There seems to be a new breed of film out there, or maybe its always been there, we just haven’t tapped into its potential yet, that’s a bridge between grindhouse, dark matter science fiction and old school horror, but somewhere in between it all, there Nicolas Cage.
Adapted from and based loosely on the story by H.P Lovecraft, the colour or color that is from out of space is something that lands on earth in the shape or appearance of a meteorite, landing smack bang in the middle of a forest which also happens to be the front garden of the Gardener family. Not long after this, colour appears, strange things begin to happen, which soon turn to grotesque and as its Cage here, highly amusing. In the midst of all the hell the family are experiencing, a hydrologist is in the local area surveying the land for a reservoir that has been planned by the local politicians. He serves as the narrator, book ending this very odd story and film. Never providing clarity but even more mystery.
There is no doubt that the audience who saw ‘Mandy’ will be flocking to this offering from Richard Stanley. Especially the two films not only share style and genres, in some ways, but they also share Cage. He isn’t quite the glue that holds the film together, that burden is given to Madeleine Arthur who plays his daughter, Lavinia. But Cage has a presence that not many actors have. He is both fantastic and abysmal at the same time. You can’t help but hang on his every line as they are be weird, profound and incredibly funny. This may be the writing but as it feels like a role made for Cage, its mostly him and his charisma. Cage really does go all the way, complete with several moments of insanity and screaming while hitting things. But the extra special zest in his performance is his random Trump impression that serves in the story as an impression of his character’s father.
Moving away from Cage, the film itself is gory and disgusting in all the right places. For an alien horror film it serves up the right amount of each genre to keep you entranced, literally as the colours, are beautiful. Having the main antagonist as a colour is difficult in itself but you really do feel the pain, terror an dread and that even before the body horror elements kick in. There is sense of ‘why’ but ultimately it doesn’t matter. The story, as it unfolds, is a slow burn which you appreciate over the films that feel the need to rush to climax. Hopefully we’ll see more of this obscure genre hybrid in other films, and hopefully more Cage too for good measure.