10/9: The Color Out of Space

So, as is evident, the train has definitely fallen off these tracks. Missed a bunch of days due to being at out of town; whodathunk that being with the in laws would keep you from watching horror movies? Anywho, I'm going to work on catching up on all my reviews today and should be all caught up ASAP. So hold on to your butts, here's my movie for 10/9 that I definitely didn't watch months ago. So stop thinking that. Shut up.

10/9

I'm a hopeless Lovecraft nerd. I have multiple Lovecraft-based boardgames (Eldritch Horror, you have my heart). I have an adorable Cthulhu stuffed animal. I try to read Call of Cthulhu and/or The Rats in the Walls every October. The second I saw that my favorite coffee brand, Deathwish, had released a Cthulhu mug, I bought it within seconds. Even the Dungeons and Dragons campaign I run is rooted in Lovecraftian mythos. I'm sure my friends are sick and tired of hearing about it. Any time a Lovecraftian movie/tv show comes out, I'm there (look for a Lovecraft Country  review coming soon.) Which brings us to Color Out of Space.

When I heard that that a Lovecraft story was being adapted into a film starring Nicholas Cage, I nearly jumped out of my skin. In the wake of Mandy and Mom and Dad, Cage is actually having a helluva moment. Pair that with Lovecraft, who in turn is having a helluva moment, and I am down.

The gist is this: an alien intelligence lands in Cage and family's new country home, turning everything to maddening neon mess. Cage is full Cage here, which is normally something I'm all about. Unfortunately though, this is paired with a movie that very much wants to be taken seriously; the alien meteorite thing is sold as terrifying, and somehow the pairing of the two often feels jarring. Is the movie a serious alien movie, ala The Thing, or is it a Nick Cage batshit fest? This is a balancing act that a movie like Mandy somehow walks perfectly and The Color Out of Space never quite figures out.

Now don't get me wrong: The Color Out of Space is not a bad movie, and in many ways is a worthy adaptation of Lovecraft's story. The past is littered with Lovecraft adaptations that fall flat on their face, and luckily this is not one of those. What it is though is a bit of a tonal mess that has damn fine moments but ultimately leaves you feeling that The Color Out of Space is a somewhat forgettable, sad look at the greatness that could have been. It's fine, and no more.

7/10