Adapted from the classic H P Lovecraft story, this film is suitably weird and is in some ways similar to the original, even bookending the story with quotes from the text. However, the horror is more graphic and bloody than you find in Lovecraft and I didn’t like this.
The film stars Nicholas Cage as an alpaca-obsessed father, Nathan Gardner, who moved from the city to a farmhouse out in the sticks. His wife Theresa (Joely Richardson) has cancer and works in finance from home. They have two teenagers, Lavinia and Benny, and a younger son Jack. The film spends a long time exploring the family dynamics and personalities before anything weird happens. A meteorite crashes on their land and emits colours which no one has seen before. To us, it looks like neon magenta with a hint of rainbows. The special effects, the acting and the way that colours are used are all impressive.
The unnamed surveyor from the original story, who relates it second-hand from someone who knew the family forty years ago, becomes a hydrologist (named Ward) in the present day, who is there to assess the water for a new reservoir and becomes involved in the events. The connection between the entity and the water contamination is made explicit. I didn’t see the point of including a hippie hermit character who lives on the Gardners’ land, or indeed why Theresa chops off her fingers while preparing carrots. Horror is scary when it’s subtle, in my opinion, but some things in this film were gross rather than scary, such as the fusion of animals together. There are clues for Lovecraft fans, such as Lavinia’s use of the Necronomicon for rituals (how does she even get a copy?) and Ward wears a Miskatonic University t-shirt. I wouldn’t watch the film again but I know I’ll re-read the story.
Image: IMP Awards / 2020 Movie Poster Gallery / Color Out of Space Poster (#2 of 3), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61514030