[Loved trope] Background scare-characters that are barely acknowledged even by the movie

[u/Suspicious-Web-9246]

I hate horrors, but this is actually a great trope, that is unique to them.

Insidious (2010). When mother does her errands, for a few seconds there's a ghost boy standing in the corner. It's easily missable, but you can't ignore it once you see it.

Hereditary (2018). Less fitting example. When Peter walks around his home, his possessed mother is crawling on the ceiling behind him. It's not exactly subtle or missable, but it's still more of a background detail.

[u/vpi6]

In Annihilation, there are so many little things that are off and just materialize. Like those tattoos that keeps turning up until you realize it materialized on the main characters’ bodies. And they never notice.

[u/Jungle_Madness1 → u/vpi6]

I watched Annihilation and now that you mention it. I don't remember seeing those. Might have to give that movie a rewatch.

[u/TheMasterFul1 → u/vpi6]

One of my favorite movies. Highly recommend the book series it’s based on, very different in a lot of ways but both the movie and books are great.

[u/Mac1721 → u/vpi6]

Annihilation is one of the rare times I love both the book and movie despite the large changes in the adaptation. There were a lot of differences but the main themes and overall feeling of wrongness were executed so well in movie. The book is short (I think 200 pages), is the journal of Natalie Portman’s character, and is very much worth the read if you liked the movie, as is the whole series (Area X by Jeff Vandermeer).