10 Movies and Shows Similar to Color Out of Space (2020)

Description: This earlier Lovecraft adaptation shares with 'Color Out of Space' the theme of rural New England encountering cosmic horror. Both films feature forbidden knowledge, family curses, and the unleashing of otherworldly forces.

Fact: Features a psychedelic score by Les Baxter. Sandra Dee, known for light romantic roles, plays the female lead. The film takes significant liberties with Lovecraft's original story.

Description: Lucio Fulci's gothic horror masterpiece shares with 'Color Out of Space' a surreal, dreamlike quality and themes of a gateway to another dimension. Both films feature grotesque body horror and a sense that reality itself is breaking down.

Fact: The film was banned in several countries upon release. Fulci considered it part of his 'Gates of Hell' trilogy. The infamous spider scene used real tarantulas eating a real (already dead) cockroach.

Description: John Carpenter's 'The Thing' shares with 'Color Out of Space' themes of isolation and paranoia, as well as body horror caused by an alien entity. Both films feature a group of people trapped in a remote location, facing an incomprehensible threat that changes its victims in grotesque ways.

Fact: The film was initially a box office flop but later became a cult classic. The special effects were created by Rob Bottin, who was only 22 at the time. Kurt Russell's beard was real, grown during the filming schedule.

Description: Another adaptation of 'The Color Out of Space' (though uncredited), this film shares the same source material. Both tell the story of a meteorite that brings strange transformations to a farm and its inhabitants, with growing dread and body horror.

Fact: Wil Wheaton stars as the young protagonist. The film was shot in Tennessee but set in Lovecraft's fictional Arkham. Director David Keith also plays the father in the film.

Description: Another John Carpenter film, 'Prince of Darkness' shares with 'Color Out of Space' a theme of scientific investigation into the supernatural. Both involve a group of researchers encountering an ancient, malevolent force that defies physics and sanity.

Fact: The film is part of Carpenter's 'Apocalypse Trilogy' with 'The Thing' and 'In the Mouth of Madness'. Alice Cooper has a memorable cameo as a possessed homeless man. The eerie electronic score was composed by Carpenter himself.

Description: Like 'Color Out of Space', 'Event Horizon' deals with the terrifying consequences of encountering something beyond human understanding. Both films feature a blend of science fiction and horror, with the characters facing a reality-warping force that drives them to madness.

Fact: The original cut was over 130 minutes, but the studio demanded cuts, removing much of the gore. The film's hellish visions were inspired by Renaissance paintings of Hell. It's often cited as a precursor to the 'Dead Space' video game series.

Description: As a direct adaptation of Lovecraft's work like 'Color Out of Space', 'Dagon' features similar themes of isolation and transformation. Both films depict ordinary people encountering ancient, inhuman forces that reveal terrifying truths about reality.

Fact: Shot in Spain but set in Massachusetts. Director Stuart Gordon originally planned to make 'At the Mountains of Madness'. Features one of the most disturbing skin-peeling scenes in horror cinema.

Description: Based on a Stephen King story like 'Color Out of Space', 'The Mist' explores how ordinary people react to an otherworldly threat. Both films feature a small town besieged by creatures from another dimension, with the real horror coming from human reactions to the crisis.

Fact: Frank Darabont insisted on shooting in black and white for the DVD release, his preferred version. The film features one of the most shocking endings in horror cinema. Thomas Jane improvised much of his emotional breakdown scene.

Description: Similar to 'Color Out of Space' in its exploration of cosmic horror and the unknown, 'Annihilation' delves into the psychological and physical transformation caused by an alien presence. Both films feature stunning visuals and a sense of creeping dread as characters confront something beyond human comprehension.

Fact: Based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer, the first in the Southern Reach Trilogy. Director Alex Garland intentionally avoided reading the sequels to maintain the mystery of the first book. The bear scene is considered one of the most terrifying moments in modern horror cinema.

Description: This indie horror shares with 'Color Out of Space' a Lovecraftian sense of cosmic dread and the idea of a location being altered by unseen forces. Both films feature characters returning to a place where reality doesn't behave normally, with slowly mounting tension.

Fact: Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead also star as the lead characters. The film is connected to their previous movie 'Resolution' (2012). Made on a budget of just $150,000, it showcases creative practical effects.