Ranking the Horror Films of Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage is a man who needs no introduction. Coming up on a four-decade long career, Cage is easily one of the most popular actors of all time, due to his general unpredictability in both performance and output. Because of this, he’s been the reason for some of the head-scratching films you’ll randomly see while browsing Walmart (but deep down, that DVD is calling to you). And in recent news, Cage has been announced to play Dracula for Chris Mckay’s Renfield, leaving horror fans foaming at the mouth. Calling Nic Cage a horror icon is...worth exploring. He’s definitely been in a lot more recently, but stretch back further. Horror is definitely an influence on him; he has claimed his style of acting is influenced by the occult and German Expressionism. Hell, he impulsively bought a murder mansion, and even has a son in a black metal band. Though sparce, his horror output encompasses the good, the bad, and the strangeness of one of the internet’s favorite actors. I found ten, and let me rank them from worst to best.

HONORABLE MENTION
Werewolf Women of the SS

During the theatrical release of Grindhouse in 2007, various modern genre directors contributed fake trailers. With less than thirty seconds of screentime, Cage appears as Fu Manchu for Rob Zombie’s Werewolf Women of the SS, an ode to Nazisploitation that doubles down on the bad taste. His inclusion is bizarre to say the least, but it primarily serves as a reminder that despite the many entries in his filmography, Cage has yet to make a feature with Zombie, or Quentin Tarantino, or Robert Rodriguez. ​

10. Grand Isle

Starting off the list is this 2019 film from Stephen Campanelli. When a down on his luck sailor takes an odd job for an unhinged veteran and his temptress wife, the young man is coerced to wait out the ensuing stormy night, and survive when their real intentions arise. The first mistake of the film is that it has three separate openings, and by the third, we find out the story will be told in flashback, as Luke Benward’s lead recounts the story to a detective played by Kelsey Grammer. So, we already know he survives the ordeal, and the tension is gone right from the start. Even when the film begins proper, the plot continues to be indecisive. Kill him! No, you kill her! Any properly written pretty boy lead would have probably gotten the hell out of there when Cage starts sharp shooting bottles near him at the fence. Grand Isle goes from a by the numbers soap opera thriller, to The Ref, to Martyrs at the climax, and you're groaning with each new twist. And in the middle of this, Nic Cage doesn’t get over the top until that climax, where your interest has already been lost.

9. ​Pay the Ghost

In this 2015 film from Uli Edel, a professor searches for his son who was abducted during a Halloween carnival a year prior. With dead ends at every turn, Cage and his wife find a connection to the disappearance and a Celtic witch who was murdered in the 1600’s. Not as emotionally exhausting as the previous film, Pay the Ghost is just unengaging. Cage is more subdued here, his presence not elevating what’s basically a watered down take on Insidious, with a touch of “Kilroy was here.” But Edel doesn’t quite have James Wan’s level of patience and visuals when it comes to horror, opting for the easy route of multiple jump scares and CGI ghosts. All of which, Cage reacts to like he’s watching a bug crawl on the wall. Pay the Ghost is at least serviceable if you’re looking for a drinking game every time Cage calls out “Charlie,” but you’re likely to forget this film quickly.

8. Willy's Wonderland

A drifter makes a deal to clean up a condemned family restaurant in exchange for his car repairs, and must fight for survival against a demonic animatronic band with the help of local kids. On paper, this is awesome, but this recent Kevin Lewis film believes that the concept is enough. Cage is completely silent throughout, and even takes literal breaks from the plot. So, we get no commentary or reactions to childish robot animals attacking him, that he’s able to dispatch with ease. Willy’s Wonderland is a missed opportunity that would have benefitted from leaning into Evil Dead territory, where Cage is a cocky narcissist who takes more damage than he dishes out. Sadly, this film falls short and comes off as a cash grab for Cage’s recent surge in genre fair.

7. The Wicker Man

You knew this was coming. Neil LaBute’s remake of the 70’s classic. Cage stars as a sheriff investigating the disappearance of his ex-fiancé’s daughter on a small island populated with a neo-pagan cult. Never has a film’s deleted scene, of all things, cemented a film’s legacy, but the “Not the Bees!” continues to entertain out of context. Where comedy directors have been able to shape effective horror before and after, LaBute doesn’t quite stick the landing, leading to some memorable theatrics. But, all jokes aside, you just have to appreciate the scope he and Cage were going for. The Wicker Man does have some unsettling scenes peppered throughout, and does create this feeling of being an outsider in a tight knit community that definitely wants you out. Props to the marketing team for successfully making this film look scarier than what was delivered.

6. ​Prisoners of the Ghostland

The most recent entry to the list, and the English language debut of Japanese wildcard, Sion Sono. A notorious criminal must break a curse that relates to him, his ex-partner, and a corrupt governor, in order to save a kidnapped woman in a strange wasteland.  The most colorful samurai western since Afro Samurai, Prisoners of the Ghostland was marketed as Cage’s “most insane film ever” by the man himself. The hype was on, and the film definitely has you going with haunting imagery and some inventive violence. But the film drops the ball in the third act with a golden missed opportunity. The film dangles the potential of Nic Cage leading an army of mutants on the governor and his goons, but for some reason opts to have Cage just go “Eastwood” on the gang. And the film sadly disappoints further by wasting Bill Mosley’s talents on a whiny villain cosplaying as Doug Dimmadome. Not the Nicolas Cage flick we were promised.

5. Mom and Dad

This is the solo feature debut from Brian Taylor. A brother and sister must survive 24 hours during which a mass hysteria of unknown origin causes parents to turn violently against their kids. No explanation, but a few potential hints. Taylor adds the unhinged camera and sound tricks he employed on the Crank movies, including purposeful errors during the scenes of the adult’s rampage, almost like you can hear brains short-circuiting. And that’s the best way to enjoy Mom and Dad, by turning your brain off and reveling in the violent insanity, where Cage is just unleashed like a feral animal, foaming at the mouth and barking. It’s a stylish experiment in obnoxiousness that probably would have had worse results without his inclusion.

4. ​Vampire's Kiss

If there’s one movie more memed than The Wicker Man, it’s Robert Bierman’s Vampire’s Kiss. A younger Cage plays a narcissistic literary agent who believes he’s turning into a bloodsucker after an encounter with a stray bat, and a mysterious woman from a nightclub. It is Cage’s first horror film and the piece that introduced the world to his brand of overacting. Vampire’s Kiss is hilarious out of context, but presents Cage’s most terrifying character: a man who is laser focused on abusing his secretary to the point of insanity, who later commits murder...a man who is drunk on the power he has over one person. And that’s a monster that is way too real in this day and age. Cage is completely unhinged in the role, putting every part of his body into the performance and eating live cockroaches in the process. Long before playing Dracula, Nic Cage was already the perfect Renfield.

3. ​Drive Angry

Kicking into high gear is Patrick Lussier’s violent 3D throwback to 70’s road movies. A vengeful father breaks out of hell to chase after the cult who killed his daughter and kidnapped his granddaughter, while Satan’s accountant is hot on his trail. A flop upon its 2011 release, it’s an insult that Drive Angry hasn’t earned the cult classic badge like many others. Cage is fully invested, channeling Eastwood by way of Peter Fonda, and drinking beer out of a skull. But he’s not carrying the film all by himself, as William Fichtner plays a pretty underrated villain who passive-aggressively mocks cult members for actually believing that the devil made a deal with them (he does the paperwork after all). This is a film with so much energy, that you can look past the terrible CGI and the inclusion of Amber Heard. We may never get a Werewolf Women of the SS feature, but this is the 2nd best best Nic Cage grindhouse movie we could ask for. A film inspired by a line from Groundhog Day.

2. Color Out of Space

The long-awaited Nicolas Cage, Lovecraft adaptation we always wanted, and easily one of the best adaptations of the author’s work. A man moves his family into his late father’s farm, where a strange meteorite crash lands, causing a physical and mental deterioration of the characters. Cage slowly progresses throughout, fully blowing up into the insanity we expect by purposely channeling his character from Vampire’s Kiss. Color Out of Space captures the feeling of the indescribability of the written text, shot and cut to make you wonder if you saw more than did. It’s enough to make you as crazy as Cage. 

1. Mandy

And now the best Nicolas Cage grindhouse film is Panos Cosmatos’ love letter to Heavy Metal magazine and your stoner friend’s room décor. When a man witnesses his wife get killed by a cult of murderous hippies, (what is it with Nic Cage and cults?) he seeks violent revenge on each member and their henchman. That’s the basics of Mandy, but throw in every hallucinogen, on top of anxiety inducing synth music. Mandy is the cinematic equivalent to a bad trip, seeking to optically attack you at every angle and doubling down on its trippy visuals, all the while Nic Cage spends the latter half screaming and hurling edged weapons. Combine that with some scene stealing cameos by Bill Duke and Richard Brake, and it all adds up to one of the most darkly fun films Cage’s name is attached to. Turn on the backlight and watch your favorite band shirt come to life.

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Author

Alex Ayres is filmmaker and writer based in Atlanta, GA. An avid genre fan overall, he started his love of horror at age 13, diving head first down the rabbit hole and has not looked back since.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a BA in film and creative writing, Alex has a steady background in screenwriting, having written multiple short and feature screenplays. His most recent screenplay 6/09 has been accepted into various film festivals and writing competitions around the country, winning best comedy at the Austin After Dark Film Fest in 2019. His short screenplay Soup’s On is currently in early stages of pre-production.
When not spent hunched over at his laptop on his third cup of coffee, Alex works as a non-union set worker on various productions in Atlanta, primarily as a Set PA, 2nd AC, Boom-Op, and Extra. In time, Alex will pursue his Master’s in screenwriting. Making film and teaching film is a life-long goal that he’s going the distance with.
Alex was a volunteer with HorrOrigins during its inaugural film festival and is excited to participate further in curating a gruesome and fun time for Fright-Knights and Ghouls.