Review: The Colour/Color Out of Space (2020)

Stars: Nic Cage, Joely Richardson

 
Budget: $6-12 Million

Directed By: Richard Stanley

If ever a film was a Nic Cage vehicle it was this one, if you want some manic guy to play a role which needs disbelief then total belief in the same film this is you man. Type cast?

Maybe, but the guy is a powerhouse of his role, of which, no one else compares, even closely.

Based on a short story from non other than H.P. Lovecraft that tells the tale of a vicious sentient color/colour from space. It has the ability to transmogrify anything it come into contact with, with it's strange radioactivity.

The story has been adapted many times but non so close to the original work (except the date/location) as this one. Other adaptions are Die, Monster, Die! in 1965, The Curse! in 1987, The Colour in the Dark in 2008 and a few more up until this version. I can't seem to find out any information why there's such a large discrepancy between the budget amounts. The other supporting cast play a massive role too, Tommy Chong though a small part is effectively used too as is Joely Richardson.

When a man suffering a mid life crisis just after his wife has had a mastectomy he decides to up sticks and move to an old house. It was once owned by Nathans (Nic) father is in a little disrepair but he intends to fix'er up and grow their own produce too.

He strangely takes to alpaca farming too, of course the kids are a little adverse to this change as they always are. Then one night a meteor drops right in their front yard, is struck by many bolts of lightening then it kind of disappears into the ground.

Where unknown for a while if infects the water supplies nearby. Anyone drinking the water begins to mutate, from the pants, the alpacas and even Nathans family.

Ward a hydrologist and the Sheriff come to see the meteor, Ward notices the water seems strange he tests the water which is found out to be possibly infected by the meteor. Weird things start to happen such as time fluctuations, mutated vile tasting plants and the alpacas mutating into some weird wiggly mess.

One by one the family succumb to this strange mutation too, though Vivian the daughter, a practicing Wicca does try to help with her spells. Unfortunately to no avail. 

Ward tries to warn them a little later but is it to little to late?

A good adaptation of the book and some great performances by the cast and crew, well worth a watch if you like the surreal and the macabre. 

THN awards The Colour/clolor Out of Space 4 out of 5 stars

Review: Candyman 3: Day of the Dead (1999)

Stars: Tony Todd, Donna D'Errico

Budget: unknown

Directed By: Turi Meyer

Weirdly this sequel is based in our year of 2020 (if only they knew!) a full 25 years after the last film. Though only made in 1999.
I've not been able to find much on the budget or how much this sequel made. It did only have limited cinema release in the US, can't find info if it was released anywhere else.

No actors of any consequence starred in this either except of course Tony Todd as the titular Candyman again. We do get Donna D'Errico of Baywatch fame who for me was about the only recognizable face.

So far this movie hasn't been regarded as good, so I thought it'll be a good reason to give it a watch again and to be totally honest I couldn't remember if i'd actually even seen it all those years back.

This time it revolves around Caroline McKeever who is Annie's daughter from the last movie. She owns a gallery in Los Angles somehow the Candyman returns to claim he soul to stay with him as she's a full reincarnation of his own daughter.
He starts doing his usual schtick of killing people involved with her just like he does in part 1 and 2, except this time some people actually cotton on to whats going on. Midway they capture Caroline then call on the Candyman to take her so that the murders stop.

The Candyman kills everyone but her then reveals to her how he came back, that Annie summoned him back from the dead then he killed her making it look like suicide. He then tells her all the other people he killed, including members of her family, Caroline screams that she'll kill him. He vanishes leaving Caroline escape.

Now that is pretty much the whole movie right there in a nutshell so we won't spoil it any further. If you like the first and/or second of these movies it's a good stopping point of the series, though it's by far the worst of the bunch. He now resides in the pictures of the gallery, foreshadowing for the new film? 

THN wards Candyman 3 a mediocre 2 out of 5 stars.