The Mafu Cage

Nobody going to say a word about Carol Kane's extraordinary performance? She was working with a series of animals, and having to ad-lib her character continuously. An amazing job by this superb and often overlooked actor.

Regarding the film itself - boggle. It's been years since I saw it, but it blew me away at the time. Here's hoping some noble figure will step up and put it on DVD soon.

I dunno, man. This movie's got weird vibes. Early on all I could think of was that famous Tumblr post about an H. P. Lovecraft convention and "WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE ORANGUTAN" -- but there's more going on here and it's still uncomfortable for a different reason.

Carol Kane plays a mentally detached woman named Cissy who comes back from Africa after her parents die. She and her sister inherit their parents gigantic mansion, including a room for "Mafu" -- a cage where Cissy keeps a pet monkey, her artistic muse. Unfortunately, Cissy is prone to fits of rage, and this is not the first "Mafu" she's had.

What a strangely unsettling movie. Carol Kane is kind of terrific. Unlike most of her comedies, where she's this sweetly unhinged force of chaos, here that tendency is flipped around into something legitimately scary. You're never quite sure which way she's going to turn. Same basic performance, but the tone is completely different.

But it's also a movie where, if you took Carol Kane out of it, there wouldn't be much to it. She's the movie. The director knows enough that the spotlight stays fixed on her.

Weird time. Did not expect the strange psycho-sexual stuff either. But I suppose that's common in horror.

"The Mafu Cage" is a boring and pointless trudge through god knows what. It was mislabeled a horror movie, which is okay by me - I'm fine with drama, especially those adapted from plays - but lord. What was the point of it?

The plot is something to do with two sisters whose explorer father dies, and leaves them a house which comes equipped with a jail cell with chains he apparently used to tie up an orangutang (?). The younger sister, played by Carol Kane, is mentally ill, though the hows and whys of her illness are unexplained and unexplored.

The elder sister is an astronomer.

One day, some guy brings an orangutang into the house and they chain it up. The crazy sister kills it, in an unpleasant, if not graphic, scene.

I can hardly even bring myself to explain any more about this movie.

Here's one thing: Carol Kane, who plays the crazy younger sister, is the only performer in the movie who has any kind of presence, and leaves any kind of impression on the viewer at all. I guess it could count as a positive that it's not a horror movie, since I don't know if she's work in that role, but she was obviously born to play quirky, eccentric, and even mentally ill women - if not really violent ones.

So why doesn't it work? The fact that none of the other actors work at all? They're not bad actors, just not very watchable. The fact that the movie doesn't get into the heads of any of the characters? The fact that you can't believe the situation - what was the point of the cell, exactly? That was just a bizarre contrivance coming between you and the movie.

I just couldn't wait for this movie to be over. With any luck, I'll forget about it soon.

It seems to me all reviewers refer to the DVD when reviewing the film. That's a pity. In the theatre release, which I was fortunate enough to see, the colours are warm and rich, the lighting is subdued but atmospheric, and the acting, of course, is excellent. Especially Mz Kane, who could be whining and annoying in other films but does a great job here. It would be an error to simply see this movie as a horror flick. If you do so, you will be disappointed. This is a psychological thriller that draws on our archetypical fears. It thus presents us with a highly interesting content, but also the form is interesting. The unity of space, the closedness of the oppressive interior, contribute to the feeling of unease.

I recently acquired a Wizard Video VHS copy of The Mafu Cage in a large lot of tapes I received. I instantly knew it looked right up my alley and interesting, so I set it aside to view later. Two nights later I popped it in the VCR...Wow! I was shocked that I had never seen or even heard of this interesting, bizarre, yet original flick. It's hard for me to say anything bad about this movie except for the fact that it seems to be a "lost" or "set aside" piece of cinema that not many have seen. (not sure if it has been released on DVD or not) Everything from the rich colors, the acting, and the story line lead to a film that seems to depress the individual as a previous review stated, haha. I personally enjoy when a movie, music or any piece of art actually makes you "feel" emotions. This is one of those movies that should not be missed or taken lightly. Carol Kane is amazing in her role as Cissy.