Color Out of Space

I am not a big fan of scary movies but watched the Color out of Space yesterday because I like cosmic horror and Nicolas Cage - the movie had plenty of both yet I was a bit disappointed at the end.

The story is quickly told: Nick Cage and his family - including children Lavinia, Benny, and Jack - live on his late father's farm in the middle of nowhere. One night, a weirdly colored meteor crashes into their garden and things get weird to say the least.

And weirdness is one thing this movie does really well. Theres an eerie atmosphere during the first two thirds of the movie that worked well for me. People behaving weirdly, things starting to look strange and an ever growing tension kept me on the edge of my seat. I also feel like this is an aspect of Lovecraftian horror the film captured really well, i.e. The descent into madness while reality crumbles around the protagonists. Cage has a few great moments here and his acting style really fits.

Unfortunately things get worse towards the end. People stop acting weird and start acting movie-stupid i.e. They do what the plot wants them to do regardless of their characters or common sense. The entire movie crumbles in a way, loses its unique tone and feels poorly crafted. The weird over the top finale didn't help either and I feel like the movie would have been better if they had cut the last 30 minutes. Really sad because there was a lot of potential there.

Still I recommend watching the movie. It's a fun take on Lovecraftian horror and the crazy Nicolas Cage performance fits right in.