Color Out of Space: An Eye-Popping Visual Feast

Photo Courtesy of SpectreVision

Fresh off the cult hit Mandy, Nicolas Cages gives another show-stopping performance in Color Out of Space, director Richard Stanley’s take on the cosmic horror story by H.P. Lovecraft. The adaptation not only has arresting visuals that warrant seeing the film in a darkened theater, but its numerous references to poisoned water and ancient forests make it extremely relevant in an era where every scientific report forebodes a grim future if environmental destruction is not reversed. The dread that is so apparent in much of Lovecraft’s work is evident in the film, but when juxtaposed with the feeling that the world is teetering on the edge of catastrophic environmental changes, Color Out of Space takes on a new meaning.

The general crux of Lovecraft’s story is kept intact. A meteorite crashes on a family farm, and soon, the otherworldly mutant organism infects everything that it touches. Lush vegetation springs up suddenly.  Purple flowers grow around the family’s well, which seems to be the main source of the cosmic force, since the organism overtakes other life forms through water. From the outset, Stanley includes several close-ups of the Gardner family drinking the water, along with the Alpacas that roam their farm.

The main cast of characters is primarily the Gardner family. Cage gives another eye-popping performance as father Nathan that nearly rivals his off-the-wall theatrics in Mandy. As the infection spreads, itching and scarring his arms, he floats between a caring, loving father to someone who screams about how awful the tomatoes and peaches taste in his garden, before snapping at his family members. He sea-saws from normal to crazed within a single scene, and it’s a delight to watch.

Photo Courtesy of SpectreVision

​Cage seems to have started another chapter in his career, starring in cult features like Mandy and Color Out of Space that allow him to flex some real oddball chops. Seeing him in these roles over the last few years has been a delight. His role as Nathan has some real high points, be it the TV interview he gives as a “UFO witness” shortly after the meteorite leaves a crater-sized hole in his yard, or the madness he descends into as the film progresses and the infection spreads. The rest of the cast plays off his performance quite well.

The other members of the Gardner clan generally give strong performances, too. Joely Richardson is rather subdued as the matriarch Theresa, but she has two scenes in particular that echo the body horror themes of John Carpenter’s The Thing and David Cronengberg’s work. Julian Hilliard is sweet and innocent as youngest child Jack, who increasingly has a fascination with the meteorite and well, to the point that he sits outside at night, watching it, mesmerized by the strange technicolor power it contains.
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Madeleine Arthur gives a memorable performance as Lavinia, the rebellious daughter who partakes in Lovecraftian rituals, including carving ancient lines from the Necronomicon into her skin for protection. She’s one of the first characters we’re introduced to, as she stands inside a rock circle near the thick forest, reciting some sort of ancient prayer. Out of all the siblings, especially when compared to her other brother, Benny (Brendan Meyer), she steals most of the scenes she’s in and has some of the most well-drawn character traits. Even her streak of purple hair pops.

Photo Courtesy of SpectreVision

To add, Tommy Chong plays a hippie who lives off the grid on the Gardner’s property, and his role is reminiscent of the worshippers who pray to the ancient ones in several of Lovecraft’s stories. He, like Lavinia, has a connection to the Earth, and his role is perhaps that of a prophet, especially when he talks about hearing the voices beneath the ground.

That said, what stands out most about Stanley’s film are the visuals. Whether it’s long shots of the sprawling forest, or the mountains beneath a red/orange skyline, or the purple mist that overtakes the farm, Stanley’s cinematography makes for an immersive viewing experience. His color schemes are as absorbing as the cosmic entity that overtakes everything it touches. If possible, this movie deserves to be seen on the big screen, and hopefully, it will achieve the type of cult status that warrants midnight screenings at art house movie theaters or the country’s remaining drive-ins.
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Stanley also hits the right notes regarding environmental devastation, though the film never becomes overly didactic. When Nathan slumps in a recliner, his eyes glued to the flickering TV, images flash of smokestacks polluting the skies. The mayor, meanwhile, talks about creating a large fresh water supply system, but since the space entity initially spreads through the water, you have to wonder what the consequences will be if the mayor’s plan is initiated. In a later scene, ash falls from a gray sky like a nuclear winter.

Furthermore, one of the film’s key roles is that of Ward (Elliott Knight), a hydrologist who immediately understands from the water’s tainted color that something is wrong. Yet, no one listens to the scientist.   Additionally, even the family’s self-described pagan, who is supposedly connected to the Earth, talks about how she loves eating fast food.

The year is still young, but thus far, Stanley’s Color Out of Space is one of the best horror entries of 2020, a film meant to be watched at midnight on the big screen. Its visuals are the main draw, but the core themes of Lovecraft’s novella are generally maintained, while adding some undertones about the consequences of environmental devastation and inaction. This movie has plenty of cosmic terror that Lovecraft fans should enjoy and yet another bonkers performance by Cage.

Author

Brian Fanelli fell in love with horror movies the first time he watched Night of the Living Dead as a kid. His writing on the genre has been published by Horror Homeroom, The Schuylkill Valley Journal, and Signal Horizon Magazine. He is also the author of two books of poems, Waiting for the Dead to Speak (NYQ Books), winner of the Devil's Kitchen Poetry Prize, and All That Remains (Unbound Content). His non-horror writing has been published in The Los Angeles Times, World Literature Today, Paterson Literary Review, Pedestal Magazine, and elsewhere. Brian has an M.F.A. from Wilkes University and a Ph.D. from Binghamton University. Currently, he teaches at Lackawanna College. www.brianfanelli.com.