between them that doesn't require them speaking to each other.
I noticed a Charles Manson connection as well. He was a song writer/musician that wanted fame, but never got it with music. He didn’t like the rejection a lot like Jeremiah.
Right we noticed that too, Jeremiah felt like a mix of a few maniacs by the end! We briefly discuss that in our analysis video! Thanks for the comment, be sure to subscribe to catch whats next! :)
You can also view this film as an inversion of the christian savior trope in horror movies. Typically with horror films, the events are initiated by an act that can be considered either pagan or sacrilegious toward christianity, and eventually defeated using christian imagery. Mandy however, begins with Mandy and Red representing a goddess and demigod type figures draped in nature motifs, which could be connected to paganism or wicca, or any other nature based religions. Jerimiah, using christian imagery and motifs, kidnaps and tries to control mandy, and upon failing kills her using a method reminiscent of a witch burning, initiating the events of the film. And once Red has finished killing everyone involved and kills Jerimiah, the last bit of evil dies with the burning of a church.
Jeremiah in the biblical sense is often referred to as the gloomy prophet.
Red (planet) is Mars, the god of war. The son of Jupiter. That's why he's unstoppable.
I’m late to the game and just saw this movie but there are SO MANY elements I haven’t seen anyone online catch when trying to figure this movie out. 1. Mandy’s dilated pupil and other eye with a scar beneath. This means she has gone through this before probably a long time ago. The cult put LSD in her right eye and then tried to put some in her left eye but she fought back resulting in the injury. This is why Mother Marlene put the drops in her damaged eye once they recaptured her to “finish” the process. 2. Mandy unknowingly recognizes Brother Swan and Jeremiah when they drive past her and they recognize her which is why that scene is so foreboding and intense. This is also why Jeremiah asks her if she recognizes him and tells her he recognizes her once she’s captured. 3. The story about Mandy’s father and the starling birds. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND SUBJECTS CHILDREN TO BASHING BABY BIRDS INTO THE GROUND AND WHAT KIND OF SICK CHILDREN PARTAKE IN THAT. The kind of people in the Children of the Dawn Cult. Which leads me to believe that Brother Swan is Mandy’s father and the other members are the children she was referring to. Notice she also mentioned how this happened when the children were playing after “church”.. like the church the cult lives in? She couldn’t do it and she ran away, forging a life of her own. 4. The face morphing of Mandy and Jeremiah. The Children of Dawn was created before Jeremiah was a prophet and was based on the notion that Jesus would come back in human form. Apparently in their belief this could only be brought to light through LSD so their prophet could show its true self. Mandy was supposed to be the prophecy. But she had too pure of a heart and ran away as a child which is why it is hard for her to recognize them. Jeremiah was another child subjected to the cult by his mother (more on that later). He left to become a self-absorbed musician only to realize the cult was his calling since they were the only ones who would embrace his narcissism and failed music. His mother leads the cult to believe it is actually her son who is the prophecy despite Brother Swan having another child. This is why she is titled Mother Marlene as opposed to a sister. 5. The family ties. Brother Swan is Mandy and Sister Lucy’s father. This is why neither of them smile while Mandy is being burned alive and the rest of the cult does. Sister Lucy never knew Mandy but feels a sympathetic connection to her. This is also why Brother Swan looks regretful and almost sick when Jeremiah asks for Sister Lucy so that he can rape her even though he obliges to his “Jesus”. When Red kills Brother Swan, his lasts words are “She burned brightly, Mandy. That’s better than fading out.” He meant it. He’s crazy and that’s his way of justifying his daughter’s death. Red spares Sister Lucy because he can see Mandy in her. We know Mother Marlene is Jeremiah’s blood son and this is symbolized everywhere. When she tries to console J in his bed he mocks her and speaks to her as a spoiled teenage child would to their mother. She is so proud of him and is exuberant when Mandy is burned since there is no chance of her becoming the true prophecy of the cult. The end scene depicts her outside of the room J is in essentially wearing diapers. We also see her slap Mandy for no reason and call her “Buster”, most likely a childhood nickname she called Mandy. The slap is a form of resentment that her son now wants Mandy again despite her being deemed the cults leader as a child because he feels they are “one”. He feels naked without her.. 6. The book Mandy reads. She begins reading “silently” but aloud to the audience in a voice that morphs into the voices heard in everyone’s LSD trips. Because she can’t escape her past. 7. Mandy doesn’t want to move. Red suggests it, and Mandy quickly protests. This is where she grew up and she’s never been outside of the area. She immediately begins telling the story of her father and the Sterlings. Again, because she cannot escape her past and she knows it. When she is staring into Red’s eyes as they are being captured, she looks entirely remorseful because she knew this would happen eventually and she subjected Red to being her “reaper” which is now his entire fate. This is reiterated in the very end scene when he is trapped in her world she has painted.
Did you come up with this theory on your own? It's fantastic and definitely changes the point of it being a revenge story. Did or do you study film in school because that's a lot of minor detail to pick up on and you explained very well!
Amazing analysis thank you for this insight
Dude this movie was so sick, made me want to start making movies
Mandy is one of the coolest movies I’ve ever seen. It needs to be watched at least a couple times.😁👍
It's rare when I find a video with more than one person hosting/talking that I don't find annoying. You two compliment each other well. Subscriber earned. Thanks for covering Mandy.
"MANDY" ruled! One of the best films of past few years.
Some thought the 1st half was slow, but I thought it was perfectly paced and made for a gorgeous exercise in tension-building and character development through all the subtle clues and mysterious visual hints. There's also some great, hypnotic performances from Cage, Andrea Riseborough and the supporting cast. For me, it all contributed to a very vivid sense of mounting dread before the second half exploded into its pink-and-purple-drenched beautiful disaster of manic Nic Cage weirdness, mind-blowing 80s VHS visuals, and a full-throated opera of stylishly-executed, bloody violence.
BTW: the villain's full name JEREMIAH SAND is a secret anagram that explains a lot of the film's backstory and religious themes. If you want to understand the wild ending, theres a couple "magical realism" books from the 1980s you should read. I'll give you a clue about one in particular: MARK TWAIN, 1986. (Need more? Look at the number on Red (Nic Cage)'s favorite T-Shirt!)
"YOU RIPPED MA SHIRRRRRT!"
The animated scene of an animated Mandy taking a green gem out of a beast reminded me of the Locknar (sp?) from Heavy Metal.
For me the whole plot is a biblical metaphor. Each main character has a couple of roles. "Shadow mountains" part is the vision of paradise where Red and Mandy live happily like Adam and Eve until Mandy meets the "Serpent". In the final scene she reads "the serpent's eye" and then she's seen in the woods from Jeremiah perspective, as through the serpent's eye. Red also mentions Saturn (the rebel, Satan) as his favorite planet.
"The children of the dawn" is a story of misleadings of religion through the millenia. Here, Mandy becomes a witch or the whore of babylon. She's a freethinker, artist, rebel, she can tell the right from wrong without a religious guidance. Jeremiah (pope, false prophet, God's emissary wicked by wealth and ego) tries to convert her by force, not to God, but himself. When she rejects him, the "children" burn her, just like the church burned the witches who refused to renounce the devil. In that case Red might be seen as Satan (witches lover), but also Jesus (stigmatised hands, pierced side) who spent time talking to sinners, wrongdoers and whores (like the scene at the gig where he was charmed by Mandy). I found that some people connect the number 44 (favourite shirt) with Jesus. Black skulls are obviously the riders of apocalypse, summoned by horn. Jeremiah's disciples wield some true power by using artifacts. The book of Revelations also mentions Jesus reign with iron scepter (axe?) in his hand. There's a meaningful scene when Red's '44' shirt is destroyed, and he equip a vest with Lucifer's sigil on the back. Then he visits The Chemist (God), who's preparing massive amount of acid blotters, as for keeping the humanity in their dreamland. He's allknowing, as he reads Red thoughts and knows what he came for. He's dissapointed how the 'children' could have wronged Red so much, which fits perfectly with the theory that Jesus get so outraged by the sin that he brings revenge on the wicked church on the day of the apocalypse. The Chemist mentions that everything is ok when Lizzie (beast of apocalypse) is calm, but after hearing (reading?) Red's story, he releases her to roam the surface of the earth. He also knows where to find the 'children'. When Red enters the empty church, he finds an old book on the altar that appears as a forgotten relict. Cellar door and long, underground corridors, resembles churches secrets and hidden agenda. When the old woman speaks to Red, he looks the other way, as Jesus is said to do to hipocrites on the day of judgement. Jeremiah starts to pannicly accuse Red for all that happened. Red's devilish voice suggest that Jeremiah sees him as the devil, cause he stays convinced that God is on his side. His final scream is also downpitched which may repreasent the Serpent manifest in the end. Red crushes Jeremiah's head, the same way as the snake is foretold to die in the bible. Red sets the corpses and the church on fire (false prophet is cast to the lake of fire in revelations) and Jesus also said that he'll come, and destroy the temple. In one of the animated visions of Mandy, she stands upon a dead crimson beast. In revelations the whore of Babylon gets burned by the seven-headed Crimson beast (wasn't there 7 people in the cult?). In the end Red rides in the dark alone, with unreal sky in the background, maybe as a symbol of the new world beginnig after the apocalypse.
I see the film as mostly being Mandys imagination. She obviously loves fantasy through her art and reading. The moment when she sees Jeremiah drive past her, right before it theres a shot of the woods with a fast flickering light and smoke filling the screen. I think this is the point in the story that it turns into her dream as the following shots are soaked in red, which is the first point in the film that stylised look happens. And essentially she dreams up this story where her husband becomes a badass and avenges her death. Hence the illustration of Red and the tiger at the end.
Beyond the Black Rainbow has the same sort of thing at the end of the credits to imply the film was all imagination.
You picked up on something nice there! In an interview with birthmoviesdeath, Panos Cosmatos said this about setting both films in 1983: "Both of these movies exist in a sort of "mythical" realm, and that's was 1983 represents: the realm of imagination where, when I was a kid, I would look at VHS tapes of horror movies and pulp novels. I'd read the backs of them and look at their cover art, imagining what they actually looked like based on those paintings and descriptions, because I wasn't allowed to rent them. But that's what 1983 truly is for me: this intangible realm of memory and imagination."
I don't think it necessarily means that the movies only happened in the characters' imagination, but the post credit scenes could be Panos Cosmatos imagining what his young self would have looked at to dream of the movie we just saw.
Yeah, nice call on that detail. I've seen the film three times now and this revelation makes me eager to watch it again. Cheers!
This is what I was thinking too! Especially with that last shot and the post credit scene it looked as though Mandy was just riffing off of the book she was reading and going into her own head. The homages to other movies all seem to be about from that era as well. Like her imagination is just taken from bits of media and general knowledge she has absorbed.
Yes this is sort of what I was thinking about it. Some people say that the movie Point Blank is mostly a revenge fantasy taking place in the main character's head before he dies, and I wondered if the second half of Mandy is actually a similar thing - it's her revenge fantasy. It's at that point that the film shifts and Red suddenly becomes this major badass, and so much of the content of the film from then on is imbued with Mandy's personality and influences (the fantasy landscapes, the heavy metal references, etc), that I thought either her 'spirit' is guiding all this and watching over it, or it's taking place in her own mind. I've seen people predictably criticise the film saying that Mandy is just there to look good, be kooky, and get killed, but I couldn't disagree more; she IS the film, if anything it's Red's character who is the conduit for all that.
@@aliquidcow It's been said before the film's release in a few reviews and interviews that all the animated bits are Mandy's spirit watching over Red as she's residing in the hereafter.
The look to mandy in the car is a head nod to beyond the black rainbow thats how dope he is as a director lol
I loved how at each stage of Red's rampage he consumes a different drug to fuel the insanity of what's coming next, initially the vodka once he frees himself, then weed, then acid, then cocaine (not sure if that's the correct order).
The acid was definitely last lmao 🤯🫠👹
At first i used to think when mandy said her favorite planet is Jupiter because of the storm, it seemed as if she herself represents Jupiter, and Red is supposed to be the gigantic Red Storm that circles around Jupiter, thus why Red in the movie had this Red Cosmic Glow the entirety of his Raging Spree.
Edit: Also Red answered Mandy back about his favorite planet he said "Galactus" which is a powerful Cosmic Being who can literally consume planets and in Marvel is considered a God, another reason why Red in the end before crushing the Cult Leaders head says "Im Your God Now" suggesting that like Galactus consuming a planet, Red consumes the leader through Fear And Death
The bathroom wallpaper looked like blotter acid.
Finally someone else saw it Orange sunshine lsd
the reaper is his cross bow
All I wanna know is WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE BOXES OF CHEDDAR GOBLIN?
They're sold through the site
That's the real question 😂😂😂
@@schink24 I like Panos is getting more funds for his next film by means of such merchandising.
ITS GOT 60% MORE CHEESE THAN LEADING BRANDS
I found a weird attachment to this film. I'm on my 10th time watching it tonight. This film and "I'm thinking of ending Things". Both spectacular movies!!! Watch a 2nd and third time to fully embrace the message.
This movie was such a treat. It hit all the marks with me and the moody tone was spot on. It's definitely had a lasting impression.
I think my favorite scene was the cigarette lighting scene. It wasn't much, but it was just fucking awesome.
nice catch on the david lynch connection. I felt him in the soundtrack, the psychedelia and mania, and in the Pacific woods environment too. Also, nice low key boxes of cheddar goblin on the table there :)
Yeah the film definitely had some David Lynch moments, and the Pacific atmosphere felt like a darker version of Twin Peaks! That line of dialog was spot on Blue Velvet though, haha! We love Cheddar Goblin!!!
Lynch is hardly ever psychedelic, he's more kafkaesque and dreamlike in a style that's not particularly psychedelic, whereas Panos's fever dreams are drenched in psychedelia. I give you that the dialogue line from "Blue Velvet" may be there, but stylistically, "Eraserhead" is the closest thing Lynch has ever done to Panos's style...well, up until the legendary episode 8 of the third season of "Twin Peaks", which came seven years after the release of "Beyond the Black Rainbow". My take on it is that episode 8 has revealed to us that all of TP and specifically all the scenes in the Red Room have always been an extended hommage to Kubrick's "2001" (the scenes in the apartment room that Dave finds himself in after the monolith has sent him through the Stargate), and BtBR may have shown Lynch how to reference and honor Kubrick's style in an even better way.
The animated scene at 9:10 of the naked woman pulling forth a shining emerald is written in the book Mandy is reading.
So Cool. I just watched Blue Velvet in the theatre at an art house we go to a month ago and then saw Mandy at the same theatre last week. Happy Coincidence. Thanks for highlighting that.
Amazing analysis, really well done! *Mandy is otherworldly haunting masterpiece.* It will forever stay in my top-3 movies along with Gaspar Noe's *"Enter the Void"* - it's just perfect that you brought it up!
*Plot Twist:* He made a deal with the Devil before he met his wife that's why he's unstoppable in the movie,the Devil made him his "bounty hunter" so he can have the power/s to flood his Vengeance to the cult that killed Mandy.
*So he's basically Ghost Rider*
The sky being alien at the end lets you know Red is completely insane now and no longer "on planet earth"
EXACTLY!
The scene at the end is exactly like the landscape in the eye of the serpent book she reads from
Good call!
You fellas have clearly never done acid
Mandy says her fave planet is Jupiter. Red says his fave planet is galactacus, or something like that that's made up. He says it's a planet that eats other planets. In the final scene of the film, he has made it to that planet by devouring their enemies on his journey.
He was referring to Galactus from Marvel Comics, a very old gigantic cosmic being who must consume entire planets or else starve.
RED MILLER IS A ICONIC COACH FROM THE BRONCOS, OPENING SCENE RED DRIVES A BRONCO HOME
Now we're talkin
Broncos fan here (and quite familiar with Coach Miller) - cracking up and pissed off that I didn't put that together. Nicely done.
The most obvious influence for me was Hellraiser
I haven’t quite seen a movie where the visuals practically are the context
This was more of an experience than “watching a movie”
If you really go into it open minded; really is a great ride
I can see how someone wanting to watch your “typical” horror may not like it
But for me, man, one of the most unique films I’ve seen. And I’m including all the epic bangers from later 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s (earlier to mid)
It wouldn’t be a fair, or even a relevant comparison for many films that are absolutely masterpieces - but again, to say this “wasn’t” an experience? No-it absolutely was
I immediately thought of Frank Booth from Blue Velvet when watching Jeremiah. Awesome connection!! Great video guys.
This looks like one of the best Nic-Cage-goes-nuts movies. I need to watch it.
Watch it! It's great, man. It's not for everyone, but if you like our boy Nic going nuts, you'll like it a lot
@@googlewolly That's basically all I need in a Nic Cage movie.
Lorenzo La Bella it's basically about him losing it and kicking ass. he goes after some of the toughest guys with no fear inside of him
Just remember that the first half is *NOT* about Nic going nuts. The first half is slow and beautiful, until "the thing" happens which makes him go on a rampage during the second half.
I thought of Enter the Void influence when you first see Mandy and Red laying together, with the colors changing
Noe does not influence Panos. Noe and Panos simply both reference Kubrick's "2001" in style. Panos is better at it, already in "Beyond the Black Rainbow", while Noe tries to kinda "modernize" and de-contextualize it a bit.
Another thing I noticed was that the cross of Jeremiah's temple, when it is set aflame, becomes the altered cross of Mandy's scar!
Great vibes and interesting facts guys!
"From a band called King Crimson." Ok, saying it that way tells me you never heard of them before. I suppose that's understandable especially if you're a movie person and not a music person. Same thing with "the band Celtic Frost."
I also can read imdb trivia.
I Love your guy's channel becuase its reminds me of the days we had before it became all about our phone's and social media and people would wait in line at the theaters and people would actually talk to each other about what they think the movie I gonna be about, predictions, discussions between one another and so on...
Openly being interactive about This One Thing All Paid to see... Movies! The passion for making these videos and discussing it and analyzing it is remarkable.
When you subscribe to this channel, it's like bringing a Loyalty Cup to the theaters becuase its worth the investment and makes the movie experience even that much more fun..
(becuase we know how prices for movies are noawadays am I right?)
So in conclusion, don't stop making vids becuase you guys are gonna get there someday and God Bless!
What do you think is meant when the chemist tells Red, "You exude a cosmic darkness" ?
I think it's a way of acknowledging that Red CAN be as evil and twisted as the monsters he is fighting in order to revenge Mandy. With the cues to Red being a recovering alcoholic, and him having to hide his crossbow (and the weird subtle Vietnam connections of the helicoptor and the date/era) it is assumed that Red might have had a trouble past and is "dark"... clearly he has been trying to live a normal life but in order to enact revenge, that underlying darkness needs to come out. The cosmic part might relate to Mandy "helping" him from the other side sort of...
I think it means one of two things, or both: a.) His grief, b.) the fact of how he became this unfeeling, mechanical, unstoppable "golem" (which is the official term, right from Panos's mouth!) by means of the hellish drug he drank a drop of in the Black Skulls kitchen. But yeah, the fact that he's had a troubled past (akin to Cage's character in "Joe") and is a recovered alcoholic may add to it.
I think the the drug is some super strong special drug (not just acid), but also non toxic. After all, it'd have to be for the chemist to not just overdose from that kind of exposure. But I think it's meant to be portrayed as more than a drug, as something that is almost spiritual and actually unlocks another way of seeing and understanding the world around you, as if being not on the drug closes you off from actual reality. They are brought into a higher mental plane, or at least, they feel and think that way. After you've taken soo much of the drug, you reach some level where you basically just exist in the reality the drug creates in your mind. This is another reason why the bikers could mutilate themselves and be fine. Because they were just soo mentally twisted by such excessive doses of the drug that they didn't feel pain and didn't even care about their self mutilations like a normal person would. Pain at that point might have even been perceived as pleasure, and mutilating themselves was the only way to feel "good". All they knew is the reality the drug created in their minds. They were soo mentally changed by the drug that they lost nearly everything that makes one human.
Best explanations for this movie I've seen yet. Clear and thoughtful. I like hearing you two conversating. Great job :D
The first act unusually took up the first half of the movies run time which i thought was different and a good call, seeing as the rest of the film was more or less just red killing everyone in the cult. it really adds to the heart and substance of the film imo
"It's like the carpenters,but better..."
Not sure this has been said. But I've heard. Seeker of the serpents kiss, The book Mandy is reading is actually the story of Mandy. How she describes the green glow . If you listen to what she says when Mandy quotes the book. It is 100% a scene in the movie. Maybe it's the secret title of the movie.
Also when Red is handcuffed to the radiator in the bikers clubhouse, one hand up, one down = as above so below, the posture of baphomet, possibly him becoming the beast also 4 bikers= 4 horsemen as well as he was peirced on his side where Christ was with the spear of destiny and he seemed to become somewhat immortal from that point
The Black Skull guy that was doing blow and watching porn on TV was wearing a blade fallus thing that was a lot like one in that movie Seven, and that whole scene also reminded me a lot of that movie 8mm. Thank you for reading this
One thing I noticed that I think is on purpose is when Red is getting his crossbow from the black dude in the camper. Just after the man tells Red that he will probably will die there is a fly crawling up Red's arm. I have no clue what it means but I am pretty sure it means something, simply because not a thing in this movie is accidental - it's so thought through, which is one reason this movie is so great!
Great movie.
Love the cheddar goblin boxes
where mandy takes the green thing out of the beast.. isn't that referring to when jeremiah stabbed him in the same area?
There's quite a few references in the film to the soundtrack of the movie itself. You mentioned some at the beginning but one I thought was cool is the title of the song that's played in Mandy's death scene is called "Sand" and it's a reference to Jeremiah's last name, Sand.
Like after any really good movie, people start reflecting the whole thing with their own personal resonating experience. Some religious, some exoteric. I try to see it for what it is, - bored people take drugs to get some entertainment. The changes they seek may destroy not just them, but their beloved ones, the other people. In the move, the ending showed the actual reality for Red. It’s a warrior trip for the sake of whatever. Just to get going. We don’t know how ancient heroes lived their idle, ordinary days, but we remember them for their immortal journeys, like Homer, Dante, Don Quixote, Jesus.
It most definitely is on my to-do list to watch it I've been so preoccupied with Christmas and family but I will get to it shortly
Ok the Celtic Frost axe just blew my mind
There's also a Neil Young reference it's better to burn out than to fade away
I thought there was a kinda strange gun metaphor in this film maybe. Every single gun portrayed in the movie fails. The female cult member forced to play Russian roulette and the gun doesn't hit the loaded chamber and discharge. The biker fires at Red in his truck and misses on the road. The other biker fires a shotgun at Red and also misses. The chemist reaches for a gold plated Luger but then refrains from using it. No firearm in this film works! Is that a statement maybe? Guns do not work in this universe. Red goes on his revenge quest only armed with archaic weapons for some reason.
Great catch, too many instances of them failing to be a coincidence.
Great video guys!
Just wondering if you've ever looked at the aspect of Ted traveling through his own hell ...and that he puts on the vest with Lucifer's sigil on it when he starts to fight the bikers....or red over coming his demons?
Came here thinking I knew what most of these would be but was pleasantly surprised to learn some neat tidbits! good work guys, you got yerselves a sub :)
It's from a band called king crimson. Anywhere else on the world they would have just said, from king crimson.
I love that you picked up that Frank Booth (Blue Velvet) reference. Also the scythe image I take also as a refrence to Saturn, Red's favorite planet who is named for a God that ate his children whose names also go to planets (Neptune/Podseidon and Pluto/Hades) while Galactus whom Red changes to favorite planet eats the planets. Visceral.
Another interpretation could be that it is Mandy who is the ender of worlds. The poster has her as a God like figure above everything and we never really get to know her. She appears in the car with him at the end on another planet, but of course we could take that as Red having gone nuts.
i noticed the Cheddar Goblin on your desk that was on the tv in the movie :D
Is it just me or this movie is the perfect adaptation to “The Crow” but on an acid trip?...
"I see the reaper fast approaching" is the name of a song
Are the cheddar goblin boxes actually full of mac n cheese mix? I just bought 1 from the Mandy website store so I can make a custom t-shirt with the box art.
No one seems to have noticed, or at least I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, the wink at Scatman Crothers from The Shining in the "Caruthers" character.... also, when they discuss their favorite planets Red mentions his favorite is a black hole that consumes planets, which is basically what he becomes--an all-consuming black hole. I just noticed as well, the squirming worms in the jar next to the batch of acid in the lab, which makes me think of the psychoactive parasites in Upstream Color...
He does not mention black holes. He said he would be Galactus. It is a marvel vilain that can consume entire planets.
I've said to a number of people that Caruthers incredibly reminds me of Scatman Crothers in "The Shining", but everybody just keeps replying to me, "Nah, yer way off, he's from 'Predator', so no way this is ever a reference to 'The Shining'..."
Upon reviewing, the first thing we see Red doing is killing a living thing. And walking away from that action in disgust. Yet the action still takes place.
scored voidrealms and me and my boyfriend are fully committed to getting blasted and watching this movie again with results.
you missed the biggest piece of symbolism being that he became the abyssal pale knight after he received the jesus wound while Red was tied up with barbed wire. the ending scene was red entering abyssal space as the new pale knight. possibly to kill more void demons.
What about the fact that Mandy had 1 dilated pupil during the beginning of the movie, possibly implying that she had had a run-in with these type of people, or at least this batch of "bad" LSD before? The scar under her eye is also never explained. I'm not sure what else to draw from this but it seemed intentional
The final image is him totally tripping out of his mind that he is now on Jupiter (Mandy's planet) with her as he is basically dying..
I think he's physically fine more or less, even if battled and bruised. It's his mind that's gone, broken, and fully insane by that time.
A masterpiece
i dont think that jar of stuff the bikers drink is lsd. i didnt get that blue velvet connection though thats really cool
When I saw the boxes of Cheddar Goblin on the table, I was sure you guys were going to talk about "Devane" as one of your points. I came out of Mandy thinking that the name's gotta be a nod to 70s movie mainstay William Devane. Not sure it relates in any way as I have not seen it, but Devane did star in a movie released in Cosmatos' fave year of 1983: Testament, a drama depicting life in a suburban town after a nuclear war.
i interpreted the cosmic imagery in this movie as mandy essentially narrating, or a least from viewing from her perspective, the second half of the movie.
Great vid boys
I’ve never heard the words “cosmic journey” so many times in such a short amount of time.
Right on man
As the guys from Men on Films from In Living Color would say...." Hated It". Actually, I did like Cage's rampage at the end. And Linus Roach over the top, Manson wanabee was good for a giggle of two. Basically an homage to biker films of the late 60's and 70s.... Born Losers and Race with the Devil.
great video guys
It's funny you guys brought up a similarity between Dennis Hopper's roll in Blue Velvet here. Though I didn't make the same connection at the time myself I had my own. The whole chainsaw scene towards the end made me think of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 where Lefty (Hopper) and Leatherface have a chainsaw duel. May be a stretch, but in my mind I considered the whole scene as a nod to TCM2. Anyway, great video. Still giddy about the Celtic Frost/axe connection. Got yourselfs a new subscriber.
How bout the scene where Jeremiah and Mandys faces kept transforming between the two of them so seamlessly that you can barely tell its doing that.
It's pretty much a reference to Bergman's "Persona" where you get the same visual trick.
Bonkers.
There was some Apocalypse Now imagery in the movie.
When I look at you guys, I just can't get it out of my mind that one of you looks like Sgt. Pinback!
Love your channel!!!!
that last landscape is jupiter, mandys favourite planet duh
Oh good find.
William Burns shit, its hard to tell, im not sure if i see craters or not, then again Jupiter does have some spots i think, then again i think u can also see some of the stripes im not sure,
A passage from Mandy's novel is read at one point in the film. This passage describes exactly the landscape at the end. That's all there is to it.
@@juancamilo4684 Both Saturn and Jupiter are gas giants. Not a single bit of rock on them.
A big 'reaper' reference you guys missed is that when Red knocks on his black friend's trailer door, he says he's come for 'the reaper'. meaning the crossbow that he then takes with him.
#11: Cheddar Goblin was voted #1 three years in a row
Linus Roache I just found out is the son of legendary soap star William Roache aka Ken Barlow! Just found that funny after seeing him in this movie.
I was thinking more along the lines that with her fascination with fantasy novels she created a scenario where she dies to see Red exact revenge on her behalf(act2 forward).Some clues like the drawings revealed after film(done before predict what happens). Also Jeremiah and her face becoming one in the same as well as rules of reality being bent(cheese goblin, 1st black skull member flipping his vehicle). This breakdown does an excellent job explaining things from this perspective: ua-cam.com/video/1UBuW6BhU0w/v-deo.html&t=279
awesome movie.. 6.6 is not fair!! up!
Awesome! God, I loved this movie..
Did you guys notice the birds at the very end of the credits? I think they are the birds that Mandy mentions in the beginning..