Colour out of Space is a sci fi horror film from Richard Stanley and SpectreVision. It's based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft and is apparently the first film in a trilogy with the next film being The Dunwich Horror. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Q'orianka Kilcher, and Tommy Chong. And it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7th, 2019.

A story of cosmic terror about The Gardners, a family who moves to a remote farmstead in rural New England to escape the hustle of the 21st century. They are busy adapting to their new life when a meteorite crashes into their front yard. The mysterious aerolite seems to melt into the earth, infecting both the land and the properties of space-time with a strange, otherworldly color. To their horror, the Gardner family discover that this alien force is gradually mutating every life form that it touches...including them.

This film doesn't follow the literature to the letter. However, the filmmaker had set out to create something that is as close to Lovecraftian as we can get. How do you show, on film, something that is beyond our human comprehension? This movie came closer than any others before it. Color leans heavily on the visual aspect of the film. Which is really well done. The film is beautiful. And that doesn't take anything away from the tone and sense of dread that is so familiar with Lovecraftian tales.

Nicholas Cage turns in a stellar performance as Nathan, the patriarch of the family, who's mind slowly unravels while the audience bears witness. He is dialed back, more so than in his previous roles. But still gets to turn in that ever-loving Nick Cage performance that we would all expect. Albeit in the last twenty minutes. And it's a great twenty minutes.



Richard Stanley hadn't directed a feature film since he was fired from The Island of Doctor Moreau in 1996. And you could see a few issues. The end of The Color Out of Space felt rushed. I am not certain that Stanley knew what direction to go in. But it was still very tense, scary, and entertaining. And I am hoping that this ties into a much bigger picture. I had a good time watching this and I am all for more H.P. Lovecraft adaptations. Especially since we are in the future and we have the technology to pull off the crazy-shit Howard had come up with. It’s not as terrifying as The Void but it’s plenty scary and will sit in your mind long after you turn it off. If you have a fascination with Lovecraftian works. Check out this movie. It’s worth it.