At long last, your dream of owning the mutant bear skull from Annihilation can finally come true
Film Features Bear
We’ll be honest: A lot of Hollywood prop auctions are fairly underwhelming affairs. “Now you, too, can own a jacket that was once in the same room as Benedict Cumberbatch’s torso!” “Purchase a coffee cup that was almost on-camera in Stuber!” “Whoooooo wants a boom mic?!” It’s a lot of chaff-from-wheat separation, is what we mean to say, which is why it’s notable when we literally gasped at what was being offered up in a new Prop Store auction that went up this week: The opportunity to purchase and own the fucking mutant bear skull from Annihilation.
That’s right: Now you can confront the same unknowable, vaguely hostile, hideously aggressive sense of existential unease/bear fear that caused Natalie Portman et. al so many problems in Alex Garland’s 2018 adaptation of the 2014 novel. Not that you have to keep this beautiful/horrifying bear face for yourself, mind you; given that it’s set up for on-camera use in the film’s VFX, it’s also the perfect prop to gift to a loved one, rolling into Grampy’s room late one evening to give him the thrill of a lifetime.
In addition to the bear skull—literally, the most exciting prop offer we’ve seen since they tried to sell the desiccated corpse of McDonald’s nightmare pitchman Mac Tonight— the auction has a couple of other top-tier horror props mixed in with all the usual camera equipment and clothes. The various albino alligator models are a nice touch, obviously, but we’re especially partial to the fake plants designed to look like human beings who’ve been Shimmered right out of the animal kingdom. Sure, they got replaced by CG in the actual film, but can you imagine filling a garden with these things? It’d be like bringing Area X to your very own little corner of paradise!
23 Comments
Never even seen that movie and that thing terrifies me. Fucking Alzabo. I hope Gene Wolfe was given special mention in the credits.
Pringles thanks you for this comment. I was also unaware that he passed away in 2019.Â
The sound design for the bear – that shuddering, unheimlich mutant growl mixed with human wails – alone should have netted this film an Oscar nomination.
The bear was German?
Ja, that explains a few things.
All bears are Russian, actually.
I think there are some Berliners that would contest that.
That explains the vodka smell.
Thatâs exactly what i think. I believe this movie was robbed of many other nominations as well
I did not like this movie (huge fan of the book) but yeah, the bear scene was a standout. Truly terrifying.
I thought the movie was about the best anyone could do putting the novel on the screen. They nailed the bear.
Iâm German, and Iâm wondering about the word âunheimlichâ in an English-speaking context. Why do you use it? Is it associated with art or literature? Iâm just curious because Iâve never encountered it in this context before. What extra meaning does it carry here? Except the literal meaning of course, which is scary or uncanny.
Minority opinion but I liked this movie a lot. Itâs more an impressionistic adaptation than a faithful one, which I think disappoints a lot of Van Der Meer fans, but for me he captures the atmosphere perfectly.Â
Flipping through the catalog, some of the human-shaped tree props look pretty cool. Much rather have them than that nightmare bear head.
That would be cool, the bear was about the only effect in that movie that didn’t look like it was rendered for PlayStation 2
Could my dream of this movie getting the sequels (based on the novels) it so richley deserves come true instead?
Wait, then whoâs skull did I just buy yesterday off Craigslist?Â
Fun fact. My uncle designed the helmet the Knight at the beginning of âTime Banditsâ wears as he crashes through the closet. My brother still has it.
No crap thatâs really cool!
Best part of the movie.
Nice, itâll look good next to the Elephant Man.
Jaw-dropping.
Whatâs the point if it doesnât have the sounds of a companion begging for help as their last words coming out of it?
I already own it, thanks. Itâs in my head, and I canât seem to get rid of it.