SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL Trailer: A Game Of Cat And Mouse With Nic Cage

Joel Kinnaman also stars in the thriller, which arrives this summer.

By Ryan Scott · @RyanScottWrites · June 6, 2023, 6:53 PM EDT
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Fans of Nicolas Cage in his most feral, unhinged form are in for a treat as we’ve got a trailer for this summer’s thriller Sympathy for the Devil to share. The Oscar-winning Cage comes in many forms, from the somewhat understated Pig to the absolutely bananas Prisoners of Ghostland - and that’s just going over the last few years. Here though, we are getting what appears to be off-the-leash, wild Cage at his most feral, starring alongside one Mr. Joel Kinnaman, of The Suicide Squad fame. It’s a reluctant road trip for Kinnaman, what does that look like when Cage is the killer? Let’s have a look.

The trailer kicks off with some absolutely unhinged voiceover from Cage as we see Kinnaman’s character revealing that he will soon be a father. Unfortunately, what should be a happy occasion for him is thrown into a state of upheaval when Cage forces this seemingly happily married man to drive him around for the night. It looks sort of like Michael Mann’s Collateral filtered through a bonkers Face/Off filter. It’s clear the film is trying to hide some secrets, so the trailer is more intriguing as opposed to laying it all out there. The official (and admittedly brief) synopsis reads as follows:

“After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, a man finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.”

Yuval Adler (The Operative, The Secrets We Keep) is in the director’s chair for this one, working from a script by newcomer Luke Paradise. The film was picked up for distribution by RLJE Films back in March. They’ve collaborated with Cage several times in recent years, most notably on director Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy, which served as one of the actor’s most impressive efforts since his recent renaissance.

Meanwhile, Cage has been enjoying his resurgence, starring in more high-profile films as opposed to direct-to-video schlock, which he was stuck doing for far too long. Most recently, he appeared as Dracula in Renfield. Some of his other recent credits include Willy’s Wonderland and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, where he played a heightened version of himself.

Sympathy for the Devil is set to hit theaters on July 28. Check out our Summer Horror Watchlist for more movies that should be on your radar.