This year, my goal is to watch all of Nicolas Cage’s films and rate them on the “Nic Gauge”. Some of you are probably sitting there and thinking, “that is a lot of films” and you are correct! As of the day this article was posted, he has a total of 124.
Join us weekly in the comments and let us know if you agree with my ratings for each.
MOVIE: Color Out of Space (#5 of 124 movies)
STARRING: Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Elliot Knight, Tommy Chong, Brendan Meyer
RELEASE DATE: September 7th, 2019
WHERE TO WATCH: VOD (Shudder, Amazon Prime, iTunes)
By Justin Pomerville (2 Broke Geeks)
Color Out of Space - Poster Art
A year after “Mandy”, I had the opportunity to attend another Nic Cage film premier with the actor in attendance. This time around, it was for Color Out Of Space. A movie based on the short story by H.P. Lovecraft that follows Nathan Gardner (Cage) and his family as they deal with strange happenings around their New England home. After a meteorite lands in their front yard, their quiet forest home turns into an extremely colorful horror show.
What is really great about this film is the blend of practical effects vs special effects. There is an excellent amount of special effects that really give the film an eerie presence that feels like it comes right out of a Lovecraftian nightmare. In addition, the practical effects not only add to the experience, but there is one scene in particular that feels like they borrowed some tricks from John Carpenter's The Thing but with more alpacas than people.
As for the acting in this film, overall strong performances across the board. Nathan, played by Cage as the alpaca obsessed father, pulls out a decent performance with some of the crazy Cage mannerisms that we come to expect. The rest of the family members do a pretty reputable job as well, with the standout being Lavinia Gardner (played by Madeleine Arthur). Playing the daughter that follows witchcraft and is the first to realize that the family is slowly going into a downward spiral because of the strange happenings.
Nathan (Nic Cage) and Benny (Brendan Meyer) in Color Out of Space
The overall feeling of this film is that the effects are great, the acting is alright, and the story is pretty solid. That is all you really need to be honest. Color Out of Space is a film that sits on the border of “Good” and “OK” on the “Nic Gauge”.
