Color Out of Space

I remember Nic Cage really becoming a cinematic force in the 90's, even winning an Oscar, and every time I saw a movie of his, I thought "... really? Why?". I never found his performances anything to write home about. Awkward, unconvincing, frequently bizarre and off-putting, I'd put him in the bin of "nah, not for me". And then he went and made a bunch of Z-grade, direct-to-video schlock, and it was easier than ever to write him off. He was the Creed of acting; this band a bunch of people liked for a while, then everybody stopped, they went away, and everybody looked back with shame. Somehow, in recent times, he's made the weirdest comeback. Somehow, he's figured out how to pick projects that don't drop weird-ass Nic Cage into the middle of the normal world, but harness his unique acting style, or massage it into something new and wonderful. Willy's Wonderland made him entirely silent and the most low-key person in the movie, and it worked. Pig also stifled his quirkiness, but in a different way, allowing peeks of it to shine through to paint a wonderful character portrait. I don't know where it all clicked, but damned if it hasn't clicked in the best way possible. So here's Color Out Of Space, a Lovecraft story about a family in the middle of nowhere, who get the unfortunate luck of a meteor landing in their yard, and infecting it with Lovecraftian, otherworldly madness. And colors. LOTS AND LOTS OF COLORS. Like Pig and Willy's before it, it harnesses Cage's unique skillset in the best possible ways. The movie absolutely nails the Lovecraftian feel of inexplicable, inhuman, mounting dread, and also somehow does so while looking like a children's finger paint factory exploded. This movie uses the entire human-perceptible color palate to paint one of the most visually arresting and magnificent movies I've ever seen, and yet somehow, makes it HORRIFYING. Life should not be as vibrant as a 64-piece box of Crayolas put in a blender, and this movie uses that to its advantage. You will come to dread the ever-growing plague of colors, as it and whatever influence it radiates, infects this family of five. What's also nice is that it is the perfect backdrop for doing whatever the hell the movie wants with special effects; plenty of practical stuff in here, and that's always the best, but even the CGI here fits. Even when it's not so good (there's one all-CGI shot near the very end, you'll know which), the absolutely crazy visuals this movie uses allows for a world where anything makes sense, even janky CGI. And when it wants to be directly horrific in its visuals, Color knows how to hold back until the moment is right to show you the not-of-this-earth monstrosities that await. I don't jolt at jump scares ever, but there were plenty of visuals that made me go wide-eyed, and a couple that made me wince in disgust. And then there's the performances. Cage as the dad, Joely Richardson as the mom, and Madeline Arthur as the middle child/only daughter are the MVP's here, all showing different ways the insanity is creeping into their minds and tearing them apart. The acting choices that have given Cage his weird reputation work here, as the Lovecraftian madness sets in to his unsuspecting and unprepared mind. Each person in the family reacts a little different, but it all ends up the same; there is something infesting the puny minds of five human beings who are not prepared or equipped to deal with it. All we can do is watch. In a weird way, this makes for an appropriate double-bill with Last Night In Soho. Both have a visual style that grabs you, doesn't let go, and uses it to dazzle and terrify. Soho is more cerebral than Color, but they both do what they do to get at the same point: an otherworldly experience tearing at the sanity of the mind of the unprepared. This is not a movie to watch and also check out BlueSky or play a round of Candy Crush .Put the phone down and turn off the ringer. Give this movie your full attention. It will reward you for the investment.