Nicolas Cage is a well-known celebrity name, having acted in many movies and TV shows throughout his career. He’s won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his acting, and his new movie, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, is receiving critical praise. Though he’s known for his big action films and summer blockbusters, like National Treasure or The Rock, he’s also taken a lot of roles in less popular, direct to video movies. Part of this is because, as described in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and by Cage himself, he needed the money.
Most actors would never consider direct to video movies once they have become popular. They tend to be on a tighter budget, as they don’t make as much money without a theatrical release, so they wouldn’t get nearly as much press or reviews from these. However, with Cage, that was not the case. The actor launched himself into his craft, working harder than most; he made 54 films in 14 years. Even though many of these movies came after most of his more well-known roles, Cage still thinks fondly of this era of his career. Check out the highlights of this time of his career below with the best direct to video Nicolas Cage movies.
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9 Pay the Ghost
RLJ Entertainment
The thriller film Pay the Ghost features Cage as the main character, Mike Lawford, who is searching for his missing child. As he and his wife continue to look into their son’s disappearance, even up to a year later, they discover it is a regular occurrence here for three children to go missing every Halloween due to a vengeful spirit. They only have until midnight on Halloween to save their son from this spirit, or they will lose him forever. Cage does well acting as the panicked father who would do anything he could to get his son back. While this film did have a limited theatrical release, it was also released to digital platforms on the same day.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
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8 The Humanity Bureau
Minds Eye Entertainment
The Humanity Bureau depicts a futuristic dystopia where America has been robbed of its resources due to things like war and political agendas. The Humanity Bureau was then created to ensure citizens were efficient, and any insufficient ones were relocated to New Eden. Cage plays Noah Kross, an agent of the bureau, who is tasked with reporting those he evaluates to be inefficient. When he delays sending in a report for a single mother and son so that the son can still go to his recital, the bureau puts him under investigation. As he escapes with the mother and son, he quickly discovers that the bureau was hiding a lot of not so pleasant secrets. Cage does a great job as the defecting agent, the conflicting emotions of leaving his job while also wanting to protect the family is evident in his acting.
7 The Runner
Alchemy
For a change of pace from normal Cage movies, The Runner isn’t a thriller or action movie, but a political drama. Cage plays Colin Pryce, a politician in power during the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He is forced to face the consequences of his dysfunctional life when he becomes involved in a sex scandal that ruins his career. The movie follows his attempts to work with his publicity team in order to salvage the situation. Even though it’s not what you might expect to see Cage in, he still gives a strong (and unusually subtle) performance which conveys the real problems a situation like this would bring to a politician and how they might react. This film also had a limited theater release on the same day as the digital release.
6 Between Worlds
Lionsgate
In Between Worlds, Cage plays Joe Majors, a truck driver who previously lost his wife and child in a house fire. One day, he meets Julie, a woman desperately trying to enter the spirit world to find the soul of her comatose daughter and bring her back. Joe sticks around for a while after the daughter’s soul is seemingly restored, only to find it was the soul of his wife instead, who has unfinished business. Now Joe is caught between the two women as Julie wants her daughter back, but Joe just wants his wife.
Cage pulls off what could have been an overly sentimental and cheesy story well, by fully inhabiting a man who is still not over the loss of his wife and daughter, both of whom he loved very much and would do anything to be with them again, even if it meant allowing his wife to possess another person’s body.
5 Army of One
TWC-Dimension
Army of One is another surprising genre flick for this list, as it’s actually a comedy. Cage plays Gary Faulkner, who used to work in construction but is now an unemployed handyman. He believes that he is destined by God to capture Osama bin Laden, and the movie follows his trials and tribulations along the way. It is based on the real-life story of Faulkner, who himself had traveled to Pakistan looking for Osama bin Laden.
The movie had a few days of limited theater release and digital release before a DVD and Blu-ray were also released, but it only made about $300,000. However, this movie definitely helps showcase a side to Cage that is rarely seen, as he plays into the jokes and comedic side of the film well; it helps prove why Hollywood should offer Cage comedy roles more often.
4 Grand Isle
Screen Media Films
In Grand Isle, nothing is as it seems. Cage plays Walter, a Vietnam War veteran who doesn’t have the best relationship with his wife and drinks a lot. When they hire Buddy to fix their fence, nothing seems to be amiss at first despite how hostile the pair seems to be against one another. However, as a series of incidents leads to Buddy staying at the house longer than he was supposed to, he soon finds there is more to the couple than what they initially let on, including what is hiding behind all the locked doors. Cage really lets himself loose in this film, playing the slightly unhinged and disturbed veteran with experienced ease.
3 Running With The Devil
Quiver Distribution
The crime movie Running With The Devil is based on the director’s real life experiences working with the DEA and as a Navy SEAL. The story follows a shipment of cocaine and its supply line, beginning from its origins and through several smugglers, cartel bosses, and corrupt officials, all as the DEA is trying to bring them down. Cage plays The Cook, who is The Boss’ most trusted drug maker; he and The Man are tasked to find where the error occurred that caused one of their packages to be compromised. With a team of talented actors around him, Cage really helps bring out the story behind this movie and brings the same believability he brought to Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.
2 Primal
In Primal, Cage plays Frank Walsh, a skilled hunter who specializes in rare and dangerous species. His most recent catch, a white jaguar in Brazil, was caught illegally, and he plans to sell it to a zoo for a lot of money. In order to bring it and several other dangerous species to the U.S., he books a container ship. However, the ship is also needed by U.S. Marshals to transport a notorious political assassin who can’t fly due to air pressure related medical issues. While the two groups begin to travel to the U.S. together, the assassin escapes custody, setting many of the other dangerous animals free on the ship to terrorize the crew and his captors. Cage falls comfortably into a familiar role here as the star of an action movie, really bringing the efficient film together with his acting.
1 The Frozen Ground
Based on a true story, The Frozen Ground is about the crimes of serial killer Robert Hansen. Cage plays Jack Halcombe, a character based on one of the real detectives on the case. He is investigating the murder of a woman in the Alaskan bush when he receives information about Cindy Paulson, who had just been rescued from a motel where she was handcuffed and had previously been raped. With this information, he can now begin to piece the different crimes together, and begins to form a full investigation into Hansen to try and arrest him for his crimes.
The Frozen Ground had a limited release in theaters with mixed reviews, but Cage’s brooding performance was one of the highlights many critics praised, saying his acting was above and beyond what the movie warranted. It’s this ability to transcend an otherwise by-the-numbers part or film that makes Cage’s direct to video work much more interesting than others'.
