dex14

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5073642/
85% currently on RT: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/color_out_of_space

Brian T

Saw this at TIFF back in September, but only mentioned it briefly when the MOM & DAD thread was revived for a few minutes. It's a pretty trippy (obviously), and I presume at least a somewhat more faithful adaptation of Lovecraft's book (which I haven't read) than the old Karloff version, although that one still has its moments. I think this will earn a place alongside HARDWARE and DUST DEVIL in terms of Richard Stanley's idiosyncratic style, and the overall cult appeal of those films despite their flaws. Cage wouldn't be my first choice for something like this, although it's certainly in keeping with some of his more offbeat projects in recent years, and not surprisingly (though somewhat to a fault, I think) Stanley lets him off the leash to mixed effect, which becomes wearying. Cage's nutso moments come in small but familiar doses right off the bat, and grow more epic once the meteor lands (his appearance on a local TV news segment got some pretty big laughs, but may not do the same on a home viewing). He does earn laughs both genuine and cringey against all the extremely well-done body horror and "color" effects and whatnot, but when he intermittently slips into his patented 'pycho-crazy-man' mode he seems even more mannered than usual, spitting venom in a mannered, nasally whine when he's supposed to be signalling withering rage. It's not perfect — so don't go blaming your expectations on me, folks! — but it's eminently watchable, especially when the practical and digital special effects really pile on in the second half. It would be nice if Stanley could parlay this into a productive career rejuvenation rather than disappearing back into unseen short films for another 25 years.

I like that poster design. Personally reminds me of those old Terran Trade Authority sci-fi book covers of the 1970's (and yes, I'm sure there's really no connection ).

RichC2

Yeah, this has some of my favorite posters of recent releases because of that old sci-fi book cover motif, hope the movie is fun.

brayzie

That 80s horror paper back font is really popular at the moment.
I love Lovecraft's stories but I don't know if it will live up to the short story. Wasn't it described as colors that exist outside the color spectrum we know of? Here it's apparently just purple or violet.

I think the best Lovecraft film isn't a direct adaptation: In the Mouth of Madness.
There was a retro black and white one that was pretty good though, but that wasn't a mainstream release.

TomOpus

How else can they depict something we can't see? Liberties have to be taken.

brayzie

Some stories are medium-specific, and are made to take advantage of its strengths. Lovecraft did this a lot, having his characters experience the indescribable and letting the readers imaginations fill in the blanks. So when you make a film adaptation, that’s the challenge.
Maybe a different story would have been better suited for a film adaptation? Maybe not actually show the color on screen? Maybe film in black and white? I don’t know. But from how everything is portrayed in the trailer, it doesn’t seem very exciting or intriguing. A purple light is making things weird.

This is reminds me I need to check out “The Void.”

Rob V

They lost me at Nic Cage... it's hard to think anything he does is better than a DTV or B movie.

dex14

I see there is a showing of this at 8pm on the 22nd at a nearby AMC. I may go see this.

DaveyJoe

Cage has been in plenty of great films, some as recent as 2018.

Brian T

There's no easy way to visualize a lot of Lovecraft's "indescribable" elements without someone, somewhere, thinking they haven't been done justice, or should've been off camera (in 2019?) or whatever, but I'm on the side of liberties needing to be taken because the stories can translate to film, and the tools exist now -- even at the B movie level -- for filmmakers to at least take serious, complex approaches to such material. And here it's more than just purple/pink light, though obviously that's a big part of it (and it's all over the posters). There's a lot of digital trickery in the second half to change the landscape around the house, rather than just cheaply turning lights on it, or applying some kind of color-grading wash to the entire image in post. In that sense alone -- coupled with all the practical effects and body horror stuff -- I'll give the filmmakers and Cage props for going all in. It won't be to everyone's liking, but then neither is Lovecraft.

That turned out to be much better than I was expecting, especially for a low-budget Canadian horror show. I picked it up cold at the library here, in part because I noticed that the name of a former TIFF programmer I knew once upon a time was listed as a producer. I think VOID and COLOUR are both about as good as Lovecraft-ian adaptations can be right now. He just seems to be an author suited to adaptation at a niche-y, B-movie level, rather than in some mega-budget studio production, and these two show filmmakers at least trying to do right by the source (and yes, I know VOID isn't an adaptation, but its influences are on its sleeve)


Have to agree that Cage's B-movies, which are about 98% of what he makes now, are often reasonably decent, and increasingly stray from genre norms. He seems well aware that most of what he does now goes straight to video, but I'd rarely accuse him of phoning it in the way, say, Bruce Willis has been doing for eons now. A lot of Cage's directors are finding creative ways to let him off his leash, as I mentioned in an earlier post, without irreparably harming the overall show. I still find those moments too self-conscious and mannered on his part, but they keep things lively.

Orbi-Wan Techno

The whole movie looks crazy, not just cause Nic is in it. I’m not a horror guy, but I’ll give this a shot.

Boba Fett

I met Richard Stanley when he came to the Lovecraft festival and was able to ask him a few various questions about this film and his other films. As crazy as Cage gets, Stanley mentioned it actually got more bizarre than what ended up in the final film. Cage insisted on doing one take of a key scene, standing on his head. Overall, Cage's crazy is perfect for this as it really feels like a Lovecraftian madness as the story progresses. In my book, this may be the best Lovecraft adaptation yet (I've seen it twice theatrically), just edging out Dagon in my book, which had an incredibly atmosphere of isolated dread, despite some shaky performances.

d2cheer

I am really looking forward to this. Probably going to blind buy it and I rarely ever do that.

OldBoy

Stanley did Hardware, right? this could be fun...

dex14

https://www.joblo.com/horror-movies/...dunwich-horror

RichC2

That's awesome, I was surprised this had as high a budget as it did ($12m). Though there are no sources to back up that cost other than Wikipedia.

4K Ultra Blu-ray/Blu-ray/DVD is schedule for
Blu Cover:

dex14

I'm still planning on checking this out on Wednesday.

RichC2

Welp this certainly swung for the fences. Crazy ass movie, more than adequately creepy and sufficiently unhinged.

This is the kind of late night movie that doesn't really exist anymore, really enjoyed it.

L Everett Scott

I really wanted to like this more than I did. It had some out-there body horror, but the film didn't grab me the way that, say, Jordan Peele's or Robert Eggers's movies did.

I did enjoy Stanley's realization of the color. So now we know it's fuschia. Also liked how the movie didn't try to explain everything.

The acting was fairly solid--I really liked Madeleine Arthur as Lavinia, who was totally convincing as a rebellious teen. The five actors playing the Gardners had great chemistry and worked well together as an on-screen family.

I did have an issue with Nicolas Cage, though. I've read reviews that said his going into freakout mode was very organic. I didn't think so--those berserk moments seemed obligatory because he's probably contractually bound to do them (jk), but it could be that I was waiting for them to happen.

Also wasn't sure why the film made it a point to focus on Lavinia's Wiccan practices the way it did. The only reason I could see for the story to that was to justify





The same goes for the subplot involving the mayor's plans. That seemed to be an extra detail thrown in so



I'm not sure that added anything to the story, but maybe I was just tired and some obvious connections escaped me.

dex14

I saw this a few weeks back and agree pretty much everything you wrote.

The Cage stuff was over the top to me and not in a good way. People in the theatre seemed to laugh at it, but it completely took me out of the film.

RichC2

I can definitely see where you guys are coming from, I weirdly enjoyed the early Cage stuff in the flick but they definitely go over the top with him as it progresses.

dex14

Towards the end is where it got too much for me. I know is was suppose to be apart of things... taking over... but it was way too zany.

Nick Danger

The German version of The Color Out of Space (2010) was filmed in black and white . . . except for the unearthly color. It's a good if somewhat amateur version of the story. We bought the DVD after seeing it in the theater.



It looks like the YouTube video doesn't have subtitles.

The Antipodean

Saw this last night and quite dug it. It’s damn near impossible to capture Lovecraft’s tone on screen, but Stanley makes a good show of it and the “cosmic horror” is pretty trippy. I like how they didn’t try to Hollywoodify it too much - the stuff with the mother was incredibly intense - and Cage worked for me mostly. Great nightmare fuel.

majorjoe23

the German version is also free on Amazon Prime.