Color Out of Space

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Elliott Knight, Tommy Chong, Brendan Meyer, Julian Hilliard
Directed by: Richard Stanley
Rating: Unrated
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Mystery
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A family living on a secluded farm begins having horrific experiences after a strange meteorite crashes onto their property.

Review:

Tim: I was really excited to see Richard Stanley's Color Out of Space. I'm a big fan of H.P. Lovecraft and I enjoyed the short story that this film was adapted from. It's one of his most popular and most memorable short stories and it was hugely influential. I was quite intrigued to see the feature film adaptation, especially when it got such good reviews. Unfortunately, the film was a letdown. It's a decent movie, but not nearly as good as critics claimed. It has a host of issues.

The premise of the movie is solid, as it adapts and expands on Lovecraft's story. A family lives in a farm and a meteorite hits their property. The meteorite begins transforming all the life around it- plants, animals, and humans. It's a frightening concept, especially as you consider what might happen if it spreads. The movie unfortunately never seems very interested in this. It tells a very isolated, self-contained story. The focus on one family is good, but it loses some of the potential scope of the story. It seemed like this was in the cards, as a Hydrologist is one of the characters, but it's never fully realized.

The visuals are impressive and are likely what hooked many critics. The otherworldly purple glow is memorable, as are the depiction of the transformed flora and fauna and the insects. There's something beautiful about this, even as they hint at an underlying threat. By the time we see the alien impacts on animals (and eventually people), there's no longer something beautiful- we've moved into full horrific territory. The images here are quite disturbing- the alien alpacas are especially grotesque. Stanley seems preoccupied with the most disgusting images possible. That's a big reason why I hated his last feature film he directed, 1996's The Island of Dr. Moreau. Those same sensibilities show up here. I'm not against horrifying images, but they need to serve the story. Stanley seems to linger and obsess about these, at the expense of everything else. This is most obvious when he shows the vomit-inducing impact the contaminants have on people. It eventually feels unnecessary.

I had issues with the cast, too. Nicolas Cage is a great actor but it feels like he's fallen on hard times. He occasionally delivers a solid performance these days, but it seems like he's fully embraced the unrestrained aspects of his personality. I know there's a growing contingent of people who love his crazy, over-the-top performances. He delivers one here, when there's nothing about the film that calls for that. Stanley just lets him do whatever. There's no subtlety to what Cage does here and the movie suffers as a result. I never believed nor cared about his character. I never felt like I was watching a character. The whole time I'm watching Nicolas Cage act. That's really not good. I wasn't able to identify with his character because his overacting sucked all the air out of the scene.

Joely Richardson was fine. I didn't love her performance, but it was effective, it worked here. Madeleine Arthur did some really solid work. She could have a career in horror movies. She has this combination of intelligence and vulnerability that works well for the character. Elliott Knight was interesting. I kept almost liking his performance, but he couldn't quite win me over. Brendan Meyer didn't wow me. He seemed somewhat natural, but I couldn't bring myself to care about his character. Julian Hillard was effective as the youngest member of the family. It was fun to see Tommy Chong here, but I'm not sure he's the guy you turn to when you want to assemble an effective cast. As a whole, the cast underwhelmed. This was likely a combination between the talent level of the cast, but you have to believe Stanley's direction influenced this.

I'm being somewhat harsh on this film here, that's likely because I really wanted to like the movie. I don't want you to think this is a bad film. It's a decent movie that adapts and expands on Lovecraft's short story. It's at turns frightening and disturbing. Stanley takes time to develop the characters, but he isn't able to coax enough strong performances out of the cast to make the characters memorable. As a whole, Color Out of Space is flashy and has some nice moments, but it doesn't hold up as an effective horror movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Mandy, The Island of Dr. Moreau