After watching the trailer for Color Out of Space, I pretty aggravated with the direction the writers chose to go with this movie. I wanted to see a period piece set in the late 1900th century with the characters in the story. Unfortunately, we won’t be getting a direct adaptation of the story released in the September 1927 issue of Amazing Stories. Not even the bright words “By Author H.P. Lovecraft” will convince me that “Based on a Story” isn’t looming in the background.
What we know so far…
The Gardener family move to a rural area after their life in the big city. When the patriarch of the family, Nathan Gardener (played by Nicholas Cage), tries his hand at farming, a meteorite begins to change the surrounding vegetation. The strange light emitted from the meteorite marks a change for the Gardner family as the land seems to become polluted leading to strange changes among the residents of the farm.
What seems to be the differences…
Between the story and movie, the same theme still exists. The time period is clear in the trailer. We’re dealing roughly around our own era (basing this mostly on the older son’s computer). The Gardner family has changed one member of the family, that of a daughter in place of the middle son. The names are different for all of the characters.
What will remain the same…
A lot of the downfall of the farm seems to play out the same. The animals, presumably what’s under the tarp, are going to start decaying. The absence of the Mother, Theresa Gardner (played by Joely Richardon), in the latter half of the trailer seems to foreshadow a similar fate as her story counterpart. The children beginning to develop there madness and Nathan Gardener succumbing to his own decay all follow the story.
What can only be guessed…
There is still a lot left out of the trailer. I’m assuming the character Ezra (played by Tommy Chong) is the Ammi Pierce of this story. It would make sense since the idea of Ammi is that he’s suppose to be crazy. Maybe this character got a bit more exposure to the meteorite. Why he’s a shaman? That I can’t guess.
The character Ward Phillips (played by Elliot Knight) looks like he’ll be the scientist from Miskatonic University. I can’t quite make out the symbol on his back (0:47), but it’s appears to be crescent moon with a letter in the middle. Possibly an “M” or Miskatonic or an “A” or Arkham. It seems Ward will end up getting attacked by one of the many corrupted trees (1:54). A quick note, Ward Phillips was one of H.P. Lovecraft’s pseudonyms.
The daughter of the family, Lavinia Gardener (played by Madeleine Arthur), will play a big role in this telling. Though that role isn’t very clear, the glowing eyes and rune in her forehead seems to point to something bigger. None of the characters in the original story were ritualistic in any way but the name Lavinia leans to another story.
Lavinia Whately is the daughter of Wizard Whately in H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror. If this film is trying to build up a tie in to other stories, that might make the new telling worth it.
Is Color Out of Space Worth Watching?
I can’t say I’ll be the first in line at the movies to see this but I will check it out. I think that despite the success of Mandy, the critic reviews (6.5/10 IMDB; 85% Rotten Tomatoes; 66% Metacritic as of Dec 19, 2019) will probably speak true to the general public’s opinion.
The sweet putrid stench of love lingers through the air which can only mean one thing…Valentine’s Day and its annoying little winged cherub mascot, Cupid, is fast approaching. Soon, partners will be spoiling one another with extravagant bouquets of roses, heartfelt Hallmark cards, obnoxiously large teddy bears, glistening diamond jewelry, and heart-shaped candies or boxes filled with assorted mediocre chocolates. You know? Normal things couples do. I tend to prefer my chocolate boxes filled with bleeding hearts, Ă la ‘My Bloody Valentine’ but, beggars can’t be choosers, right? All jokes aside, Valentine’s Day is special for many couples, however, there are also many others who find themselves celebrating this day without a significant other. Luckily, Shudder, along with drive-in king Joe Bob Briggs and co-host Darcy the Mail Girl (Diana Prince) will graciously be keeping us lonely mutants’, and yes, all you horror fanatic couples’ company on Friday, February 10th as they return with The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob’s Vicious Vegas Valentine, premiering live at 9pm EST.
Love Spells Abound…
Back in 2021, Joe Bob and Darcy invited us to a gruesomely passionate night of spell-binding love witches and animatronic dinosaurs infused with teenage human brains during The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob Put a Spell on You. Many, including myself, were introduced to the tantalizing 70’s inspired retro throwback ‘The Love Witch’and the graphically goofy cult classic ‘Tammy and the T-Rex’, providing the perfect viewing pleasure to mend any broken heart. While the two films for this year’s morbid love-induced special have yet to be announced, as a special treat, Briggs has announced for the first time on The Last Drive-In, he will be marrying one lucky couple during the live showing. We here at HauntedMTL are eagerly awaiting the return of the ghoulish duo so, as is tradition, we will be proudly hosting a watch party on Twitter during the broadcasting of The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob’s Vicious Vegas Valentine. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and tag us @hauntedMTL as well as @shudder, @therealjoebob, and @kinky_horror to partake in this night of unholy love.
Follow @hauntedMTL for live tweets and replies!
What started off as a one-time special premiering on Shudder July 13, 2018, ‘The Last Drive- In’ was originally meant to be Brigg’s swan song; one last special before hanging up the bolo tie in retirement. However, due to so many mutants, excuse me…viewers tuning in and breaking the Shudder servers, it was only natural to announce an official full season of ‘The Last Drive-In‘, which would make its explosive debut March 19, 2019. Since then, Darcy and Briggs have spawned many exclusive holiday specials, have graciously donated to many charities within the community, and have accumulated 4 seasons of ‘The Last Drive-In’, with a fifth currently in production premiering on Shudder’s 2023 schedule sometime this year, let’s hope sooner rather than later.
An unexpected ceremony during The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob Put a Spell on You (2021) special.
Horror Noire is a horror collection that includes “Daddy,” “The Lake,” “Brand of Evil,” “Bride Before You,” “Fugue State,” and “Sundown.”
Horror Noire is a horror collection brought by the combined efforts of AMC+ and Shudder. The collection includes “Daddy,” “The Lake,” “Brand of Evil,” “Bride Before You,” “Fugue State,” and “Sundown.” Horror Noire boasts Black directors and screenwriters, providing six unique stories.
As this collection explores six stories, I will skip the usual synopsis to assess the genres and ideas explored, albeit limited as needed. Expect to find supernatural horror, creature features, and psychological thrillers. Many short films deal with these genres while exploring Black issues, but this isn’t universal for the collection.
Each story remains unique, holding different strengths and weaknesses that highlight drastically different perspectives. Collections like VHS hold a similar premise to create their collection, but Horror Noire gives more creative freedom to its talent to be independent.
However, the best example of horror goes to Robin Givens’ “Daddy,” providing an existential horror tied directly to the characters involved.
Image from “Fugue State” directed by Rob Greenlea
What I Dislike
As mentioned, all have a particular style and idea. The downside of this approach always remains to keep the viewer interested long enough to find their favorite. If you find several underwhelming choices, this becomes a chore. But I imagine that is rare as the variety makes the options refreshing.
Personally, “Brand of Evil” had an interesting premise, but the execution fell short. On paper, it might have sounded like my favorite, which makes the lackluster execution a bigger letdown.
Zeth M. Martinez
Final Thoughts
Horror Noire gives power and control to Black creators, providing a formula for a unique collection against others in the space. While the various subjects and approaches mean you aren’t likely to love them all, there should be a short film for everyone. (3.5 / 5)
Episode six of Netflix’s Dahmer was not, honestly about our title character. Instead, it was about one of his victims, a man named Tony. We’ve actually seen Tony a few times during this series. We just didn’t know it was him.
And, well, he wasn’t exactly alive the first time we saw him.
Tony was born into a supportive, loving family. This is good because soon after he was born a viral infection took his hearing. He is black, deaf, and gay in the early 90’s.
Tony has a dream of becoming a model. And he certainly has the looks for it. He is beautiful, body and soul. He has lots of opportunities for romance, but it’s not what he’s looking for. He wants a real relationship.
Eventually Tony moves to Madison, trying to pursue his dream. He gets a job and starts getting modeling work.
Then, he meets Jeff Dahmer at a bar.
At first, we can almost believe that it’s going to be alright. Jeff seems happy. He’s taking care of himself. He’s not drinking as much. He even has his dad and stepmom over for dinner. It seems like his life is getting on track. Even better, he’s treating Tony right.
Then, of course, things go bad.
One thing that has always bothered me as a true crime fan is that we know so much about the killers, but not as much about the victims. Not so much if we don’t know who the killer is, of course. But the names that are part of our pop culture are those of the killers. Dahmer, Manson, Jones, Bundy, Holms. The names we don’t know are Roberta Parks, Beth LaBiancas, Leno LaBiancas, and Tony Hughes. And clearly, we should know them.
If Tony Hughes was half the shining, positive person that the show Dahmer made him out to be, I’m so sad that he isn’t with us anymore. We need so many more people like him. And many of Dahmer’s victims were likely just like him. After all, he was attracted to them for a reason.
This was a significant episode, and I understand why it’s the highest-rated episode of the series. I finished it with a heavy heart, saddened by the loss of a man who should still be with us today.Â
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