“Color Out of Space” is an adaptation of the 1927 H.P. Lovecraft short story of the same name, starring Nicolas Cage (as Nathan Gardner), some Alpacas, and a bizarrely colorful and disastrous sci-fi event that tests the bonds of family. In other words “Color Out of Space” is pretty much exactly what you would expect from a sci-fi Nic Cage adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft; it’s beautiful, bizarre, hilarious, horrifying and more than anything, utterly satisfying.
I got to start off with Nic Cage who is evergreen in his portrayal of manic characters, and there is certainly a tipping point in the character of Nathan Garden after which Cage becomes absolutely unhinged. There are just so many memeable moments here that it’s a shock and a blessing at the same time. Certainly, there are dramatic moments which loose some kick due to Cage’s borderline comedic performance (I don’t even know if he means to do this sometimes), but I really didn’t mind because it’s just so damn entertaining to watch. If you are a Nic Cage fan then this film will give you more than enough fuel.
The other actors in the film include Joely Richardshon (Theresa Gardner) who does a fantastic job as the wife, Madeleine Arthur (Lavinia Gardner), Brendan Meyer (Benny Gardner), and Julian Hilliard (Jack Gardner); who all do an equally amicable job, especially Madeleine Arthur who really performs well with the daughter role that she is given.
The film is also billed as the return of Richard Stanley to feature film-making after two and a half decades (in-between he was mostly making shorts and documentaries). I haven’t seen any of Stanley’s previous films, but “Color Out of Space” is pretty well directed and you can tell that it is not the work of any amateur or someone who hasn’t been in touch with it for awhile. Despite a rocky start with character introductions and some peculiar dialogue choices (there’s a cat named G-Spot), this film is paced very well and I never felt bored or uninterested in what was happening.
The cinematography by Steve Annis is also something to be commended. I love how vibrant he keeps things, so many films these days (especially from India) I’m noticing are being a little de-saturated for god knows what reason. Nevertheless, this film is beautifully shot. The colorful sci-fi scenes are awe-inspiring, and the visual effects are not bad considering that this was a low budget film.
The score by Colin Stetson, whose most notable previous work was the excellent “Hereditary”, is equally amazing here. He creates the perfect atmosphere of mystery and dread throughout his soundtrack. He really seems to have a knack for scoring films surrounding horror and I’m quite excited to see what he does next.
I don’t want to reveal too much of the plot or even talk about it because it is best that you experience the madness of what happens in this film without any hints. I went into this film without even having seen the trailer, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I also haven’t read the H.P. Lovecraft short story this was based on so I can’t really speak on that, but as a film this is a pretty good effort on all accounts. It’s well directed, written, acted, scored and filmed; it does get quite gory and there are certainly some shocking scenes that I did not expect to happen and in this sense the film isn’t going to be for everyone, but if you don’t mind that kind of stuff then this film can be quite a treat. And as for Richard Stanley, I hope he gets the opportunity to make more films, he certainly seems to be a director with a bold vision and I’m interested to see what else he can come up with next.
