Color Out of Space (2019)
We’re getting there but Richard Stanley’s Color Out of Space still isn’t the definitive adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft’s story. The film’s got terrific visuals. It captures the weird brand of horror. It's frightening. If only it knew when to let your imagination do the heavy lifting.
One night, a strangely-colored meteor crash-lands in the Gardner family's yard. After the rock disappears, Nathan (Nicolas Cage), his wife Theresa (Joely Richardson), their children Lavinia (Madeleine Arthur), Benny (Brendan Meyer), and Jack (Julian Hilliard) put it out of their mind, unaware the strange color left behind is affecting them.
After having seen 2010’s Die Farbe/The Color, it’s disappointing to see an adaptation of the 1927 story that's not learning from its innovation. If the film had been in 3D, you might’ve gotten away with shooting this story in color but as is, something doesn’t quite click. When Nathan says he can’t quite describe the meteor was before it disappeared, you want to pull him aside and ask “are you sure? I know I could.” The film’s other major fault lies in the special effects. They’re top-notch but there are too many of them. As we see the color affect the family more and more, the problem is exactly that. It leaves little to the imagination and often indulges in gruesome spectacles when implications would’ve been far more effective.
I must also direct criticisms toward Nicolas Cage. When his character is normal, he’s perfectly fine. When he’s under the color’s influence, it’s like Cage’s voicing a character from an animated film aimed at very young kids. He’s too much. The highlight instead is Tommy Chong as a squatter who has the creepiest scene.
More often than not, Color out of Space is effective. An alien color that infects its surroundings is such a strange concept and that oddity is captured here. Everyone seems to be influenced by it differently but rather than seeming random, it suggests an agenda too big to comprehend. Initially, I questioned setting the story in modern-day but the electronics the family use also fall victim to the color in unique ways, which means the thing can affect your mind, your body, energy, and maybe even time? How do you fight back against that? You're utterly powerless, which fills you with shivers and despair. Everything you think you grasp builds to an impressive climax. That’s where the movie gets REALLY good so if you were kind of lukewarm about it, stick around. The payoff is worth the wait.
Color out of Space is is not a typical horror movie. Don’t expect a fast pace or high body count. It’s about the discomfort you feel when confronted with things you would’ve never imagined. Its over-reliance on showing rather than implying and a sometimes-gonzo-in-a-good-way-but-most-often-not performance by Nicolas Cage are its biggest weaknesses. Unfortunately, they’re significant enough to make you wish someone would take yet another crack at the story but until then, it offers a nice, unique brand of scares. (August 14, 2020)
