As if you weren’t already pumped enough to see Panos Cosmatos‘ upcoming Mandy, wherein a chainsaw-wielding Nicolas Cage seeks revenge on a sadistic cult in the 1980s, allow Cage himself to get you even more excited. In a new chat with EW, Cage explains how his performance as the character Red Miller was inspired by… Jason Voorhees?!

“It was a good chance to go through a narrative and have a transformation of sorts,” Cage explained, talking about his character’s evolution in the film. “Before he drinks that supernatural drug, or whatever it is, his fighting style is more ferocious, is more cat-like and feral. Whereas after the drug, there’s a transformation where he becomes almost like a golem, the ancient Jewish golem that was a supernatural statue that came to life. And I think Panos wanted that. He wanted me to be almost like Jason-esque, you know, from those horror films that were so popular.”

Cage continued, “Panos and I really both decided what the graph of the performance would be. How much more Jason-esque is he there? Or like a statue there? We built this both together.”

Nicolas Cage channeling Jason Voorhees. I’ll take 10 tickets, please.

In Mandy, arriving in theaters on September 14…

“Pacific Northwest. 1983 AD. Outsiders Red Miller and Mandy Bloom lead a loving and peaceful existence. When their pine-scented haven is savagely destroyed by a cult led by the sadistic Jeremiah Sand, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance and laced with fire.”

The cast also includes Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache, Ned Dennehy and Olwen Fouéré with Richard Brake and Bill Duke.

Panos Cosmatos wrote the script with Aaron Stewart-Ahn.