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"Color Out of Space" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge

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"Color Out of Space" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge

Old 09-29-20, 11:48 PM
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"Color Out of Space" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge



Color Out of Space (2019)


Selected by Chad


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These "October Horror Movie Challenge" threads are for the discussion of the films in the 31 FILM SUBSET list.

The plan is for everyone to watch this film on the October day in the thread title, and to start discussing it the morning of the following day.
You may start discussion early if you want, but the preferred plan is for this to be as much of a group exercise as possible, with all of us viewing it "together" and discussing after.

Of course, you are totally encouraged to participate in these threads even if you haven't watched the movie on the designated day.
Even if you haven't watched it in years, or are not participating in the Horror Challenge, please feel free to chime in.



Spoiler tags aren't always used in here, so if you have yet to see the film BEWARE OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS.

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2020 DISCUSSION | 2020 LISTS

Old 10-22-20, 08:26 AM
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Re: "Color Out of Space" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge

This was my second time watching this, and I really like this movie. The alpaca humor might be a little heavy and could be toned down, but please don't tone down Nicolas Cage. Very often, Cage going full Cage is way too much, but when he gets paired with the right director or material, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

So, yes, clearly I enjoyed watching Cage go batshit crazy, but there was still more here to grab on to. The effects as things began to change were fairly good. The mom and son getting assimilated was a highlight. Forget the damn alpacas.

And I liked how this was no doubt an alien story, but the aliens weren't at all your typical little green men. In some ways, something like this, a foreign thing that transforms our traditional ecosystem, seems like a more plausible type of alien invasion. It may not be little green men; it might just be microbes that find their way here.

OK, I'm getting distracted. Time to take off my tinfoil hat and get back to the movie. I guess the last thing I would add is that it's great to see Richard Stanley return to directing feature films again. I think he did a really job here, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next, which he's saying is more Lovecraft.

Last edited by clckworang; 10-25-20 at 04:32 PM.
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Old 10-25-20, 11:56 AM
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Re: "Color Out of Space" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge

Excellent visuals; the pink hue of the meteorite is wonderful and strange. The slow transformation of the land and creatures hypnotically sizzles and makes the film feel more like an odyssey than a snapshot (large scale stuff). The emphasis on nature itself being poisoned is deep and creepy from the daughter's wiccan ambitions that get hijacked by the magenta light making her worship of nature is made into something un-natural; the idea that all living things drink the water but it's am abomination.

The use of special effects here is more innovative than usual and I appreciate that more of them seem practical; the whole story hangs on the effects and they work great but at times the dizzing pink hues are so over the top. Nicolas Cage is often hammy in this slow burn abstract body horror film - he seems most oblivious to the horror rather than reacting to it (like grabbing a shotgun to shoot the meteorite) which is off putting at first but then as he is fragmented by the weirdness it evenually comes together. He is at his best with the Alpaca herd in the shed.

COoS was a wild ride, I'm still trying to understand the ending - the color seems to burn itself out then either disappear or become more interwoven into a bigger water supply. There are some hints at space and time being effected that I don't quite understand (metaphysics sound cool and probably have more to it in understanding the story). I'll have to rewatch COoS soon.

It made me chuckly that the namesake for notoriously racist HP Lovecraft is a black name, hydrologist Ward Philip.

The Curse (1987) is another very good adaptation of the HP Lovecraft source (that strangely launched a 4 film franchise). It's interesting that 2 Lovecraft films made the subset this year (Dagon).

Last edited by Undeadcow; 10-25-20 at 12:16 PM.
Old 10-25-20, 03:26 PM
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Re: "Color Out of Space" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge

I wanted to like this so bad. When it came out I bought it immediately and had a few friends over. We were all pretty confused and underwhelmed.
I like unhinged Nic Cage as much as the next guy, but in this it felt forced. I know everyone expects a freak out from him if every movie now. It just kind of seemed like it was shoehorned in. It’s no Mandy that’s for sure.
Old 10-25-20, 05:21 PM
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Re: "Color Out of Space" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge

I thought it was a fine example of cosmic horror. Did the meteor come because Lavinia called or because something heard her call and responded or just wrong place/wrong time? Yes. Maybe the movie was an extreme example of being careful about what you wish for. We only know what the characters know and by the time they understand they're no longer willing/capable of explaining.
Old 10-25-20, 10:45 PM
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Re: "Color Out of Space" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge

The opening lines are Lavinia reciting one of the invocations Christopher Lee uses in The Devil Rides out, so you can tell where Stanley's POV is coming from. TCOOS is a terrific adaptation of one of Lovecraft's most fampur storties, and I thought this film did it justice. I agree that the Colour was summoned by Lavinia inadvertently.
Old 10-26-20, 09:44 AM
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Re: "Color Out of Space" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge

Originally Posted by Toddarino
I wanted to like this so bad. When it came out I bought it immediately and had a few friends over. We were all pretty confused and underwhelmed.
I like unhinged Nic Cage as much as the next guy, but in this it felt forced. I know everyone expects a freak out from him if every movie now. It just kind of seemed like it was shoehorned in. It’s no Mandy that’s for sure.
Exactly. While the rest of the actors portraying his family behaved in a "normal" manner, his occasional bursts of "behavior" just took me out of the reality of the moment. I could just imagine the other characters in the scene rolling their eyes.
A few weeks later I saw Cage in some behind-the -scenes footage doing voice-over for "Into The Spider-Verse" and he said to the director, "So you want the full 'Nicholas Cage'?" So it's become kind of a quantifiable "thing".

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