Whether or not you know his name, H. P Lovecraft has had a rather significant influence on modern horror. The late 20th century writer is best known for his mastery of “cosmic horror,” a sort of otherworldly and existential dread that injects deep, indescribable fear into your veins.
Cosmic horror is hard to pin down, but something like 2018’s Annihilation or even 1982’s The Thing are great examples. Terrors that are almost incomprehensible in nature. Obviously, with such complex mechanisms at work in Lovecraft’s writing, it should come as no surprise that his stories can be, in many cases, impossible to adapt. But that hasn’t stopped people from trying!
Some of the most notable Lovecraftian adaptations include The Haunted Palace (1963), Re-Animator (1985), and Necronomicon (1994). More notable still are films that take great inspiration from his work. For instance, many believe that the monster from Cloverfield is based on one of Lovecraft’s most iconic monsters, the Cthulhu. In fact, many of the Cloverfield films feel pretty Lovecraftian in general!
Now, we have another new project entering the canon, and it’s based on one of Lovecraft’s more popular stories, called “The Colour Out of Space. ” Here’s all the information we’ve scraped together on the project.
The Story
“The Colour Out of Space” is a short story written by Lovecraft in 1927. The story follows a family who moves to Massachusetts. Shortly thereafter, a meteorite of sorts crashes on their land, but it’s not any ordinary rock. It begins to “infect” the town; the food that grows is inedible, animals and livestock unravel, and locals either go insane or die. We watch as the family, from the patriarch to the children, slowly crumbles to dust.
As it turns out, there have been quite a few attempts at an onscreen adaptation for this particular story. In 1965, Die, Monster, Die! attempted to capture the horror of this “blasted heath” but didn’t ultimately succeed. The Curse (1987) seemed to have stayed more loyal to the film but didn’t quite nail Lovecraft’s unique brand of terror. Colour from the Dark was a 2008 film inspired by the story but set in Italy; it was hailed as a pretty good shot at the story. And now we have the new one! Perhaps it’ll be the best attempt yet?
The Cast and Crew
The film will star the one and only Nicolas Cage and will costar Joely Richardson, Tommy Chong, Elliot Knight, Julian Hilliard, and Q’Orianka Kilcher. The cast will team up with the producers from Cage’s last major romp, Mandy, and Richard Stanley will take the helm as director.
The Release
Production is set to begin on the film next month, which means it could feasibly be finished by the end of the year! We’re potentially looking at a bone-chilling January unleash, y’all.
