The career trajectory of Nicolas Cage has been one of the most exciting in film history, a lovable eccentric who after a decade of middling roles saw a rather remarkable resurgence. The actor has earned many accolades, from mainstream hits to cult smashes. Among the actor’s work over the past decade, the horror genre has notably welcomed the actor. From the animatronic killing machine of Willy’s Wonderland to his bold and unconventional performance in the recent hit Longlegs, Cage has become synonymous with the genre for many horror fans.

However, one performance and movie have flown under the radar despite coming out when people were starting to recognize Cage’s dominance in the horror genre; that film is Color Out of Space. We will examine the Lovecraftian nightmare that is Color Out of Space, why you should watch it, and why it remains one of Cage’s most underrated performances.

Color Out of Space Plot and Cast

The Gardner family lives a relatively relaxed existence on a secluded farm in Massachusetts. However, when a strange meteor crashes on their property, the bizarre color it emits begins to seep into their land and water, changing all the animals and crops. Things turn horrific when the family members start to experience similar, frightening changes to their bodies and begin behaving erratically. The head of the household, Nathan (Nicolas Cage), becomes the primary one affected, forcing the family to deal with his increasingly violent behavior and extreme body mutations.

“They told me this in Arkham, and because that is a very old town, full of witch legends, I thought the evil must be something which grandams had whispered to children through centuries. Then I saw the dark westward tangle of glens and slopes for myself and ceased to wonder at anything besides its own elder mystery.” Elliot Knight as Ward Phillips

Nicolas Cage plays the head of the household, Nathan. This role came only a year after what many consider Cage’s big comeback and induction into becoming one of the most beloved horror actors in the cult hit Mandy. Joely Richardson plays Theresa, the mother of the family. Richardson is best known for her role in Nip/Tuck, where she played Julia McNamara. The family’s kids, Lavina, Benny, and Jack, are played by Madeleine Arthur, Brendan Meyer, and Julian Hilliard. Rounding out the cast are Elliot Knight (who also happens to have the best lines), Tommy Chong, Josh C. Waller, and Q’orianka Kilcher.

Richard Stanley directed the movie. Stanley is a sort of a beloved madman for cult movie fans, having been behind the fan favorites Dust Devil and Hardware, but his infamy rests with the doomed project that came with his removal from 1996’s The Island of Dr. Moreau (via Morbidly Beautiful). Color Out of Space saw the director returning after over a two-decade absence, with his last narrative feature coming via 1992’s Dust Devil. The movie was based on the work of iconic horror creator H.P. Lovecraft.

An Impressively Creative Lovecraft Adaptation

When people think of the work of Lovecraft on the screen, certain movies spring to mind, whether it be the over-the-top chaotic gore spectacle that is Re-Animator or the dark-gothic story of an ancient god rising in 2005’s The Call of Cthulhu. Yet Color Out of Space, which is more of a blend of the horror authors’ Mythos and Dream Cycle works, offers a unique blend of cosmic and metaphysical horror. This has made the writings of an already difficult-to-adapt author even more challenging.

“What touched this place cannot be quantified or understood by human science. It was just a color out of space. A messenger from realms whose existence stuns the brain and numbs us with the gulfs that it throws open before our frenzied eyes.” Elliot Knight as Ward Phillips

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However, Richard Stanely touched on many aspects that make Lovecraft alluring, even delivering on the concept of ‘a color beyond human comprehension’ with a degree of believability. Of course, the famous author’s work remains impossible to adapt in its truest sense, and Richard Stanley throws in plenty of practical body horror effects to make the audience squirm. Still, Color Out of Space remains one of the best Lovecraft adaptations, with a healthy dose of sensational and gross-out effects to appease horror hounds.

Why Color Out of Space Is So Underrated

As mentioned, at this point in his career, Nicolas Cage had re-established and set himself up as a horror actor in Panos Cosmatos’s Mandy (a film that also drew influence from Lovecraft’s brand of terror). However, Color Out of Space did not garner nearly as much attention as Mandy. Looking at scores on Letterboxd, you can see 220,000+ users have rated Mandy, with 113,000+ logging Color Out of Space. Both movies are also close in rating, with 3.6 for Mandy and 3.2 for Color Out of Space. Similarly, the two movies are also fresh with critics, with Mandy at 90% and Color Out of Space at 86%.

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The critical success and positive fan reception still show a wide divide between how many people checked out the movie. The simple answer for this is that while both received a limited theatrical release, word-of-mouth led to Mandy getting greater attention, while Color Out of Space did not generate the same buzz. In addition, the work of Lovecraft, though highly influential across the entire genre, is arguably more niche than just a movie labeled horror without evoking an author’s name. Color Out of Space is also not precisely an eye-catching name that alludes to the horrors within.

This is unfortunate, given that Nicolas Cage’s performance is fantastic and on par with his other recent indie horror movies. While not always the case, Cage has found an exciting character niche as an eccentric, sometimes dopey, father-like figure who devolves into a chaotic form; you can see this in Mandy, Mom and Dad, and Willy’s Wonderland, for example. In Color Out of Space, he fills this role exceptionally well, turning from a doting father into an uninhibited monster. For fans of Nicolas Cage as a horror actor, Color Out of Space remains among his best.

Where to Watch Color Out of Space
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Don’t sleep on Color Out of Space. For fans of Lovecraft, the work is one of the best adaptations; those who appreciate practical effects will enjoy the spectacle of extreme body transformations; fans of Nicolas Cage will enjoy the passion and intensity he brings to the production. You can stream Color Out of Space on AMC+, Shudder, or Hoopla.