Nicolas Cage vs post-apocalyptic cannibals in Parish

Right, so Hollywood's digging deep into the grab bag again, and out pops a new Nicolas Cage flick that genuinely sounds like somebody stitched it together out of random word magnets and somehow made it work. The film in question is Parish, and if you haven't guessed yet, yes, it's about Cage taking on a wasteland full of cannibals – because of course it is. Seriously, only Cage could sell this setup without anyone blinking an eye.

Nuclear War, Carnivorous Nutters, and a Dog Army

Here's the pitch: Nicolas Cage plays one of the last survivors still breathing thirty years after a nuclear apocalypse. He’s managed not to end up as somebody’s dinner by sticking to a strict rule: no one gets past his gate, not ever. Keeping to himself all these years, he's got a pack of highly trained attack dogs (naturally). His peace shatters when a woman shows up clutching a baby, begging for help. Let her in and you risk everything; send her away and, well, good luck sleeping at night. Not much time to feel guilty though, as this act of compassion puts the bull's-eye on his door. Suddenly his heavily fortified home is very much on the map for a motley crew of cannibals, and Cage’s character must go all-out to defend what's left of his world. Think Mad Max, but with fewer cars and far more Cage.

Parish will start filming in Minnesota this October.

The Team With the Vision (or the Madness)

Behind the camera you've got Adam Sigal, the same bloke who wrote and directed that offbeat Simon Pegg comedy-thriller Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose back in 2023. So, credentials in the "weird but entertaining" category are covered. Parish kicks off filming this autumn in Minnesota, and they’re planning to start shopping it to distributors at the next Toronto International Film Festival. Concourse Media are running the worldwide sales; not a tiny operation by any means.

Concourse boss Matthew Shreder seems very bullish about the whole thing. Here’s how he sold it to press:

There's a scale and pedigree to Parish that immediately separates it from the pack, with all the ingredients of a real theatrical event. Nic Cage is an incredible and fearless actor, with an extraordinary group of filmmakers around him who are all setting out to make a sophisticated survival thriller that's a cinematic event built for a global audience.

They're keeping the rest of the cast under wraps for now, but honestly, you had most people at "Cage fights cannibals in a post-apocalyptic fortress with dogs". The genre is crowded, true, but this one feels properly custom-fit for Cage’s brand of chaos—and could do something surprisingly fun with the usual tropes. If nothing else, it's not going to be dull.