Nor is it to be thought…that man is either the oldest or the last of earth’s masters, or that the common bulk of life and substance walks alone.
With this quote from the Necronomicon, we say farewell to Stuart Gordon, the man who kept the Lovecraft legacy alive in the past decades. His movies Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Dagon are truly works of art. Based on the short story “The Colour Out of Space” by H. P. Lovecraft, this movie was a solid entry in the Lovecraftian universe. Director Richard Stanley, best known for science fiction thriller Hardware from 1990, managed to create a unique and authentic atmosphere that’s the best thing about this movie. It fits with the general story and permeates every aspect of the movie.
Strange visuals, created on a budget of only $10 million, contributed hugely. The whole movie feels like a dream and I have to commend the special effects department for their superb work. The cinematography was spot on, with lush colors and great framing. Visually, the movie looks really stunning, much more similar to a AAA blockbuster than an indie sci-fi horror.
The Gardner family decided to move to an isolated farm after some unfortunate events, anxious to start fresh. Nathan and Theresa have a plan to grow tomatoes and raise alpacas for their milk with help from their three kids. However, when a meteorite strikes their property, strange things start to happen.
Nicolas Cage was a perfect choice for the lead role and the rest of the cast was okay too. Afforded the liberty to go nuts with his acting, he finally found himself in a perfect role. And as a bonus, we get Tommy Chong doing Tommy Chong, but only for a limited time. Talk about a movie that’s perfect for getting high. And I don’t recommend anything but weed because you might trip too hard (if there’s such a thing).
One of the things that did not go so well in this movie are the numerous humorous attempts. They seem clumsy and forced, especially if you consider how creepy the movie could have been without them. The only thing that really worked was Mr. Chong and that interview that was funny as hell. Since I haven’t read the story, I cannot comment on its contents, but Alpacas? Really?
Although this type of story has been done so many times, Color Out of Space feels new and refreshing. I mean, how many movies have you seen where a family is living on an isolated farm and then weird shit starts happening? Apart from the weird shit, there are so many things happening all at once that the movie sometimes feels a bit incoherent. Satanic rituals, meteorite impact, cancer survivor, Mayor and her shenanigans, Ward surveying the land and on top of all that, fucking Alpacas. They are extremely cute though.
On top of all the above-mentioned things, we have gore. Glorious and pretty well-done gore, mostly in a vein of The Thing, body horror, to be more specific. And although I was expecting something more impactful, what I got wasn’t half-bad. Half-bad, get it? In the end, this is a movie definitely worth watching, especially if you’re a Lovecraft fan. And to make things even better, Director Richard Stanley announced that this will be the first movie in his Lovecraftian trilogy. Next up we have the adaptation of “The Dunwich Horror”.
Director: Richard Stanley
Writers: Richard Stanley, Scarlett Amaris
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Elliot Knight, Tommy Chong, Brendan Meyer, Julian Hilliard
Fun Facts: Director Richard Stanley and Swedish filmmaker Henrik Möller apparently performed a ritual to the Lovecraftian god Yog-Sothoth while in the Pyrénées to get the film made.
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5073642/
