Release Date: 24 Jan 2020
Run Time: 111 minutes
Origin: USA
Mimi's Rating: 4 llamas out of 5
"What touched this place cannot be quantified or understood by human science. It was just a color out of space. A messenger from realms whose existence stuns the brain and numbs us with the gulfs that it throws open before our frenzied eyes."
As a fan of all things Lovecraftian, Color Out of Space is my favourite of the more straight-laced adaptations (of course, Re-Animator still reigns supreme). We start with a narrated passage directly from the original short story, perfectly setting up the tone of the film:
West of Arkham the hills rise wild, and there are valleys with deep woods that no axe has ever cut. There are dark narrow glens where the trees slope fantastically, and where thin brooklets trickle without ever having caught the glint of sunlight...
Our storyteller is Ward Phillips (Elliot Knight), a hydrologist surveying the area for a future dam development around what we find out is the Gardner family's. Nathan Gardner (Nicolas Cage) has moved his wife Theresa (Joely Richardson) and their children Lavinia, Benny and Jack to his late father's farm after Theresa's mastectomy. When an oddly coloured meteorite lands near their well, the Gardner family and Ward witness strange phenomena related to the otherworldy object. Soon, the meteor vanishes, and Ward warns the Gardners that their water is contaminated with the same eerie glow as the meteor.
Sadly, it appears too late for the Gardner family as the Color's contamination leads them deeper and deeper into madness. The movie does an excellent job of establishing these characters, so watching this unfortunate family unravel is upsetting and was the most significant source of 'horror' for me.
Then, the movie moves into body horror. We get some great callbacks to classics like The Thing when animals and people under the Color's influence begin to be changed. I very much appreciated the use of practical effects during these scenes. If you're a John Carpenter or David Cronenberg fan, you'll enjoy what Color Out of Space delivers.
Color also used digital effects to good effect when trying to represent something as immaterial as a malevolent "color out of space." First off, the choice of magenta was inspired. Magenta is a colour that doesn't "exist" and is considered an extra-spectral colour. This choice adds to the otherworldliness of the Color in an almost subliminal way and makes the distortion effects used to represent the power of the Color feel unique.
The performances of all the family members meshed together well. They were easy to empathize with and had good chemistry together. Joely Richardson, who plays Theresa, has some experience with cosmic horror from her role in 1997's Event Horizon. Julian Hilliard, who plays the youngest son, Jack, also has horror experience with roles in The Conjuring franchise and The Haunting of Hill House. Both deliver great performances and share a horrifying scene later in the movie that is a must-see.
As for Nic Cage, if you've seen Vampire's Kiss, I have good news because he reincarnates some traits from that film's protagonist for his performance here. As a big Vampire's Kiss fan, seeing the return of such an unhinged role was pretty hype. I liked that the Vampire's Kiss accent initially makes its appearance when Nathan mimics the voice of his disliked and deceased father. Then, as the Color begins to take hold of him, the accent becomes more prominent as he becomes more like the man he hates. Before going full manic, Cage is believable as a loving husband and corny dad. Some of his cheesy dad lines made me laugh and made the family all the more believable.
"Yeah, I can still hear his intellectually abusive voice in my head: "You're never gonna be a painter, Nathan. So you can just get the fuck out of my sight, Nathan.""
My one gripe would be that the cast is a little bit bloated for the story we have. Some family members can sometimes feel forgotten, and the movie could have benefited if it had chosen one character to focus on. For example, I have nothing to say about Brendan Meyer's performance as the older son, Benny. This just shows how some characters can be a little forgettable.
So, if you're looking for a solid take on Lovecraftian horror with a more subdued feel, Color Out of Space might be what you're looking for.
Bonus: Tommy Chong makes an appareance as the Gardner's eccentric squatter.
Why you should watch:
You want to see a Lovecraft adaption by someone who obviously loves the source material.
The return of the Vampire's Kiss accent.
You like cosmic horror.
Pays homage to The Thing. Even the family dog looks like the dog.
Tommy Chong.
Why you shouldn't watch:
You want a horror movie that explains what the hell is going on.
You don't like horror movies that are mostly just sad.
You don't like body horror, including a pretty visceral finger-cutting scene.
There's no real protagonist., just a bunch of people experiencing progressively worse things.