Best Movies To Watch If You Like STALKER 2

Summary

• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl expands on the original concepts, pleasing fans and interesting newcomers.
• Dive into movies like “Annihilation” and “Escape From New York” for themes similar to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
• “Decay” and “The Bell Of Chernobyl” provide dramatic retellings of the Chornobyl disaster, worth viewing.

After more than a decade of waiting, fans finally got their hands on a new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. title. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a huge expansion of the concepts introduced in the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy, which is both a relief to fans and something that might turn some newcomes away.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is not for everyone, and neither are most of the films below, but they are perfect for anyone who enjoys the game. These movies are either directly connected to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. because of the subject matter or for having related themes. Like the game, many of the movies below are unconventional but rewarding experiences.

7

Annihilation

An Expedition Into A Dangerous Zone

• Release: February 13, 2018
• Director: Alex Garland

This 2018 film stars Natalie Portman as she ventures into a mysterious place called The Shimmer. The area appeared after a meteor strike. Previous attempts to understand it have proved unsuccessful.

The Shimmer is not only filled with strange phenomena; it is also extremely dangerous. Annihilation is both terrifying and mystifying, with just as much wonder as there is blood and gore. By the end of the movie, some questions are answered, but the most important issues are still left up in the air for the audience’s interpretation.

6

The Road

A Father Protecting His Child

• Release: November 25, 2009
• Director: John Hillcoat

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is just as much about the fascination with the Zone as it is about the ability to survive in it. The Road is exclusively a brutal tale about doing whatever it takes to protect one’s family and the horror at what others do to survive in the apocalypse. The movie is a mostly unflinching adaptation of the novel by legendary writer Cormac McCarthy.

As brutal as it is, the novel includes some even more explicit content. The story is unconcerned with the reason for the post-apocalyptic scenario. Instead, it is laser-focused on its themes and the story between the father and child.

5

Escape From New York

This Zone Is A Crime-Filled Dump

• Release: July 10, 1981
• Director: John Carpenter

It can be easy to forget that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is not a post-apocalyptic story. Maybe dystopian, but The Zone is an autonomous area and not representative of the state of the world. This makes Escape From New York a solid companion viewing.

Instead of a catastrophe, John Carpenter’s movie uses exorbitant crime rates as the reason for New York City being cordoned off from the rest of the world. Escape From New York is pulpy and unpredictable. The movie’s main appeal is star Kurt Russell and the wacky criminal personalities that pop up in the ruined New York.

4

The Bell Of Chernobyl

A Documentary From When The Disaster Was Still Fresh

• Release: 1987
• Director: Rollan Serhienko

This excellent documentary about the Chornobyl disaster came out in 1987, only one year after it occurred. The film has a ton of footage of the area still fresh after the catastrophe and, more importantly, interviews with those who experienced it. It also details those who are just starting to fall ill from the effects of the tragedy.

While the more relaxed policies of perestroika (or rebuilding) were in effect, and censorship was not as restrictive as it was just a few years earlier, it is still rational to take some of the information in the documentary with a grain of salt. All the same, it is a fascinating document of what the area was like a year later.

The modern spelling of the power plant is Chornobyl, based on the Ukrainian spelling, but we kept it spelled the original way in the title to make the film easier to find online.

3

The Endless

A Haunting Sci-Fi Horror Tale

• Release: April 6, 2018
• Director: Justin Bensin and Aaron Moorehead

The Endless starts with two brothers returning to a camp they lived in during their younger years that may or may not have been a death cult. The setup is the tamest the movie gets as events spiral into dark sci-fi weirdness.

The existential themes and lack of answers makes The Endless creepy even as the credits roll. Anyone who plays S.T.A.L.K.E.R. for the unexplained anomalies within The Zone will get a kick out of the events depicted in The Endless.

2

Decay

The First Dramatization Of The Chornobyl Disaster

• Release: 1990
• Director: Mikhail Belikov

By now, there have been plenty of dramatic retellings of the tragedy that occurred at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Decay, however, came out in 1990, just four years after the disaster. The movie was written and directed by Mikhail Belikov, who is from the Ukrainian city of Khakiv.

Even after the brutal realism of the Chernobyl HBO miniseries, the fact Decay came out so shortly after the actual events and was helmed by a Ukrainian director still makes it worth viewing. Though it is obviously not as graphic as the Craig Mazin show, the filming technology of the time and the fact it is filmed in the region without needing to recreate the historical era adds a unique eeriness to it that no modern interpretation can fully capture.

1

Atlantis

A Veteran Dealing With PTSD In A Harsh Environment

• Release: September 4, 2019
• Director: Valentyn Vasyanovych

Atlantis comes from Ukrainian director Valentyn Vasyanovych. It takes place in the near future after a war with Russia polluted parts of the country, making it nearly uninhabitable. The main character is a veteran of that war, suffering and dealing with the effects of PTSD.

Atlantis’s story is told with long takes from mostly wide angles, showcasing the dreary environments where the action takes place. Despite this grim setting, the movie ultimately has a message of hope and moving forward from trauma. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. uses its near-future sci-fi setting to instill wonder and inspire exploration in the player.

Atlantis is immediately colder and more unwelcoming, but they both have a positive message at the end, other than the cliché “humans are the real monsters” theme at the heart of a lot of dystopian or post-apocalyptic stories.