- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)

After the alien abduction scene in 1X04: Conduit, this episode adds orange, red and blue lights to the long lists of visual elements taken from "Close Encounters"! Samantha's abduction scene became iconic for the series.




- They Live (John Carpenter, 1988)

A pair of sunglasses allow the hero of this Carpenter movie to discover the hidden reality behind newspapers, advertisements, billboards and slogans: brainwashing and soothing consumerist propaganda. In this episode, a chemical makes people interpret signals from electronic devices differently, and puts them on the receiving end of brainwashing imperatives.




- Moonraker (Lewis Gilbert, 1979)

Mulder's iconic climb of Skyland Mountain is reminiscent of James Bond's (Roger Moore) ascension of Sugarloaf Mountain next to Rio de Janeiro. Mulder and Bond have to dramatically exit their cable car, as Mulder's was stopped by Krycek and Bond's is attacked by Jaws.





- Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

The way the peeping Tom is shown in this episode is reminiscent of the one in Hitchcock's legendary film: peeping through a hole in the wall.




- The Entity (Sidney J. Furie, 1982)

The premise of the this film is that a woman is tormented and sexually abused by an invisible evil spirit, much like what happens to the nurse (Teryl Rothery) in the teaser of this episode.


-  Cocoon (Ron Howard, 1985)

Some aspects of this episode are quite similar to “Cocoon”, a science fiction movie that presented a group of elderly people being healed and rejuvenated by an alien presence and becoming progressively unfit for the old peoples’ home they live in. In the episode, the mushrooms the elderly are given gives them artistic creativity, the ability to see ghosts, or allows them project their spirits outside their bodies.



- The Serpent and the Rainbow (Wes Craven, 1988)

These are both around Haiti mythology and zombies, so the visual similarities should be obvious. Symbols, body paintings, mummified animals, animal parts, people under the influence of drugs or being turned into zombies...





- The Invaders (Larry Cohen, 1967-1968)

Apart from the image of the alien in a water tank reference (see 1X23: The Erlenmeyer Flask), there is another feature of the X-Files aliens or hybrids that could be traced back to “The Invaders” series (see also 1X79: Pilot and 3X24: Talitha Cumi). The aliens in this series adopted a human appearance in order to better infiltrate human societies. Moreover, when they were killed, their bodies would glow red and quickly disintegrate, leaving behind them nothing more than black ash -- a good trick to prevent people like protagonist David Vincent from obtaining hard proof of their existence. This is similar to the way the hybrids in this episode (and presumably the Alien Bounty Hunter himself, as seen in 8X02: Without), when killed, disintegrate into a toxic fizzy green goo, and later presumably totally evaporate.


- The Terminator (James Cameron, 1984)

"The Terminator" was explicitly referenced during the writing process of this episode, and the casting and the photography of the final episode reflect that: the T-800 (Arnold Schwartzenegger) and the Alien Bounty Hunter (Brian Thomson) are both tall, muscular, cold characters, mechanical in their movements and efficient in their work. The Terminator wreaks havoc in a police station and sets fire to it. The Bounty Hunter kills a victim in a hospital and leaves by setting a fire. They both leave calmly as if nothing happened.



- Freaks (Tod Browning, 1932)

The entire episode is a conscious homage to this movie: a moving circus, full of real freaks and geeks, usually despised by the average person because of their appearance, but as the film goes on we feel their humanity.


- The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)

Another episode that is the XF version of a well-known film, in this case the best-known of possession films. An exorcist (film) or a group of exorcists (episode) are called to drive out a demon from the body of a young child. Religious incantations, screams, supernatural events and dramatically set shots ensue.


- The Omen (Richard Donner, 1976)

The young child is a symbol of innocence, that's why it's often subverted into its opposite in thrillers with children representing evil. A well-known example is "The Omen", where a young boy is evil incarnate.


Continuing on “The Omen”, in the movie a photographer notices that marks in photos he’s taken hint at who the victims were going to be. In the episode, a photo is shown as proof that an invisible supernatural presence is at work.