MovieChat Forums > Annihilation (2018) Discussion > Did anyone else get Lovecraft and Stalke...

Did anyone else get Lovecraft and Stalker vibes from this?


I know it's based on a book (which I haven't read), but having just seen the film, I got some heavy vibes of H.P. Lovecraft's story The Colour Out of Space and the Andrei Tarkovsky film Stalker (also based on a book, Roadside Picnic).

The Colour Out of Space - An alien entity crashes on earth in a small New England town. Rather than being humanoid or animal in nature, the "Colour" appears as a shimmering light of a colour unknown to mankind that spreads through the ground, the plants and animals, not only expanding in area, but mutating and draining the life out of them. Animals begin displaying hybrid characteristics that they shouldn't have. Plants appear to twist on their own, as if "looking" at the humans and even exhibit a faint glow of the colour at night. Visually, Annihilation reminded me very much of this story.

Stalker - An area of land in the Soviet Union,nicknamed "the Zone", is affected by something, perhaps a meteor or an alien, which creates anomalies that defy the laws of space and time, like people walking in opposite directions only to end up in the same spot. Rumors spread about a supposed "Wish Granter" at the epicenter of the Zone, which will fulfills one's innermost desires. Very reminiscent of the Lighthouse in Annihilation. Guides called "stalkers" offer to lead pilgrims through the dangerous Zone to the Wish Granter. Like the Shimmer and the above-mentioned Colour, the Zone appears to react to humans but isn't even necessarily sentient in a way that we understand.

Overall, I really liked Annihilation. I like it when sci-fi movies don't feel the need to give us all the answers, but leave us with interesting questions to think about afterwards.

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Everyone has made these comparisons.

Do a Google search.

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Chill out. Never said I was the first to come up with it. Just thought of it after watching the movie for the first time and wanted to discuss.

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Interesting. I haven't seen/read either of these so I can't really contribute here but I appreciate the analysis and I'll have to check the two titles out. Thanks!

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I was definitely reminded of Stalker, but I didn't think of Lovecraft. There are for sure some parallels though.

Interestingly the writer/director also said he was influenced by Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, which you can definitely see in the plant/human hybrids.

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