Color Out of Space

A solid adaptation, albeit with a bit too much alpaca-based comedy

This was no fruit of such worlds and suns as shine on the telescopes and photographic plates of our observatories. This was no breath from the skies whose motions and dimensions our astronomers measure or deem too vast to measure. 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"; Amazing Stories (September, 1927)

Much of the work of H.P. Lovecraft takes place in a vast shared universe, which would, by its very nature, seem to lend itself to the current vogue for cinematic long-form narratives. However, considering the size of his oeuvre, very little of it has been adapted for the screen, and Lovecraft in general has proved a difficult author to film (although Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna would probably beg to differ). And so we have Colour Out of Space, written and directed by Richard Stanley (his first film in 25 years, after he was famously fired three days into the disastrous shoot of his long-gestating dream project, The Island of Dr. Moreau). A modernisation but otherwise surprisingly faithful adaptation of Lovecraft's 1927 short story "The Colour Out of Space", Colour takes a good stab at depicting one of Lovecraft's most oblique entities (essentially it exists as an indescribable colour). Mixing humour and body horror (perhaps weighed a little too much towards humour), the film gives Nicholas Cage another opportunity to go full-Cage after he recently cut loose in Brian Taylor's Mom and Dad (2017) and Panos Cosmatos's Mandy (2018). And boy does he lean into it – this is the most ludicrous, histrionic, and borderline farcical performance he's given since Robert Bierman's Vampire's Kiss (1989), screaming about...

Combining the unholy trio of Nicolas Cage, H.P. Lovecraft and Richard Stanley seems like insane brilliance on paper, which is why it’s so disappointing that ‘Color Out of Space’, despite some interesting themes and reverence to alpacas, is a bit of a slog.

• Jake Watt

Read Jake's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-color-out-of-space-a-messy-fusion-of-sci-fi-horror-and-comedy

Trippy movie for sure, but having never read anything from H.P. Lovecraft, probably don't appreciate it compared to most but visually interesting and also bizarre, felt like Close Encounters of the Third Kind meets Donnie Darko. One thing setting it back was some, presumably, unintentionally funny scenes, one where Cage yells at some fruit. But his performance was alright, and young Madeleine Arthur was probably the standout.

I don't know how to feel, certainly does stand out from the rest in terms of horror-sci-fi, I'll give it that much. 3.0/5

Colour Out of Space was one of the biggest joys that 2019 cinema brought me. I was genuinely thrilled by it from about fifteen minutes in right up until the credits rolled. Not to mention for several days afterwards.

Final rating:★★★★ - Very strong appeal. A personal favourite.

A thoughtless adaption of one of Lovecraft's most recognizable stories. The film maker clearly failed to grasp the themes of Lovecraft and only took notice of the most obvious surface elements. Coupled with lazy direction that produces some of the most unintentionally funny moments I've ever seen in a "thriller", shallow characters that seemingly have no motivation for their actions beyond the trope that they represent, and a heavy pile of cgi. It is my opinion that this is one of many attempts at production companies trying to cash in on the resurgence of Lovecraftian horror in the public eye.

" The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown " -H.P.Lovecraft

It is very difficult to make a film adaptation of any H.P.Lovecraft short story. When an author aims to paint an image of the Unknown through poetic mastery it makes the task immensely difficult for any Director who refuses to alter the story itself. It was truly an incomprehensible mystery which ultimately ends and I wondered what was it that I had just watched? Then I realized I felt the same way when I read his short story years ago. I loved both.

It was intriguing, eerie, unpredictable and disturbing. Watch it for the art of the images as well as for the beauty behind the complexity of the writer who has a level of Linguistic Intelligence very few will ever understand. Including myself. Being able to make someone feel disturbed without using any violence or excess of violence is what I feel is pure Horror. Which is what H.P. Lovecraft believed and excelled at.

That being said the Director did an amazing work of art. It was beautiful to look at, the images were fantastic and it gets a solid 8.5/10 from me.

Parental Advisory: 16+

This is not a film for children or even young teenagers. It has no violence however it displays gore and blood in several scenes to a 7/10 intensity at its peak. It can create a very eerie and edgy ambience throughout the second half that creeps up on you and before you know it you might feel very uncomfortable.

-eQuilibrium

This movie is slow paced, builds up action for the ending which is worth the watch. Brilliant sci fi film based on Lovecraftian tale.

The "Gardner" family hope to escape the rat-race by moving to a rural New England farm where they can settle and enjoy the peace and quiet. Ha, not for long though. A giant meteorite crash lands into their garden and before long it seems to be exuding a menacing glow that is corrupting all it touches. "Nathan" (Nicolas Cage) and "Theresa" (Joely Richardson) are initially more perplexed than anything else, but gradually he starts to lose his grip on reality and what ensues becomes more dangerous for just about everyone as the alien entity encroaches with a clear desire to take over the place - if not the entire world. There are some fun moments in this, not least from the hammy Cage who just let's run with his character and from the young "Jack" (Julian Hilliard) who obsesses about his pal in the well whilst his mother carelessly amputates a few of her fingers! It looks ike it might be down to their ageing hippie neighbour "Ezra" (the scene stealing Tommy Chong) and to the visiting "Ward" (Elliot Knight) who seems to be able to keep a clear head - he also fancies the daughter, to rescue them from a fate worse than death. The visual effects are basic and rely heavily on colour, splodges of goo, and shotgun fire and there is maybe a little more comedy here than director Richard Stanley intended as the films starts to take the shape of a 1970s edition of "Dr. Who". It is watchable, and Cage just about holds it together - but the story is strung out far too thinly and the pace struggles to keep going for all but two hours.