This is how the conversation went:
Hubby: Whatcha watching?
Me: A Nick Cage movie.
Hubby: *watches a scene* What's it about?
Me: So, that lady's daughter died, and she can astral travel when she's choking, and she had Nick Cage help her, but accidentally brought Nick Cage's wife back, and she's now possessing the daughter.
Hubby: Sounds dumb.
Me: It's why I told you it was a Nick Cage movie instead of what it was about.
And that kinda sums up Between Worlds. It matches the description on IMDB, but somehow sounds so much stupider when you say it out loud.
I watched it just to see how outrageous Cage could get, and to see what baffling absurdities might appear on the screen. Mom and Dad was fun in its own way, but the Humanity Bureau sucked. Cage movies are like a crap shoot in that way.
His character is a drunkard, and I think he might have gone deeply method for this, because he was zanier than normal. Not in a fun way, though. In a pitiful, I can't believe someone hasn't locked you up yet, are you sure you took your meds today? There's a scene where he and the psychic are smoking pot, and it was the most ludicrous depiction of being high. Almost like no one on set had ever smoked weed in their life.
The story just kinda meanders along pointlessly, until it finally gets toward a conclusion, where it jumps the rails with madcap glee. I was so beyond caring when the big "twist" happened that it fell absolutely flat. I suppose it could have been interesting if the rest of the movie hadn't been what it was. I think it might have been a surprise under different circumstances, but there really wasn't much that hinted at the reveal.
I believe there was a base concept that could have made for an interesting tale, if it hadn't been a Nick Cage movie. Maybe an hour long episode of Masters of Horror or Twilight Zone, and definitely with some better actors and writer. It wasn't completely terrible, but it really can't be called good.
Maybe watch it as a drinking game, or just to fill in some Nick Cage bingo card, but definitely not for entertainment's sake.
