Die Farbe is a low-budget German film that is an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "The Colour Out of Space."
Basic plot set-up, a young man's father, a WWII vet, has returned to Germany and promptly disappears. He travels to Germany to find him and is caught up in a troubling story involving a meteorite falling near a German farm and the disturbing incidents that happen afterwards.
So this is probably the most faithful adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's classic story. I'm assuming you're familiar with this story, because you're on this website. And if you're not,
read it right now. And then go on and read the rest of H.P. Lovecraft. You will love it.
Now it is a very low-budget affair, and it is German. It's also in black and white, although that stylistic choice does pay off. I did say it is the most faithful adaptation of the story, and I'm going to go ahead and say it is the best. Certainly better than
The Curse.
Certainly not a perfect film. It is rather slow, but if you're familiar with Lovecraft, that shouldn't be a surprise. I also got a bit of laughs from the fact that it is a German production that features several American backdrop characters. The main character, the son of the WWII vet, is supposedly an American, but is played by an actor with a pronounced German accent. The same thing happened with another movie I watched recently,
Juan of the Dead, where a supposed American is played by a guy with a very obvious Cuban accent. I guess it doesn't really matter when most of your audience doesn't speak English. It actually makes me quite curious as to how often this happens in American movies. I would say it happens all the time. Makes me wonder if the main actor affected a "German with American accent" for his role. If he did, hooray! I'm guessing it is probably lost on everybody.
At any rate, this production understands the original story and plays it straight and succeeds. I've seen a lot of Lovecraft inspired movies, and they are almost always awful. This one is
really good. There's a bit at the ending which is unnecessary, but, eh, movie adaptations. If you like H.P. Lovecraft, make it a point to see this movie.
It actually may be a bit difficult. Doesn't seem to have any sort of release strategy. I found it on Amazon Instant. It doesn't seem to be on anywhere else easier to see, unless you count the way the internet works.
At any rate, if you are a Lovecraft fan, this film should be immediately placed on your short-list of films to find. If you are not a Lovecraft fan, go to Hell. I'm disappointed in you.
Final aside,
this page is the one that recommended the film to me, and I agree with all of the films mentioned. (Well,
The Shrine is a bit iffy.)