A New England family's farm is infected by an alien organism in Color Out of Space. Nathan Gardner (Nicolas Cage) lives on an isolated farm with his wife Theresa (Joely Richardson) and children Lavinia (Madeleine Arthur), Benny (Brendan Meyer), and Jack (Julian Hilliard). One night a glowing pink meteor falls and crashes on the farm. In the immediate aftermath of the crash, strange lifeforms and plantlife begin to appear and the members of the family begin to start acting strangely.
Director Richard Stanley (Hardware) directs this adaptation of the 1927 short story by H.P. Lovecraft. Color Out of Space follows a New England family, who experience the catastrophic aftermath of a meteor crash. With the help of hydro-electric surveyor Ward Philips (Elliot Knight), it is discovered that some sort of alien organism has infected the water supply and merges with any organism it comes in contact with. This soon results in the appearance of monstrosities around the property.
The Color Out of Space can be seen as an example of an adaptation of a 92-year-old story that has already influenced many sci-fi/horror films, ranging from John Carpenter's The Thing to Alex Garland's Annihilation. However, that doesn't stop Richard Stanley's first non-documentary film in nearly three decades from being an entertaining, gory and weird film in its right. Featuring Nicolas Cage at his crazy best, a strung-out cameo by Tommy Chong, and Alpacas, Color Out of Space ended up hitting all the right buttons for me.
TIFF19 screenings of Color Out of Space
