Review of Color Out of Space (2020) by Thequietgamer — 24 Jan 2021

This is Annihilation on steroids and reimagined as a wild Nicolas Cage flick. There are so many comparisons one can draw between this and Alex Garland's sophomore outing (as well as the excellent book it's based on) that it honestly feels like a prequel about the arrival of that story's extraterrestrial visitor and what it was like when it first began creating "Area X.".

Both films carry very similar imagery, offering alien transformations of everyday sights. The difference between Lovecraft and VanderMeer is also subtly communicated in these same visuals however, through the actual appearances of the changes themselves. In Annihilation for example, each mutation that can be found in the environment and its inhabitants has the look and therefore the feeling of nature rising up to reclaim its lost world. Here however, every metamorphosis is something your eyes immediately pick up on as being a deadly perversion brought on by an otherworldly entity. Oh, and the color palette is decidedly more neon as well.

Another distinguishing aspect is how the plots approach similar concepts from significantly different perspectives. Rather than following a cast of characters with backgrounds in the various sciences as they witness the strange new surroundings after they have already come into being, Color takes an average family who already weren't the most normal bunch to begin with (we are introduced in the opening to the daughter practicing witchcraft out in the woods) and places them at ground zero where they witness the horrors blossom around them before their very eyes. So instead of watching only the physical forms of each protagonist change or adapt to fit the twisted landscape they willingly venture into, we get to see their minds, bodies, and home warp all at once in a disturbing orgy of the surreal and horrifying that they totally didn't consent to.

Yet, for all of its grotesque and stunningly realized body horror there's a tone of playfulness running throughout the whole thing. It's clear that director and co-writer Richard Stanley wants us to laugh and shudder at the things happening to this unfortunate family, which makes some of the more ridiculous elements and Nic Cage's patented freakouts (one or two of which rank among his best) easier to swallow. In fact in regards to the latter, the qualities Cage is so often derided and mocked for are used in an appropriate manner that actually elevates the overall experience and with a knowing wink to the audience that view his schlocky projects solely for them in the process.

The only thing that didn't sit well with me about the movie is that I feel it underdelivered on a defining staple of Lovacraftian fiction. That being how knowledge is harmful and that discovering the true nature of reality or coming face-to-face with something that exists outside our perception of it will cause one to lose their mind. Here though the entity seemingly robs everyone of their sanity before they're even aware of its presence at all. I guess I wanted more of a slow descent into madness as the result of an attempt to understand what's going on, rather than a force in the shadows messing with people's heads long before it begins to step into the light.

The unasked question at the back of everyone's brain of what it would be like if a Syfy original actually lived up to its potential and managed to be good without entirely ditching the wackiness has finally been answered. Never before have disgust, bizarreness, and nervous amusement come together so delightfully. What's really impressive though is that Nicolas Cage got to step into one of those more out-there roles he seems to love while still being in a piece of quality filmmaking. Low-key, that might be what I celebrate the most.