Nick Cage Meets Cosmic Horror In Rural New England

A meteor lands in a quiet New England front yard and suddenly the scariest thing on the farm isn’t the darkness, it’s the color. We’re talking Color Out Of Space (2019), the Nicolas Cage cosmic horror ride that starts with city people playing farmer and ends in full Lovecraftian nightmare logic where the rules of nature stop making sense.

We break down what “cosmic horror” actually means, why H P Lovecraft’s stories hit that nerve of helplessness, and how the film translates that into warped space time, contaminated water, and escalating body horror. Along the way, we call out the moments that made us laugh out loud, including the now infamous alpaca milking scene, and the absurdity of watching a serious crisis get flattened by small town authority and media spin. The mayor shrugs, the news edits the story into a joke, and the family’s very real fear gets reframed as craziness.

Then we get honest about what didn’t work for us: uneven character development, confusing motivations, and a danger response that stays weirdly low even as the situation becomes impossible to ignore. We debate the hydrologist’s role as the only person trying to act like a grown up, the daughter’s Wiccan rituals and what they suggest about fate versus coincidence, and the “dog in the well” moment that feels like walking straight into a neon sign that says trap. We also talk about the film’s choices around Lovecraft’s legacy, including the significance of who gets to survive.

If you like movie reviews, horror podcast conversations, and messy films that still give you a lot to argue about, press play. Subscribe for more, share this with a friend who loves Nick Cage, and leave us a review. What scene stuck with you most, the funniest beat or the most disturbing transformation?

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Transcript

 Welcome to Second Emulation 📍 Hi, hello, welcome to Second Emulation! Okay, you are just so lucky right now, because you are literally about to spend, like, the best time with my amazing friend, Shawn. He is, like, the expert on all things movies, anime, and gaming, and he just has, like, the best opinions. Seriously, talking to him is, like, a whole thing, in the best way. So, get comfy, maybe with a little drink—I don't know, a kombucha, a latte, whatever is your thing—because Shawn is going to take you on, like, a total journey. Movie Pick and Hosts All right, I wanna welcome you all back to another episode of Second Immolation. I wanna thank Emily for that great introduction, and today's movie is another Nic Cage crazy character movie called Your Spa- or Your Color Space, which is a HP Lovecraft written story about cosmic horror. Mind you, it was very interesting. So I think the movie's called Color Out of Space, but- I, I- Uh, it, but fine, let's get into it. I, I, yes, let's get into it, but I was close. And who are you again? I'm Shawn. And I'm Kiley. We're the h- I'm the host. That's my sister's co-host, and I was close. Just for these movie rides. Yes. W- as we journey- You were, you were close, but Color Out of Space is what it's called. Yes. And it is a movie that came out in 2019, so I guess l- let's get into it. Lovecraft and Cosmic Horror You said it was a cosmic... Cosmic horror. Cosmic horror. Which is a, I don't know if the premise, so the premise of the film is, I don't think it's in a, if the, it, I think it's a book from HP Lovecraft, and, uh, you may have to, you know, either correct me on this, I could be wrong, but it may be a direct adaptation from HP Lovecraft's story. I know that it was, it is based off of HP Lovecraft, because the guy who directed it did confirm as such, that he wanted to make a trilogy of movies based off of HP Lovecraft. So this is, comes from it. Now, which story it comes from, not entirely certain. I think cosmic horror is probably on par for, for, um, HP Lovecraft, as he definitely has, he def- that's what he wrote. Like, a lot of, his biggest fear, I think they used to say, or he, he said, they have him quoted saying, is the fear of the unknown, and just being out of control. And that's a lot of the stuff that, or out of not having power or control in our own hands, which is something that happens with cosmic, uh, entities, 'cause we're truly, we, we have no control over it, and, um, we have no power in that situation. So yeah, uh, that's his, that's his thing. Also, he's a racist, but we don't need to talk about that right now. We can get into it as we, as we move forward. Uh, so- Correction. I, I, I did some digging, and yes, it is a book. Okay, so it's based off of an actual book. Yeah, so it is based- I mean, I don't read HP Lovecraft for this exact reason, of what we're going to discuss in the movie. Well, I just had to, I, I just had to confirm, because the, the summary did, you know- because it, it pulled a little bit of, um... I was reading, like, Aliens Out of Space, and the trailer did say it was H.P. Lub- Lovecraft. And H.P. Lovecraft does a lot of cosmic horror, so I wasn't sure if, if it was, like, a gener- like, an original idea. And normally H.P. Lovecraft has a lot of books, and so I just had to confirm that, yes, it was a book. Yeah. Yeah. So it was previously a book. I mean, it's either a book or a short story. I knew it was something that came from him. So I guess that. So if you wanna read it, it's based off of a book. Either way- And this fits perfectly with Nic Cage. I feel like Nic Cage should just be connected with all H.P. Lovecraft's, books or projects. Like, if something's that's H.P. Lovecraft, Nic Cage should just, like, be, "Yeah, I'll do it." You know? I think he was... I think he does a lot of things already that he- He, uh, he just says yes to a lot. Synopsis Meteor and Color So, um, this movie's actually not that old. It came out in 2019. It's directed by someone who I think took a long, like, a long tenure between movies, between his last movie and this one. Um, and the synopsis is... It literally just says, "It will consume you." And then it talks about how the Gardner family, which is w- uh, which is Nic Cage's family I guess moves to a remote farmstead in rural New England. We were trying to figure out where this was supposed to be for the longest time, and I thought it was a fictional place. Because the way the movie opens is just very different. So they, they move there to kinda get away from, from, I guess, the 21st century, and I... For a while there, I thought it was in the past until I re- I saw smartphones. So they're, like, in this house adapting to life on the farm when they're hit with a meteorite that, like, kinda crashes into their, their front yard, and it infects the land with, um, some space-time otherworldly pink color. And then before you know it, there's creatures and, and thi- l- the light and things happening to- It, it wasn't pink. It was like- It was, like, fuchsia ... it was, like, purple. That's so fuchsia. Like, bright pink-purple is what I would call it. We're being attacked by the color purple. Yeah. Huh, yeah. The color purple. Pink-purple is what I would put it in. So let's get into it. Cast Faces and Budget It stars Nic Cage, and there were apparently other people in there that looked familiar, but we didn't really know. We didn't really know them. Did you know who they were? No. Like, to be honest, I feel like a lot of budget goes into Nic Cage. I think Cheech or Chong- Oh, yeah. Ch- It was... I think it was Cheech. Cheech was in it. Cheech was there. No, no. It was Chong. It was Chong. Okay. Chong was there, but, like- A lot of budget went to, like, Chong and then Nic Cage Well, then the woman who plays his wife, I've seen her in other things She was in Jurassic Park. That's not L- Laura Dern. Yeah. No, that's not Laura Dern. Are you sure? I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure she was in The Patriot. She's not Laura Dern. Laura Dern is a better actress. No offense. She's perfectly fine. This lady was in, uh, 101 Dalmatians. Anyway, while he looks into that, that's not... She was not the person that was in Jurassic Park. Don't be misled. Don't put Laura Dern in the same category as this lady. Her name's Joely Richardson. But anyway, she has one of those faces, you know, kinda like, um- She's correct. Yeah, of course I'm correct. Kinda like Judy Greer- I think- ... except Judy Greer is- They have, like, the- ... also a better actress. But- I think it's the face, uh, of the- It's the facial. It's the blonde hair and the white face and the colored eyes, yeah. Uh, but, which again, Judy Greer. Judy Greer's been in a lot of movies, but Judy Greer is, like, constantly playing the friend in movies, so she's basically in everything. Judy Greer was in one of the new Jurassic Park movies, but that's neither here nor there. So yeah. So you kind of have some people that look familiar. Some people... it... I didn't... It gives the impression that there was almost a big budget. I don't know. Anyway, let's get into it. Alpaca Farming Madness What, what do you, um... What, did you have any favorite scenes? There's just so many to choose from, I feel like, in this movie. Oh, yeah, I'm sure. But, uh, I think more so was that right off the bat was finding out that Nic Cage was an alpaca farmer. Yeah, that was the part that gets me. You know, uh, that is funny. I always wondered, I wanna know for people who try to Henry David Thoreau it, if they can tell me why they always try to farm or do something that they very clearly have zero experience with, that also isn't something that makes sense. Like, if you're gonna become a farmer, I know, like, big companies own, own like beef and things like that, but starting with alpacas? Wouldn't you, like, start with sheep first? Something small or easy. It's like trying to raise camels. You don't know anything about camels. Mm-hmm. You don't know anything about alpacas. At one point he's trying to milk the alpacas, which- That, that- ... I don't even- ... that goes into one of my favorite. Oh. Hydrologist and Alpaca Milk So favorite scene is there's this, w- not... Was it hydraulic? There's a hy- Hydrologist ... hydrologist. Yeah. This guy goes onto their, to their property. And obviously, like, he's there to study the water. Nic Cage sees him, brings him. Like, "Hey, uh, well, we're getting ready to, like, milk- Alpacas, which I didn't know was a thing. So- Well, I guess you can milk anything ... I'm learning this- 'Cause- I'm learning this, and everyone else who's gonna listen to this episode is gonna learn this too. So Nic Cage is excited, 'cause I mean, as a grown man, as Nic Cage should be, to milk alpacas is. So as he takes him to the, the stables, and he's sitting down, and he's having a very casual conversation with this man, and he's milking the alpacas, saying that, you know, "It's very common to, you know, that alpacas make milk. They don't produce a lot of milk." I did not know that. This guy who he's talking to, he's looking him s- you know, dead in the eyes as he's talking, with a smile on his face. And- Yeah ... the guy looks very uncomfortable. And then when he's done, he gets up, and he goes, "It's very healthy," like, you know, "It's very good milk." And he then proceeds to offer, you know, the guy, "Hey, you want some of the milk?" The g- the guy says no. He, and Nic Cage, I don't know how many takes they had to do for this, but Nic Cage goes, "I guess more for me," and just takes a gulp. Like, knocks it back like he's taking a shot. Oh, that's so weird. And then, "Ah." Yeah. I don't know, I don't know if he's aware that that should, you should probably, like... I imagine- No pasteurized milk I was gonna say, I imagine you have to pasteurize, like 'cause you do that with cow milk. That he, he- Like, filter that stuff like, I'm not sure how many takes they had to do. Well, obviously it's probably not real alpaca milk. I know, it's probably not real alpaca milk. But like, how many takes they had to go for, like to get that right? Well, I mean, I feel like too, a lot of creature, or not creatures, a lot of mammals probably m- milk their young. Like, you know, produce milk. That's what- Mm-hmm ... humans do when they're breastfeeding. But it's just crazy, 'cause I, it's not a very, it's not a very common thing for us to consume. Mm-hmm. So I'm so surprised he chose to milk it instead of, I don't know, using the alpaca wool to create stuff, because that's what I, we most know alpacas for. Mm-hmm. Is for their is for, like wool, like alpaca socks and sweaters, and you can, he could probably make a decent amount of money from that. Like, you would think he would have sheared them, but no, he was, he was milking them. It kinda makes me think of Meet the Parents when Ben Stiller's character's talking about milking the cat. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And Robert De Niro's character's like, "You milked the cat?" Yeah, it's like that, but he just seems to have so much joy in it, and it makes zero sense. I'm like- Yeah ... "Oh, okay." It's one of those things where you're like these are definitely people who came from the city who thought this is what being on a farm meant, so this is what they're doing. But it's like they did no research at all, and they are completely unaware, and they're just doing their best. Well, Ni- this is Nic Cage's livelihood. His character's livelihood is this is what they're doing. His wife is, like, doing something else. She is a an asset manager for, like, stocks for people's, like, portfolios, which is v- which is why they're able to, like, live there, and he's able to, like, do this as a hobby and, at some point, make profit from the alpacas and their milk and fur. Well, he probably, uh... I mean, I imagine that they can be... I, I mean, I Googled it, and it can be. They do use it. It's considered, like, a very rich, rare type of milk. But he just doesn't have enough to produce it to sell like that to make a profit. It seems like high risk, low reward in this scenario. That's the thing, like, he probably has to stock up. But his wife is, like, a stock trader, so they clearly... She's clearly doing a modern-day job, and they seem to still be okay. Kids Wicca and The Well And the kids are all kinda weird. When it co- opens to it, it's the daughter is doing a... This is why I thought the movie was old, in the old times. She's doing, like, a Wiccan ritual, and she's in a cape. And I thought that maybe this was, like, the 1800s, 'cause she's riding a horse and she's barefoot, and that's when she meets the hydraulic, uh, hydrolysist, hydrologist, whatever. They, she meets that guy, and so I thought that she was, it was an olden time movie, but no, she just prefers to, she's invested in that re- religion. Before we go a little too off-topic, what is your favorite scene since I kinda went on a, on a tangent on mine? Mine is pff. I wouldn't say it's my favorite, but I thought it was a... Sure, why not? When the, um, when the... Huh, I'm trying to think of which one- Oh, when the kid is... I, I guess when the kid, the youngest child, is outside talking to the well or whatever the creatures are in the well, and the guy comes to visit, the hydrologist comes to visit to talk to the family because he's run some tests on the water and he realizes it's not sanitary. And he's like, "What are you doing?" And the kid's like just giggling, and is like, "I'm just talking to my friends in the well." And the guy's like, "Okay." Uh, and it made me laugh because it's very much a, a kid thing to say. Uh, children tend to have like... And we kind of write it off when kids say crazy things. Even, uh, my niece, because you're like, oh, they're seeing things that we aren't seeing 'cause they have imagination. They have this whole other world, like this, this whole fantasy world where stuff seems real to them, so we can just ignore it. But in that case, the kid really was talking to something that was there. Uh, and so it was funny 'cause the guy was just like, "Oh, you're kinda crazy, but all right." And that's, I feel like that's the only time we really ever... Like, imagine a grown adult saying that. You would think that the grown adult was unwell. But a kid saying it, you're like, oh, okay, the kid's probably just pretending. And I, I liked that. That was one of my favorite ones. I was like, where has the childish exuberance gone in adults beat out of us? No, I'm kidding. Yeah, I liked that. That kid looked so familiar too, and it took me forever to realize he's the kid from, who played one of the twins from WandaVision. Yes, and he was also in Sleep Doctor. Oh, yeah. Well, I di- I don't, I didn't watch that movie, but- Yeah, he's the one- ... he was in WandaVision. He was one of the sons- He- ... that she manifests ... dies in that movie. Why would you spoil that? Anyway- ... what, do you have another second- Yeah, I, um- ... favorite scene? What was it? Mayor Reporters and Dismissal It's, um, I think it's after the fact that the meteorite hits, and the fact like, for something to impact, like, the area, his family, Nic Cage's family, like, well, Nic Cage himself is like, make it out to be like a big deal. Like, oh, we need to like, what is this? What's going on? Every- the mayor, and everyone's like, "Oh, not much a lot." Yeah. You know? They're all like, "Oh made a crater." And he's like, "Shouldn't we like get someone to research and figure out like if this is going to affect my land?" And the mayor- I, I say this is my favorite scene because it kinda shows you, like, how the peasants, I will say, like, the common people or the working people as opposed to, like, government. So here's something that came from outer space, and he's like, "This is on my property, you know? What can you do to, like, ensure the safety of my, my family?" And the, the mayor's there doing a survey. She's like, okay, she has cops there and, saying that someone will be there tomorrow. He goes, "Well, is there anywhere we can go?" And she goes, "No, everything's fine." And as she's leaving, 'cause they have reporters, she goes, "You should have sold this p- to, to me, a year ago," which is, like, an offhand comment. Yeah, that was odd. And not showing, like, real concern for his family as that, you know, they could have just been moved somewhere in case, like, Kinda dismissing that his concerns were very valid, which then made him kinda dismiss his own concerns. Like, oh, it's not that, you know, serious. If she didn't show any concerns, he didn't show any concerns, even though he was concerned in the beginning, but she dismissed it. Her only concern was having reporters come. Well, not concern, her desire. That was her only desire was that reporters come. Yeah. So he, he was, he was ser- he's like, he was concerned when he went outside, and then after that, like, seeing a whole bunch of people there, it kind of, like, slowly dismissed it, and then he wasn't as concerned 'cause he thought she was gonna take care of it. And then he went on with his day, but just, like, seeing how things were handled. So that was kind of like, I, I, I view that as, like, my favorite scene, just because you c- you kinda see, like, the difference in their approaches. 'Cause it just, that's when it, that leads into, like, oh, the alpacas, his weird a- alpacas. News Edit and Body Horror Um, I would say my actual, like, other favorite scene, I think the ones that I enjoyed were the ones that made me laugh, was when the reporters... He's watching the news report after the reporters have come and spoken to him, and, uh, the stuff that he's saying, they've cut it in a very specific way. Yeah, that's, that's exactly. Yeah, where it was just very, like, he comes off as a nut. Like, he's talking about, oh, i- it's a meteor- it's a meteorite, but they make it seem like he's talking about, like, it's an alien, an otherworldly creature, which it ends up actually being, so that's the irony. And underneath the caption for his name, uh, it just puts that he's a UFI- a UFO, like, Enthusiast enthusiast, yeah. And he's like, "That's not true." And it's just very funny 'cause he's getting so upset, and his hair looks terrible. And he's like, "Why didn't anyone give me a comb?" And he's clearly... Like, they just clearly made him look like an absolute fool. But Nic Cage does a really good job of being frustrated and then also appearing, like, funny. Like, the... It was a funny part, uh, of an otherwise movie that's, going to be weird. Whenever you think about H.P. Lovecraft, he's definitely gonna do some weird body horror. He often does a lot of things that have to do with, like, body horror and, and, uh, being what do you call it, dem- uh Deformed deformed, deformed in some way. And he's... I mean, he was a huge xenophobe and also extremely racist, and very afraid of the space and all that stuff, which comes across in his work. But yeah, you know stuff's about to get weird. But at least there was that, that... I, uh, I think the, that was the, probably the director and the writers put in, like, a moment of, of just humor, and I thought that was funny and really dark. Because very shortly after the mom accidentally... It starts beginning, like, the mom accidentally cuts off two of her fingers. And it's immediate from there. You know you're about to get into some stuff. Yeah. That would be my favorite scene was that. I would say, and to highlight it, it's not a favorite scene, but it's a favorite way of just Nic Cage where as he devolves and gets more and more in- consumed with whatever this entity is, he starts to sound more and more like Donald Trump to me. Like, his voice just change- His crazy voice is very weird. I was like, "Oh, he sounds like Donald Trump." And I kept thinking that the entire time towards the, the end where he was, like, screaming. I was like, "He sounds like Donald Trump. I'm so confused." So yeah, I just thought that was funny 'cause it is very... I feel like Nic Cage is the kind of person who's, like, all in or not in at all, but he's very often all in, and he just makes some really extreme choices. Then I'm like, "I think that this could have been played differently." But you know what? I'm here for it. I'm here for you, Nic Cage. Uh, so yeah, that's, that was one, one of my favorite scenes. But going back to what you said your favorite scene was about the news report that they played, was that was a we- that was weaponized also to deter people from taking him seriously, like, the severity of what just occurred. Because then, it n- after that, no one came by, like, to, to see if they were okay. They just assumed he was crazy, and they steered clear from him. True. ' Cause after that, you know- Well, I mean, they're also supposed to be, like, in a rural area. So when he's the, the mayor and them are leaving, he asks them for a, for, like, a doctor for his son because his son, his youngest son, is acting weird and is feeling unwell. And she's like, "I don't know. You're gonna have to, like, go into town for that." Like, she's no help at all, which again, I guess, highlights the lack of concern. But I guess it's supposed to showcase how far away from society they are or from everyone else, which also makes it more strange that this hydrologist just came out of nowhere, uh- Mm-hmm and was available. And the daughter also... Uh, this is weird too. They seemingly put the daughter as having a crush on him, which is also odd, but I guess that's an... It's not a favorite scene, I just thought it was interesting. Some of the choices they made, I was just like, "Huh. Well, this is kinda, it was kinda all right." Yeah. Occult Themes and Summoning The, the, the tone was like we established that the movie, you know, has what is H.P. Lovecraft, which his genre is like sets a lot of the cosmic horror, the occult, Yeah ... aliens. So there's, you know- And that's all of it, 'cause she is a Wicca, a Wiccan, she says in the movie. Yeah. So she, did, she was, did perform some... It's like Wiccan, like a, in the beginning of the film she's- She's doing something, but then later she also, like, she also harms herself in a ritual to try to protect her family, and it does nothing. Yeah. It- And I don't know if that's meant to be, like, a commentary on, on, like, faith, uh, versus, what- whatever that faith is versus the unknown. Like, we truly have no power no matter what we're doing. I think that in that w- or also to be like she herself did not know what she was doing. Like, she hadn't fully understanding. I mean, she's a teenager- Yeah. Like, I think it's m- ... trying to do stuff, and, like, really marking herself- ... in ways that are very... You know, at one point she's cutting to, to get blood, and she cuts down the road, not across the street on her arm, which is a terrible saying, but it's often what people say when they're... You know, you don't wanna hit, like, an important vein, and she cuts the wrong way where she could kill herself very easily. ' Cause it could be two-fold. We could say at the beginning of the movie that what we saw his daughter doing, like, the so-call, we can call it a, a ritual that could've been considered, like, what she did conjured and brought whatever it was to the place. Summoned it in some way. Fate vs Free Will That's what you could say, but also, like, I think the- the whole thing is that it's, it was probably going to happen no matter what. See, that's the whole thing with H.P. Lovecraft- Mm-hmm ... is that it's the- It's like a multiple choice. Yeah. Like, are you... Did I cause it? Uh, or am I being like too, um, believing too highly in myself that I was the reason that attracted this? There's nothing you could do, uh, whether it be... it's almost like e- a lot of his stuff is you're either someone who you can look at it as someone who was destined to be there, and it was like fate and you caused this, or you just happen to be part of the story of what was already happening, and that's kinda like what his stuff is sometimes. So I... It really depends, I think, on the person who's watching. Funniest Nic Cage Moments But yeah, there was, there was a lot of things, which I'll get into with my least favorite parts. But yeah, my favorite part, scenes are the ones that had humor, and I think Nic Cage is good at humor when he, when he isn't trying really hard to be good at humor. And he allows himself to just, you know, exist in the, in some of these films. Or maybe he's really good at humor when he's trying to be serious. Maybe that's what it is. Who knows? What about you? Did you have any least favorite scenes? E- hmm, trying to think. Yeah, I th- I believe I did have a least favorite scene, and- You... I was gonna say, only one? No, no. The Dog Well Trap I, I, I, I'm thinking about it, because I don't know if this was, like, if this was really even necessary or if it was just a plot to get rid of someone that they didn't really need. But it was towards the end of the film, end of the movie, and spoiler alert, I don't know if anyone's gonna watch this movie or not. But the brother, the older brother, you know, they lose their dog. Oh, yeah. And they're about to, like, you know, leave the f- their property, and this creature at the end of the well, you know, mimics their dog. And, you know, the oldest, the oldest brother has a huge connection to the dog 'cause, that's his, uh, companion. He's, he loves his dog. And they, him and his sister both know that this thing can mimic. It's, um, you know, it's been messing around with their minds, making them see things, you know, and they're ready to go. Why is it when you're, you got one foot out the door and you're about to leave, he hears it, and he goes, "It sounds..." His w- the words of a dead man goes- I think I hear my dog down there. It sounds like it's her. I'm just gonna go down there, grab it, and crawl up the well. There was no point. Yeah, he goes down the well, and then he gets- He, he- ... consumed by the thing ... it was like you... It... Everything he did up until that point was, like, was just a wash. He- I mean, it's, I would argue that almost everything they all did was a wash 'cause it didn't... They, the car's not working, so they couldn't escape that way. They should have just walked. Eh, but they didn't do that. And then she has a horse that she, they decide they're gonna ride, but the horse gets scared away, so then they don't have that anymore. I, I would argue that they didn't actually really try hard enough to leave, in my opinion. But... That, I just the last two had the most opal- opportunity to leave, and I felt like that's the way you go out was just, like, he, it just made you feel like, okay, you know with everything you've seen, the most obvious trap that's gonna get you, like, you know you're gonna get tricked, and that's the most obvious thing. And you know it is, but you're just gonna go into it anyways. Yeah. That's, and that's, I feel like, ugh. Well, I guess that kinda ties into some of my least favorite scenes in the movie, and a lot of it has to do, I think- And the worst part, like, when the thing, when he's like halfway down, and the thing you, you can see in the character's eyes like, like when they're playing that motion part, and the light starts to illuminate. And he's like, "Uh-oh, goggles on." And, and the sister's like, "Come up," and he's like, "I'm done for." And so, like, that point, that was like, that was my least favorite scene just because, like, there was no reason to have that part when you know, It was like I don't know if it was like a gotcha moment. Like, we just- Well- We, we just need a way to get rid of him or to, to kill him off. Or move the plot forward. There could've been a better way. Character Development Problems Well, anyway, that, like I was saying- ... that ties into some of my favor- uh, the least favorite scenes in the movie, which predominantly have, surround the lack of character development. So I, there's two things I think was happening with the f- with the film. One is I think that it's really hard to do, like, a, like any type of horror film or cosmic horror or any kind of alien type of thing because you either have to have people, like- invested in, in the mystery or invested in the horror. So either they, they get scared or they have to care about the people that are in the film, right? And if you don't have one, you wanna have the other. I think this film tried to do both, and it didn't succeed because there were parts where they did a little too much trying to develop these characters that, but then took it nowhere. So it made no sense. With the daughter being a Wiccan, and then also at one point they believe her... She gets made fun of for having a crush on the hydrologist. Like, it's just none of that really makes sense. Or the mom being, like working for... She's, like, a stock trader. That also doesn't make sense. It's just stuff that they, that they put that I don't think necessarily... Like, I think they were adding facts to try to make us feel connected to them so that when these moments did happen, you would feel, like, a sense of, you know- Oh, yeah sadness or even just a sense of fear for them or something or whatever, but it just, there wasn't, there was just not enough, and I think that- The oldest brother was, like, studying he had a map of the galax- Yeah ... like, astrology ... of the galaxy, and they- And then never brought it up ever again. Yeah, and he also smoked too much weed. Like, they, you know, it was, it was stuff like that that I was like, "Okay, you're, you're trying to, to get people invested in the children," which is fair, because they're gonna be a big part of this moving forward, but then they also, he was also, the director's also trying to, to play, like, the hor- the horror card. And in order to also lead away with that, you have to pull away from some of the other things. So there's, it's a short film. There's realistically no way you're gonna have, like, five characters be fully represented. You're gonna have to cut somewhere, right? And I really think it would've just worked better if it focused on the relationship the parents had with their kids more so, and we saw the fear of the parents for their children. That probably would've worked more. But instead, it just ended up being kinda like a mess. So then I think you're meant to f- I don't think it was throwaway. I think we're meant to feel bad that the boy goes down in the well or be scared for him, but really, you don't really... I, I mean, I just didn't care. I was like, "Oh, okay. That makes sense, I was more like, "Why didn't you just leave?" Or something of that accord, and it's not even just then. Body Horror Reactions Also, when, um, when the, uh, the, uh, thing starts to con... So body horror is a huge thing for H.P. Lovecraft too. It basically- fuses the mom with her youngest son- Into one, and he's, like, on her back, and they're, like, one en- you know- Entity ... they're entity almost, and his face is there. And the people are, are freaking out and trying to call. I guess they try to call 911 at one point. And, you know, they're watching her and, like, giving her water. I just don't think that's a realistic, uh, reaction for a person to have. I'm sorry. Maybe I'm heartless, but if I saw my mom get fused with my little brother, eh, I wouldn't be giving her b- a bowl of water. I would be like, "What the fuck is happening? Let me, one, either get out of here, or two, maybe put them out of their misery because they are very clearly in pain." They just kinda sit around talking about it. It was just super weird. Yeah. The, the urgency to leave does not come for quite some time after that, which is beyond me 'cause I'm like, immediately I would've already started. Like, there is already weird stuff happening, the mom cutting off her fingers. The girl's, like, hallucinating, and then she gets really sta- sick and can't stop throwing up. The boy is talking to the well. Like, that's enough stuff to get your butt off of the land and be like, "Hey, something weird's going on." Their sense of danger is, like, is at where it should be at, like, a 10. It's at 1, so where they're going to a house where there's, you know, the killer's, like, right behind them, and it should be at a 10 level. It's really at a 1, and they're just walking around, and it's like, "Eh, everything's fine," it's just really weird. It is weird. And then, uh, I just als- I think that's, again, the character development. I just don't know who I'm supposed to root for. Am I supposed to care? Am I supposed to care about the hydrologist coming to try to save the girl, the teen girl? Um, am I supposed to be invested in him, too? Like, who, who am I supposed to be invested in? And truthfully, I feel like I was invested in none of them. And ultimately, like, the mom then tries to kill her daughter while she's this hybrid beast thing, which, okay. I was like, "All right." And she ends up being killed anyway. So it, it was just... Yeah, that was, I would have to say, is some of my least favorite scenes, were just the lack of development that just didn't make the s- the choices of the characters make sense. Whenever I watch something, I'm always like, "What would be a realistic..." What would be a reaction that I would have or someone would have, you know? And if we're gonna go for, like, if they're gonna do body gore- and and just horror, they should have just went straight for scary from the start. Yeah And like not try to do any character development, 'cause we gotta... There's a lot you gotta get in there to freak people out. Especially in this day and age when there's so many things that are already out trying to scare people. So yeah, I don't, I don't know if he, if the director really knew what he was doing or the writers had a clear path forward. Um, so that, that was, like, one of my least favorite. I think Hydrologist Hero Debate for me, I think the least favorite was essentially just, like, having the hydrologist being, like, the hero. He went from being a surveyor to, like, being the only person in this entire film caring about what the fuck was going on, because no one else knew what the hell was going on. And w- we went from, like, it's in the water. Why is it that it was only happening on the Nicolas Cage's land? If it was in the water, it should be happening to everyone else in England. Well, I think 'cause it starts there. But I also think it was pointed that they chose a Black hydrologist to be the hero of an H.P. Lovecraft story. Like, I feel like- Person of color, yeah yeah, who believes in science and stuff like that. Like, I think that was very probably a pointed choice, and that I support. I do agree that he could have been more, it could have been more, like, defined, could have been more, like, you could care more. Like, when he's talking at the end about how he's, you know, how things have been, you don't really care, 'cause you're like, "I'm not invested in any of this." There's just too much happening, too much going on, too many stories. Chong was there. He- we don't even really know that much about Chong. He's just a neighbor. He He was a- He's underdeveloped ... he's underdeveloped, but the hydrologist was the unreliable narrator. He was, he came in, he was there to do a survey. He figured out what was wrong, tried to, uh, essentially tell people, and then, you know, tried to warn the family when it was too late. He got one sheriff, who ends up dying. Yeah, one sheriff in the small town. Yeah, in a small town. People in rural New England, tell me if that's, if that's common, if you just have one sheriff in your town. Like- 'Cause I'm curious ... like, and pretty much nothing he did changed anything, is... With the... he did not save anyone. He didn't save nobody That's, that, that was like- He saved himself ... yeah, he saved himself. Like, the worst part, I, I think considered the worst part is that he provided the information and saved no lives. That's, that was pretty much the, the worst part for him is that he, the, I think f- considered the worst part of the scene is that at the end, he did everything right and nothing changed for him. Yeah, which I guess is prob- maybe what it's about. My thing was if the stuff was in the water, how did- ... all the other people get affect, infected? I think- Actually, I'll go back to, I think what I consider the worst part, uh, for me was that the sister, how, um, what the hell happened when he gra- the hydraulics grabs her, and they're, like, coming, and she goes, "No, I'm not going anywhere." And then out of the blue, no word, nothing for it, she raises her hands, and then the mist or whatever it is- She's consumed by the color yeah, consumed by the color, and like, because she already had carved herself, is now part of the entity, or the entity now becomes her. No- she drank the water, so. She drank the water, but like, doesn't explain what the hell's going on. It's like this blue almost, like, Color Purple tornado is, like, behind her. She's now controlling it and he's just watching this as it happens. Yeah. Yeah. And it's just like this time, no explanation. She's either talking, and he's just watching this as it's happening, I don't know. My thing is if it's in the water, again, I'm going back to the water, because it would have had to infect other areas after being there. That's just, that's- But again- That's what he says ... there's, I don't think that the mom is infected by the water when it begins. And the little boy, the son doesn't seem to be infected by it either. So I'm like, how did they fuse together? It, it's just a very, it's a very- The, the alpacas. No, the alpacas did it, too, but- No, so the- So when Nick Ca- when the family went to go check the alpacas, they saw the blob of pacas, him, Nick Cage, and the mom. So they were out there, and the creature blasted them with something. Oh. And it fused them. Oh, okay. And then- Well, clearly I forgot about that ... and then he went with the shotgun and blasted them. Alpaca Gore Breakdown That actually is a great segue into my second least favorite part was the alpacas. Was the body was the gore of the alpacas. I was like, "I really didn't need to see any of this, actually." I think the- 'Cause they made it seem like it was isolated. Like Chong got- Yeah, like they did ... he died. They did make it seem that way. The... and for anyone who's not big on seeing stuff like this, the alpacas become fused together like one blob and s- but without skin. They'd are not even skin, fur, 'cause I, I guess whatever. Without an outer layer. It's just underneath, their muscle and stuff. And then they're, like there's teeth and eyeballs and they're one giant blob. And I was like, "Oh my God, this is too much." And he does kill the alpacas, but then he just like very nonchalantly goes and leaves it somewhere that the sheriff ends up finding. And I'm like, he didn't think that was a serious thing to maybe tell somebody about? And also it doesn't seem like the sheriff's that far if he was able to, to bring the alpacas somewhere that they find. So I'm like, "Wait, how far away are you guys from civilization? I'm very confused." At no point does anyone try to walk. I feel like if it were me, I would just try to walk. I would just try to fricking leave. But, they don't, and that's, that's that, I suppose. That's my- Final Ratings and Verdict What would you rate the movie? I don't like H.P. Lovecraft in general, so I'm gonna give it a one. Sorry. Uh, I don't like his stories. I don't like... I've never liked his stuff. That's just me. Not huge on like body horror or cosmic entities. He's also a huge racist and xenophobic and probably sexist. So yeah. And then also, I just don't like to see the, like the things fused together. I will say the only thing that has ever gotten me interested in H.P. Lovecraft was that show we talked about, Lovecraft Country. Because I thought that looked well-executed, and that brought something new to, to the genre that I was like, "Oh, maybe this could be interesting." But that has Jonathan Majors in it you know. Okay. But also Journey Smith. I will probably give it a one. Eh I'll give it a one and a half, just because H.P. Lovecraft, there, I've only, this is probably the second H.P. Lovecraft project I've seen- What was the first? Lovecraft Country, but it was better, right? It was a little bit better- Yeah ... more developed. This one was kinda like out of left field. Like, I think because you're taking a, a book and you're putting it into a movie, I feel like there are probably stuff they left on the table that they, he didn't- Oh, yeah get to use. So- Well, I think there's just something to be said with... And again, Lovecraft Country's a series, but there are just some things that cannot make it into, really into a film, and I think Dune is also a great example of that. People have tried to just make a singular, like, film, and it's just the worlds are so vast, there's just so much stuff that it honestly would probably be better fitting if this was a TV series. Mm-hmm. It would've given more time for characters to develop, and for you to just understand his stuff, 'cause he's got so much going on in his universe. It's not just your regular alien story, which I think also disconnects you from it, 'cause a part of you, we're supposed to fear the unknown, but we see so much alien stuff that it's kinda like, oh, okay, it's just one of these. I don't know. So yeah- Yeah ... that would be, that would be m- I would be a one as well. All right. Letterboxd Review Roulette So we're gonna go onto our next section where we both select two reviews from Letterboxd and see what the users who've also seen the film say about it, and what rev- what their ratings are. So I'm gonna start first. My first review is gonna be from Logan. He says, "An accurate rendition of what drinking London's tap water does to your soul." He gave it four stars. Four stars? That's... Four, really? With that? Or London? Okay. All right. That's crazy. Didn't expect that. Um, all right. So mine is actually gonna be a review by one of my friends who watched this movie. She goes by Elle Swift on Letterboxd. She has a huge following, so if anyone wants to go find her, she has funny reviews. She gave it four stars, which doesn't shock me 'cause she likes weird shit, but she put, "It's not lost on me that H.P. Lovecraft was a creepy racist who would've absolutely hated a person of color being the sole survivor. I love that about this film. Beyond that, this was a trip to the dark side that had me squirming in my seat with all the grotesque body horror transformations. P.S. If alpacas are your favorite animal, maybe skip this one. They hit different in this." I think that's- I agree. They hit different in this. Maybe don't watch it. Yeah. I think animals in this movie just get the worst of it. Yeah. I mean, animals often get the worst of a lot of things 'cause they're supposed to be the ones that can tell. They sense it before us, like the dog, mm-hmm. Which again, what happened? I'm gonna assume the dog died. Yeah, it did. I don't know where a dog went, but I guess it died. So my next one's gonna be from user Haley. Nicolas Cage milks alpacas, has a meltdown over peaches, and sucks tongue with an alien in this, and can comfortably say it still isn't the craziest role he's been in. One and a half stars. I forgot about the peaches. That was weird. Was weird, and that's actually isn't the weirdest movie he's been in. Nope. And you know what? It's actually one of the more visually better done movies that he's been in, 'cause he's been in some real stinkers. Mm-hmm. But those movies I actually liked better. I don't know. I just, I, I felt like it, it gave it some, like, character. Yeah. Mine is gonna be from Matthew, and they, he gave it three and a half stars and he said, "Lol. Uh, Cage is totally doing Trump once he gets the alien goop on him." And I agree 'cause that's, that's all I could hear- Yeah ... was Trump. I was like, "Is he imitating him? Why does his voice sound like this?" I feel like that's kind of inspired it 'cause, like, the, the lunacy part. Yeah. 'Cause he's supposed to be acting crazy. Mm-hmm. And he is acting crazy. Uh, and it's funny. It's more so funny than it ... It was funny for the wrong reasons. And that's what I'll leave at this movie. It's funny for the wrong reasons. Wrap Up and Subscribe And that's gonna, you know, be it for the episode. Do you have any last words for the audience? Uh, I mean, outside of if you're in Seattle, Moonstruck is coming to Central Cinema May 20th. Look that up. I don't know if he'll post this before that, but if not, he can cut this. Um, and anyway, I lost my hand. I lost my wife. Does Johnny has his hand, Johnny has his wife? And with that, we'll catch you next one. Bye. Byeee 📍 Okay, wow, that was, like, so much fun! A total vibe. If you want to see any of the games we chatted about—like, the full visual experience—you can find all that on our YouTube. 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