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How Panos Cosmatos' horror-free childhood fuelled his creativity and inspired his latest thriller Mandy

Director Panos Cosmatos talks about Mandy — his new, wild, gruesome, psychedelic thriller starring Nicolas Cage — and tells guest host Ali Hassan how making the film helped him process his grief over the loss of his parents.
CBC Radio ·
Panos Cosmatos is the director of the new thriller Mandy, starring Nicolas Cage. (Elevation Pictures)

When Canadian filmmaker Panos Cosmatos was growing up in Victoria in the '80s, he was desperate to watch horror movies, but his parents wouldn't allow it. This felt unfair considering that his father, George, was a Hollywood director who made violent films like Rambo and Tombstone, and his mother, Birgitta, was an artist who created some pretty scary sculptures.

Today, Cosmatos isn't just watching creepy, violent films — he's making them. His new film Mandy is a wild, gruesome, psychedelic thriller, set in 1983 and starring Nicolas Cage. Back then, Cosmatos would have been nine-years-old, and only just starting to figure out that his mom and dad might not be typical. He tells q guest host Ali Hassan how making the film helped him process his grief over the loss of his parents. 

Mandy opens in theatres on Sunday, September 14.

Listen to the full conversation with Panos Cosmatos near the top of this page. 

— Produced by Stuart Berman

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