Customer Reviews

The Mafu Cage

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THE MAFU CAGE is one of those magnificently strange movies that come along every few years. Cissy (Carol Kane) is a mentally disturbed woman who just might be dangerous. Her sister Ellen (Lee Grant from DAMIEN: THE OMEN 2, VISITING HOURS) attempts to take care of Cissy by herself, after their father's death. They have moved stateside from an unspecified region of Africa, and Cissy is unable to cope w/ the outside world. The interior of their suburban home is a recreation of Cissy's african memories, right down to the livingroom jungle, continuous tribal dance music, and various (doomed) primates. Cissy is lost. She cannot adapt to her new surroundings any more than she can accept her father's demise. Add to this that Ellen is wanting to have a relationship w/ a co-worker (James Olson from THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN), and Cissy's already fragile mind goes into total annihilation mode! I kept yelling at Ellen to call a good doctor for her obviously troubled sister, but then, if she'd gotten help there would be no movie. At least, not a good one. So, Cissy degenerates into mental oblivion, and horror ensues. If you enjoy different, even bizarre movies, then I recommend a trip into THE MAFU CAGE...

My rating refers to the DVD, not to the movie itself.

I own one of the out of print videocassettes of this movie, which I really enjoyed (I'll post a review on the IMDb). One of my favorite horror movies directed by a woman.

I hoped this DVD would be an upgrade. Unfortunately, it's a bad transfer with no extras.  Even my 1989 Magnum Entertainment VHS of it is better.  For example, just looking at the opening shots of the movie, a dark kite-shaped African hanging has white markings on it in the VHS; in the DVD it is pretty much completely black.  When Carol Kane first comes into shot on the VHS, we see her long red hair hanging down off a hammock.  On the DVD, her hair and the background are so dark you can't tell the color or even differentiate the two much.  The DVD does have the apparently original title "The Mafu Cage," while the VHS has just "The Cage."  Even the box art for the VHS is better.  But for people who don't want to shell out for a used copy of the VHS ($10.99-$79.95 on Amazon zShops), I guess the DVD will have to do for now.  Karen Arthur and her cinematographer John Bailey can't be happy though.

THE MAFU CAGE is one of the strangest films ever made with established actors. It really doesn't fit any category very well. Elements of horror and psychology are mixed with modern gothic melodrama to make a heady brew that has to be seen to be believed. Describing THE MAFU CAGE to others may make them laugh, but showing it to them will have another effect. As odd as it is, this film is compulsively watchable. The viewer is never certain what will happen next. It's always fascinating to watch well known actors involved in off-beat material, and this is one of the very best examples. It's unfortunate that the DVD transfer is somewhat murky and out of aspect ratio. But anyone interested should not be deterred by that.

The Mafu Cage took me by surprise! I was not expecting it to be as good as it was. I bought this for cheap at a thrift shop and got it not expecting too much for it was cheap and looked like a sucky horror film. Boy was I surprised when i saw it! This old 70s film which is not yet on DVD, does not have a specific genre! At some parts its sad, sometimes funny, and other times it is very creepy! It is very perverse and bizare. When Carol Kane's character becomes insane from being dependent on her sister and is angry with the attention she is not given, this film becomes very frightening because of the consequenses! This is certainly a strange film that is extremely rare. Its very sad that this is not on DVD! Carol Kane's performance is outstanding as well as Lee Grant's.

The Vhs is cheap so just buy bc its definately worth a look if you like horror, even though this is NOT A HORROR FILM, or if you like Dramas! Great movie****