The Elden Ring Movie Could Find Stylistic Inspiration From…

Summary

Elden Ring's dark fantasy world provides the perfect canvas for Alex Garland's talents.
The lore of Elden Ring offers opportunities to explore dark, visually striking imagery, aligning with Garland's previous work.
Garland can bring his unique, grotesque style from Men to his adaptation of Elden Ring, capturing its gory and unsettling elements.

Alex Garland is set to adapt Elden Ring, and the director has the perfect stylistic inspiration rooted in his most unconventional horror film. Garland first gained notoriety as a writer, penning scripts for 28 Days Later and Dredd. He even worked in the video game world, as co-writer of the underrated gem Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and the reboot game DMC: Devil May Cry. Garland later ventured into directing after rumors circulated that he "ghost-directed" Dredd when problems arose with credited director Pete Travis. He made waves with his official directorial debut, Ex Machina, continuing to helm films like Annihilation, Civil War, and Warfare.

Garland is also a fan of video games, and his professed love for Elden Ring makes him a prime candidate for getting the film adaptation right. FromSoftware's 2022 Soulslike game was directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, who also helped craft the story alongside George R. R. Martin, whom fantasy fans know as the creator of Game of Thrones. The dark fantasy action RPG connected with gamers, offering challenging gameplay that sees players exploring the Lands Between on their quest to reforge the Elden Ring, which provides a profound lore.

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By Fletcher Bailey

Beyond adapting the game's story, the aesthetics of Elden Ring are an imperative part of the experience, whether in grim locations or heinous enemies. For some of Elden Ring's more disgusting, gnarly creations, Garland already has the perfect stylistic inspiration in his divisive horror film Men.

Alex Garland's Men Is A Hellish Metaphor

Garland wrote and directed Men, which stars Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, and Paapa Essiedu. The story sees Buckley's Harper taking a vacation by herself in the English countryside, following the horrific death of her ex-husband (Essiedu). The vacation feels off from the start. The man Harper is renting the house from (Kinnear) is immediately off-putting, making uncomfortable comments and coming off as awkward.

As Harper begins to explore the town, things start to feel even more uncomfortable. Every man in the village seems to have a distinctly toxic personality. This is accentuated by the added benefit of Kinnear portraying most of the male roles, albeit with changing makeup and hair, which sets the film squarely in the uncanny valley. Despite the movie featuring potential forest spirits, the horror in Men comes from Harper constantly finding herself in uncomfortable situations. She is apparently the sole woman in a town of similar-looking men, and no matter where she ventures, she never feels like she's safe or able to relax.

The movie's ending is the root of the divisive nature of Garland's horror tale, as it leaves much for the audience to interpret. However, through a series of gross encounters and some fleshed-out story beats involving Harper's ex-husband, viewers can see the meaning behind the film. It speaks to the patriarchal structures that rule society. It allows every viewer, regardless of gender, to feel the pervasive impact affecting women through toxic masculinity that is often passed down through generations and internalized in men.

Men Features Some Of Garland's Most Gruesome Content

Much of Men's runtime allows the audience to feel Harper's discomfort as the male characters belittle and objectify her. Men thrives on moments where Harper makes complete sense, only for the men to ignore her words and continue pursuing their desires. They often talk over her or treat her like she's nothing. However, Men also packs some of Garland's goriest and most unsettling moments. When the audience finally sees the death of Harper's abusive ex-husband, it is far from tame. The character is violently impaled on a fence after having jumped from the roof in an apparent suicide stemming from an argument.

Men's most disturbing and disgusting visuals are saved for the film's finale. When Harper attempts to leave, she is confronted by one of Kinnear's male characters. The scene descends into body horror as he begins to give birth to one of the other men from the village. This process continues, becoming a chain that sees a man born before dying as it births the next man. "Giving birth" is also an insipid term for what plays out. Some of the men are born from wounds, with others crawling out of mouths that widen in horrifying, unnatural ways. No matter the means, the scene is jarringly different from the rest of the film, even if the message isn't, resulting in a memorably disgusting finale.

How Alex Garland's Elden Ring Could Benefit From The Horrors Of Men

Elden Ring presents a unique way for Garland to flex his stylistic flair for the grim and ghastly, as seen in Men. The Lands Between is an open world that players have scoured every inch of, including Garland in his numerous playthroughs, which means it is near and dear to many. Whether a beautiful Gothic-style temple like the Crumbling Farum Azula or a central area like the Altus Plateau, the Lands Between feature many distinct areas that must be adequately captured on screen. Garland has proven capable of bringing unique environments to life through movies like Annihilation, which features "the shimmer." However, Elden Ring also features bleak environments, like Caelid, a visually disturbing area populated by grotesque creatures. These areas can learn a visual lesson from the heinous Men finale.

Beyond the environments, the creatures and bosses of Elden Ring can benefit the most from the gory display that Men puts on. The dark fantasy realm features Lovecraftian creatures like the Giant Land Octopus or Wormface, which are pure nightmare fuel. Other bosses seem incomparably ghastly, like the Ulcerated Tree Spirit or Astel. Even the more unsuspecting, but equally awful creatures, like Albinaurics, are perfect for Garland's talents. Much like the gross visuals from Men, these enemies could benefit from being so visually heinous that viewers will either lock in, or have to watch through fingers they couldn't help but put over their faces.

Elden Ring's lore even presents opportunities for Garland to push the envelope of the film with concepts like Grafting, which is attaching body parts to living beings. While A24's adaptation is still likely years away, Garland has proven he can handle some of Elden Ring's most grim aspects with films like Men, making the forthcoming video game adaptation an exciting project to watch develop.

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