Written by Richard Stanley and Scarlett Amaris
Directed by Richard Stanley
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Madeleine Arthur and Brendan Meyer
Running time: 1 hour and 51 minutes 

by Samuel Antezana

Richard Stanley, genre filmmaker responsible for the creation of several cult classics like Hardware (1990) and Dust Devil (1992), makes a slight comeback with his Nic Cage-starring Lovecraftian horror, Color Out of Space. The movie is, for the most part, a ton of fun and Stanley is able to create a true sense of cosmic horror, but this does not fully cover up the fact that it is a bit drawn out and the further issue of overscoring in many scenes.    

COOS follows the Gardner family, consisting of three children: Lavinia (Madeleine Arthur), Benny (Brendan Meyer), Jack (Julian Hilliard), and their parents: Theresa (Joely Richardson) and Nathan (Nicolas Cage). The Gardners live in an isolated lot in the middle of a forest, but their peaceful existence begins to disassemble after a meteor lands in their front yard, emanating an otherworldly color with horrific effects.         

Chewing on standard horror tropes such as the isolated location, the meteor crash and terror within a forest, COOS doesn’t shy away from soaking in its genre fare. This is not to say that the film suffers because of its familiar setup or backdrop. The short story by H.P. Lovecraft that Stanley draws most of the film’s material from gives him the liberty to make it as weird as he wants, and bringing Nicolas Cage into the picture to deliver another - at times - asburdly over-the-top performance definitely takes the weirdness to the next level. 

When the meteor’s color slowly starts to affect the nature, wildlife and eventually the family, the movie picks up and becomes a spectacle for the eyes with gorgeously realized visuals, heavily aided by computerized effects that never come off as fake or poorly developed. Seriously, the CGI in this film gives some Marvel films and bigger blockbusters a run for their money. There are even some practical effects in a couple of scenes, including a couple of hideously fused human and animal bodies à la John Carpenter’s The Thing. 

However, the build up to all the Lovecraftian madness seems a bit too slow for its own good. The inclusion of Ezra (Tommy Chong), a squatter on the Gardner family’s land and a young hydrologist, Ward Phillips (Elliot Knight), who is somewhat of a stand-in for the audience, further stalls the overarching conflict the meteor brings on the Gardner family dynamic. It’s doubly frustrating because, as much as I love Tommy Chong, it just looks like he’s playing a burnt up version of Leo from That ‘70s Show. Honestly, it really feels like Ezra and Ward are mainly there to drop hints to the viewers regarding how the meteor influences natural life around it. You can easily put two and two together once you figure out why Ward is there doing tests on the water, which gets contaminated by the meteor. Personally, I could see Ezra and Ward’s scenes being trimmed down to make the nearly two hour film run at a much smoother pace. 

The score by Colin Stetson is fittingly retro in such a way that it brings to mind some of the sci-fi synth movie scores from the 80s Blade Runner and Carpenter’s aforementioned The Thing. Despite the brilliant subtlety of Stetson’s original composition, there is too much of it. There are several scenes where scoring was not necessary to evoke emotional responses that the performers or scene were already creating, it actually felt like overkill at times. 

Nevertheless, COOS is worth the watch, and the Gardner family definitely has something to do with that. The Gardners are all developed incredibly well, particularly when you look at the relationship between older sister Lavinia and brother Benny, who have some memorable back-and-forth name-calling jousts that any one who grew up with siblings would instantly recognize as authentic. Cage and Richardson are also believable as the parents, bringing surprising chemistry to their parts that makes for some genuinely emotional moments. 

If you’re a fan of family dramas infused with horror like Hereditary, and you’re also a fan of Lovecraftian body horror exploits like The Void, this flick is the one for you. It’s an eye-popping visual feast laced with real cosmic dread that will be sure to entertain genre enthusiasts wanting something a bit more throwback at their local movie theater.

*In select theaters starting Friday