Color Out of Space (2020)
Richard Stanley's, Color Out Of Space is like a psychedelic greatest-hits of the horror genre. Although it is an adaptation - based on HP Lovecraft's 1927 short story of the same name - many of these old short stories/novellas are often concise and lacking in overt detail and dialogue. And so an adaptation such as this one will often take liberties in fleshing out the story and the world it takes place in. As well, unless its a period-piece, additional changes are often required to contemporize such old stories for modern audiences. All of these factors are present in Color Out of Space and, in that, Stanley has put together a fun and overly-trippy nightmarish romp. While it doesn't succeed in every way, it is nevertheless a fun ride for any B-horror movie fans out there.
The film follows the Gardner family who, after leaving the big city, have recently moved into an old farm of the family's out in a secluded part of the countryside. There, they acclimate to the new lifestyle - each of the family members in their own way - including dad, Nathan (Nicolas Cage), comically running an alpaca farm. However, the family's new idealist lifestyle is interrupted when a meteorite hits nearby. And that is when the bizarre begins. The Gardner family (the rest played by Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Brendan Meyer and Julian Hilliard), Ward, a young scientist working in the area (Elliot Knight) and a crazy old squatter living on the family's land (Tommy Chong) suddenly all have to fight to survive the danger that the oddities coming out of the meteorite hold for them.
The film does take a while to get moving and, later on too, there are parts that become a bit sluggish. However, when the craziness does start the film becomes a lot of fun; chock full of body horror, violent blood and gore, and psychedelia. As mentioned, for those who are big horror fans, you will find plenty of pretty obvious call-outs to other horror films throughout. While these moments are fun to discover and notice, I found that, at times, they detracted from the film cementing an identity of its own. The VFX/SFX for a long while are played conservatively until into the final act. In a positive way though, when they therefore did appear, they hit hard. This did seem to be a pretty clear fact of the film's budget though and I can't help but wonder if the chaos could have hit sooner and bigger if a little more money was present in the production.
Lastly, one cannot complete this review without mention of Mr. Cage himself. Similar to some of his other recent outings (Mandy, Mom and Dad), Cage goes full Cage here. The bonkers performance works well in most instances - the comedic outrage servicing the insanity slowly drifting out from the meteor and seeping into the environment. There were times when a little more seriousness may have been preferable from Cage but, then, you knew what you were getting yourself into when you went to watch this one, didn't you... Regarding the rest of the cast, they are all strong with Richardson, Arthur and Knight particularly all putting in strong performances. Color Out of Space doesn't redefine or necessarily elevate the genre in any substantive way, however, it is a lot of fun if you are in the mood for some trippy Cage-infused horror.
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