H.P. Lovecraft's "Colour from the Dark"

Via Quietearth.us comes word of a Lovecraftian production in the works called "Colour from the Dark." As the name indicates, this production appears to be based on HPL's "The Colour Out of Space." The trailer embedded below--a surprisingly handsome and eerie one--suggests the film will explore ghastly mutations of land and animals, and appears to be set in a rural environment like Lovecraft's original tale. The fuller description for this upcoming movie has this to say:

Pietro and Lucia live on an isolated farm with Alice, Lucia's younger sister. Poor farmers, they live tilling the soil. Pietro is a good worker and a strong man who, unlike his three brothers, is not at war because of a deformed knee. Lucia is a beautiful and reserved woman dedicated to her family. Their life is peaceful and good, in spite of the hard work. One day, while drawing water from the well, Pietro and Alice accidentally free something from Earth's womb. A strange and alien color flashes underwater, at the well's bottom, then disappears. From that moment on, inexplicable events start happening all around the farm, and by night the surrounding vegetation glitters with a sinister glow. The color soon takes hold of the whole farm, and dwelling inside Pietro and his family's minds, it brings them into its sick world of pain, blood and death.

Though intriguing, some obviously potent gore is evident from the trailer. While this doesn't bother quite a few horror fans, it does raise questions about the ultimate character of this picture as a Lovecraftian film. Anyone familiar with previous attempts to transport Lovecraft's fiction to the screen knows there are dozens of abominable adaptations lurking behind a masque of gratuitous splatter. Certainly, the presence of gore can sometimes enhance the fear and strangeness of a horror tale--particularly in the visual arts. Let every Lovecraft fan hope this is the case with the early previews of "Colour from the Dark."

In any case, it's hard to disagree with Quietearth's originator of the article, agentorange, who asserts that this is a well made trailer. For what is presumably a less-than-stellar production in terms of budgeting and ability, the preview is really eye catching. Keep this one on the radar.



Colour from the dark from AO on Vimeo.

-Grim Blogger