Die Farbe

Although the script is not entirely original but taken from a Lovecraft script, the work of directing and photography make this product excellent. The film on which hovers a veil of mystery along its entire length attracts the viewer hypnotically through the inclined and caledoscopic eye of the camera. Interesting the chemical and geological elements present as well as the psychological cues analyzed by the director, depression, madness and catalepsy are optimally interpreted by the protagonists. Perhaps the only slightly out of tune is the slow pace and the absence of twists that subdue slightly. Beautiful use of black and white and excellent stereophony as well as good music. A strongly recommended film.

H. P. Lovecraft's tales and novels have been adapted into pedestrian motion pictures. I have liked very few of them, especially «Re-Animator», for its exacerbated irreverence in 1985 and the iconoclastic direction by Stuart Gordon, who was taking his first step in cinema; and two fine low-budget but stylish productions by the H. P. Lovecraft Historic Society, «The Call of Cthulhu» and «The Whisperer in Darkness»

Lovecraft's adaptations often fail, not only because the writers and directors are mediocre, but because, to find a narrative line in stories like, say, "The Shadow over Innsmouth," you have to overlook pages and pages of descriptions of buildings, bell towers, sidewalks and docks, of ugly mutants, of tiaras, lineages and tenures, and, in the end, in the inventory of significant incidents you make for your adaptation, much of the author's best is lost. However, I recently found a little gem that is by far the best film that I have ever seen based on a Lovecraftian text: «Die Farbe», based on «The Color Out of Space».

Lovecraft fans have rejected it, maybe because it is not American, possibly because it was made in Germany with German actors and the action relocated to the Swabian-Franconian Forest, or maybe because it was directed by a Vietnamese man raised in Brecht's land and financed through crowd funding. You can even think that they are annoyed because Huan Vu did it so well.

Lovecraft's tale is a story about a color. It can be a symbol, a metaphor, but in any case, this color is unknown on planet Earth. It arrives with a meteorite that falls in a splendid valley near Stuttgart. The meteorite is subject to investigation, but the object - which is getting smaller and smaller - gradually gains in strangeness, manifested in trees that bear enormous and rotten fruits, on the farm of a family whose members are losing their sanity, announcing the impending tragedy. Director Huan Vu decided to make the film in black and white, so that when the color finally manifests itself, it seems new but also strange, terrifying, and devastating.

The tragedy in «Die Farbe» directly affects few persons... First, the family made up of the parents and three boys; then the American young man who comes to the forest looking for his father, a soldier who served in the area during World War II; and finally, a witness to the events, a neighbor of the infected farm, who narrates the film. The resolution suggests that eight people were affected by a color that in the end flew away from Earth... But in the final shots, during the end credits, something larger is hinted at, something that will spread like a pandemic, just like in «Invasion of the Body Snatchers» by Siegel, Kaufman, or Ferrara; or Polanski's «Dance of the Vampires»... "It's all over", repeats one of the characters, but no, that is not so... The devastation will continue.

HP Lovecraft stories are notoriously difficult to transcribe onto film. Most film versions of his stories have been disappointing. However, in this case, the filmmakers have managed very well. It is true that the locale of the story has been transposed to Germany and that a few plot points have been altered. Nevertheless, this film is very faithful to the original and, more importantly, maintains the eerie and paranoiac atmosphere for which Lovecraft was famous.

Although widely acknowledged as one of Lovecraft's best stories, "The Color Out of Space" was not really typical of his work. It contained more elements of science-fiction than most of the author's stories did. Some have speculated that he was attempting to describe the effects of radiation. However, that seems unlikely in light of the fact that the story was written in 1927, when such phenomena were not yet understood.

Some may criticize the fact that the film was shot in black-and-white. however, given the fact that the subject described as nothing more than merely a color, a color that no one has ever seen before, and which no one can describe, there really is not any other way in which the film could have been made.

Those expecting a normal sci-fi horror film may be disappointed with the slow pace and relative lack of "action" and spectacular special effects. However, it should be understood that this is entirely faithful to the manner in which Lovecraft wrote the story. Don't look for any vampires, werewolves or other monsters here. This is an eerily atmospheric story in which the horror creeps up gradually and silently, and is never really fully understood. However, it is well worthwhile staying with this movie because the story will grab you.

How difficult cosmic horror genre is to film well and to play well. But Die Farbe shows a near perfect understanding of Lovecraft's spirit. How I wish some film makers with more budget could really grasp the concept of Lovecraftian cosmic horror and finally deliver us something worth the amazing works of HPL. I'm still hoping but Die Farbe already did very well.

There is no question that this is one of this best, if not the best, example of bringing Lovercraftian horror into the visual spectrum. HP's stories are hard enough on their own to decipher what the characters are seeing and experiencing throughout their descent into madness or as a horrified listener of a tale spun by a veteran of Eldritch terrors. However, Huan Vu has done an amazing job at interpreting and presenting The Colour Out of Space. A story that is arguably one that is the most nebulous! The CG, while hokey at times, does what it needs to - but it doesn't detract much from the presentation itself given that this is not a Hollywood budgeted film. The choice of shooting in black and white for 2010 was a really good choice, especially in trying to convey the madness and atmosphere without specifically mentioning how horrible the situation is becoming for the Garteners. Stop motion also plays a nice role in showing decay and adding a subtle grotesqueness to scenes in which it is utilized. I really enjoyed all of the characters and especially the representation Mrs. Gartener's descent into madness as portrayed by Marah Schneider..very creepy and very affecting.

Honestly, if you have an reverence for this story I would give this movie a chance. I would highly recommend reading the story first before seeing the movie as to have a good anchor point. Overall, it stands high above other adaptations such as Dagon, Call of Cthulhu, Castle Freak and Re-Animator in it's cohesion and narrative justice.