H P LOVECRAFT. The name. The legend. The master pen. Sometimes it is hard to shake the legend and the legacy from impact. Lovecraft punched themes, otherworldly beings, pagan and mystery to name but a few. Leaving  horror the better for both visual arts and the written. The death recently of Stuart Gordon underline this. His best work, revised and recaptured the masters ideas for a new generation. So along came Richard Stanley. He of DUST DEVIL. HARDWARE. He of the ill fated MOREAU.

Nicolas Cage is Nathan Gardner. A family man. He lives with his wife Theresa (Joely Richardson) and their three children on a ranch. Farm life is good. He is raising alpacas in rural tranquillity. A strange meteorite lands in his front garden. A strange purple glowing thing that leads to all manner of things happen. Strange, unworldly things that leave bodies and blood in their wake…

To explore COLOR OUT OF SPACE, you first have to understand Stanley. He has been out of the game for some years (in fiction film making that is). His love of LOVECRAFT stems from his mothers love. Within COLOR OUT OF SPACE you have this writ large. Love. It is a strange thing to note in a film ostensibly about the supernatural. Usually we speak about splash of red. The body horror. Now these parts are gorey and grim but also brilliantly blood splattered. COLOR has more interesting things at play. For me, Stanleys strengths have always been his observance. In previous films the supernatural was defused with, dependency horror and technological horror. goes to isolation and familial horror. Much of which must resonant with Stanley and his personal life. This is where you will find reward. Well that and the blood soaked, insane gaze if Cage. COLOR is a welcomed return to form. If not also a very telling one….