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TIFF Review: ‘Color Out of Space’ Paints a Messy Picture

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Color Out of Space

Director Richard Stanley returns to narrative filmmaking after over 20 years with Color Out of Space, a hypnotic H.P. Lovecraft adaptation. Published in 1927, the story is one of Lovecraft’s most popular works and is said to be his favorite of his short stories. Stanley brings his love for Lovecraft into the film and adds his own personal flair to the tale, creating a unique and inventive experience.

Starring Nicolas Cage (Mandy), Joely Richardson (Event Horizon), Madeleine Arthur (The Magicians), Brendan Meyer (The Guest), Julian Hilliard (The Haunting of Hill House), Elliot Knight (Once Upon a Time), and Tommy Chong (of Cheech and Chong fame), Color Out of Space follows the Gardner family as a meteorite crashes on their farm. This space rock emits an indescribable color that affects all life nearby in mysterious and terrifying ways. Soon, the family is left to fend for their very lives as the color spreads across their land, leaving chaos in its wake. 

Cosmic Lovecraftian horror can be a challenge as the monster effects are key. If you ask any horror fan, they’ll gladly tell you that practical effects are always preferable. Thankfully, Stanley uses practical effects for the most horrific moments in the film, which is truly appreciated.

Reminiscent of Rob Bottin’s creature designs for The Thing, the monsters of Color Out of Space are quite effective. CGI effects are layered over top of the practical effects to enhance them with the titular color, however, in some instances the amount of CGI use overshadows the practical effect so it’s difficult to tell what was physically made. 

via IMDb

For the most part, Color Out of Space hits some of the narrative beats from the original short story, though certain changes have been made with varying effect. Naturally some shifts have occurred that affect the development of the plot, though there are also some ancillary adjustments that change the film’s overall tone. 

Rather than a collection of generic livestock, the family’s farm is populated by a herd of alpacas. More often than not, these alpacas serve as a punchline which can be distracting as they make every scene they’re in a bit silly (because alpacas are naturally kind of absurd). 

Multiple characters are combined into one hydrologist who serves as a scientific catch-all whenever knowledge is needed. It’s a bit odd that a hydrologist would be consulted for the discovery of a meteorite, or would know what radiation burns look like, but it’s best not to dwell on it… the man knows his science.

via IMDb

There are a few other narrative seeds planted that don’t really grow into anything and could be cut out entirely without affecting the film at all. They add to character development, but are generally unnecessary as there are other ways to build the audience’s relationship with and understanding of these characters without needless filler.

What’s more jarring is the fact that each actor seems to be working in a different movie. Performances are all over the place in terms of tone with varying degrees of intensity. Nicolas Cage takes center stage in one of his most cagey performances to date, alternating between dowdy farmer (slash bourbon connoisseur) and full-blown bonkers on a hairpin trigger. When facing an unhinged Cage, the actors deliver their dialogue with such sincerity that it can be quite comical, though it’s unclear if this is always intentional. The cast can’t match his eccentricity and don’t try to, so as an end result, the energy is very uneven.

As a Lovecraft adaptation, Color Out of Space is fine. It’s not overwhelmingly good or bad, though it might not be what you expect when you hear the combination of Lovecraft, Nic Cage, and Richard Stanley. It’s hypnotically entertaining — particularly for its Cage-isms — but overall it could be more cohesive. 

Color Out of Space strays outside the lines to draw its own unique picture, and the end result is a bit messy. The film has already been acquired by RJLE Films ahead of its Midnight Madness world premiere. But the real question is, will audiences buy it?

Color Out of Space

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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