Color Out of Space

We were all excited about this year's H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival (HPLFF) and the Pacific NW premier of Richard Stanley's colourful Color Out of Space adaption of Lovecraft's famous story.

Color shows why Stanley should do more feature films (hopefully more Lovecraft or weird tale adaptions) as his passion and his knowledge of the source material shines through... much like Lavinia's forehead. It is also a very personal film for Richard as it touches on elements from his own life.

Over all the film is solid and I think the cinematography is great with very well-done CGI. Richard focuses on the family as he should but it feels like the movie has been edited down as we have gaps in the appearance of certain characters who only appear in the first and last acts. The most creepy and unnerving scene is with actor Tommy Chong near the end of the film... it is really perfect. The weakest part of the film for me is Nicholas Cage ... he is okay but distracts from the film at times. I would have preferred to have seen more of Madeleine Arthur as Lavinia Gardner.

Overall I am giving this an 8 since it is a serious attempt at a Lovecraft adaptation and hits the cosmic horror nail on the head... however I think most mainstream viewers won't get the love to source material and give it a much lower rating.

"It was just a colour out of space - a frightful messenger from unformed realms of infinity beyond all Nature as we know it; from realms whose mere existence stuns the brain and numbs us with the black extra-cosmic gulfs it throws open before our frenzied eyes." -- H.P. Lovecraft, The Colour Out of Space

Lovecraft was very proud of "The Colour out of Space" calling it "my best tale" and "the only one of the lot which I take any pride in." Richard should take pride in his adaption as well.

What's starts out as a strong and interesting movie. Slowly turns into something where nobody knows what next to do - especially the director.

If you like both Nicolas Cage and Lovecraft like me, you are in for a treat. The film is also really gorgeous in a creepy kind of way.

It starts off pretty slow, but it does get better especially as the creep factor sets in. Typical of Lovecrafts work things get stranger and stranger, and the scary part is the unknown as something that is happening is so unfamiliar to us.

Then you have Nicolas Cage, being Nicolas Cage wandering around in this situation. He really does bring HIM into all this situation, and I think that's awesome. The film would probably be scarier and creepier without him, but I had great fun with this film.

I am not a big fan of scary movies but watched the Color out of Space yesterday because I like cosmic horror and Nicolas Cage - the movie had plenty of both yet I was a bit disappointed at the end.

The story is quickly told: Nick Cage and his family - including children Lavinia, Benny, and Jack - live on his late father's farm in the middle of nowhere. One night, a weirdly colored meteor crashes into their garden and things get weird to say the least.

And weirdness is one thing this movie does really well. Theres an eerie atmosphere during the first two thirds of the movie that worked well for me. People behaving weirdly, things starting to look strange and an ever growing tension kept me on the edge of my seat. I also feel like this is an aspect of Lovecraftian horror the film captured really well, i.e. The descent into madness while reality crumbles around the protagonists. Cage has a few great moments here and his acting style really fits.

Unfortunately things get worse towards the end. People stop acting weird and start acting movie-stupid i.e. They do what the plot wants them to do regardless of their characters or common sense. The entire movie crumbles in a way, loses its unique tone and feels poorly crafted. The weird over the top finale didn't help either and I feel like the movie would have been better if they had cut the last 30 minutes. Really sad because there was a lot of potential there.

Still I recommend watching the movie. It's a fun take on Lovecraftian horror and the crazy Nicolas Cage performance fits right in.

Color out of space literally blew up my mind. I wasn't expecting any thing like that. The plot is very basic yet terrifying and sureal. Based on Lovercraft's short story, its about The Gardner family, who have lately left the citylife for a more bucolic life in a remote property are the prime subject of the movie and after a meteroite lands in their farm, the family find themselves battling a mutant organism that infects their minds and bodies, transforming their quiet rural life into a nightmare.

Director Richard Stanley who returns to the cinema after a really long time has made almost a classic this time. The movie did start slow but finds its pace as the story progresses. He has utilized the visual effects so well, I was heavily impressed.

Nicolas cage was simply fantastic in the movie and he ensures there isn't a dull moment when he is on screen. Joely Richardson looks convincing.

I admit the movie is very very weird and totally on a different storyline but it's really enjoyable.