Are Cold Storage & Disclosure Day In the Same Universe? One Mutant Deer Says… Maybe?
Since the explosion of the MCU, shared universes have been all the rage in the movie industry. Step into your local movie theatre, close your eyes and point at a poster in the foyer – you’re likely to pick out a film that’s part of a huge, interconnected franchise in some way, shape or form.
However, one man you rarely see involved in that line of work these days is Steven Spielberg. In decades gone by, the master filmmaker brought two of the most iconic franchises to life with his work on the Indiana Jones movies and Jurassic Park. Now, though, he’s more concerned with crafting original dramas like The Fabelmans and The Post, or adapting the likes of West Side Story and Ready Player One.
However, he might have secretly broken that run without any of us even realising, as his latest movie has some fairly distinct links to another fresh release. Here’s what we know.
What Are Cold Storage and Disclosure Day About?
In cinemas right now is a film called Cold Storage. It stars Stranger Things hero Joe Keery as well as screen veterans Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville, in a story about the outbreak of a zombie apocalypse caused by mutant fungi from outer space.
Meanwhile, later this year, Spielberg returns with his intriguing alien invasion movie, Disclosure Day. This Emily Blunt vehicle asks the question, what would happen if the human race learned we are not alone in this universe?
It’s closely linked to the documentary The Age of Disclosure, which centres on the idea that the US government is withholding definitive proof of the existence of UFOs. But Disclosure Day may actually be an even closer relation to Cold Storage, believe it or not.
Why Both Films Could Share The Same Universe
One is a wacky, R-rated comedy horror from a relatively green director. The other is a cerebral sci-fi thriller from one of our greatest living filmmakers. And yet, both films have one crucial thing in common: they are both written by David Koepp.
Koepp’s past credits include Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds – both Spielberg flicks – as well as huge hits like Spider-Man and Mission: Impossible. Clearly, he knows a thing or two about worldbuilding and franchise work. Is it too much of a stretch to imagine that Koepp has played a part in linking Cold Storage with Spielberg’s latest effort?
The most telling clue to this is not in the credits section of these two films, but staring us in the face in the trailer for each. Cold Storage features gruesome body horror and mutant animals, but one that really caught our eye is a freaky deer with creepy growths all over its face.
Deer imagery also features prominently in the marketing for Disclosure Day. They’re in the posters, and we see a deer acting rather unnaturally in the trailer when it visits a young girl in her bedroom.
We know that the zombie outbreak in Cold Storage is caused by some kind of parasitic alien fungi. Could it be that the extraterrestrial visitors who visit our planet on Disclosure Day are the same ones who bring that deadly biohazard with them? It would be an incredible secret to keep, and quite the far-fetched plot twist, if we’re being honest, but the evidence is oddly compelling.
Deer Are In Movies All the Time – Here’s Why
It is worth noting that deer have a long and storied history in cinema, especially in films of Disclosure Day’s genre and tone. Ordinarily, deer are known as gentle and gracious creatures, much like in Bambi. They’re scared easily and are perceived as fragile, while the male of the species have a mythical quality about them – almost akin to a unicorn – due to their unusual and very striking silhouette.
On a more spiritual level, deer are considered to be divine messengers with an otherworldly origin. However, in a more literal and savage sense, many would associate deer with hunting and violence.
Within the last decade, we’ve seen a deer used as a pivotal and foreboding omen in Jordan Peele’s Get Out. When the animal smashes into the windscreen of Chris and Rose’s car on the way to the Armitage household, we should have known something messed up was about to happen. Indeed, Chris had far more in common with this deer in the headlights than he realised, and it’s no coincidence that he ends up being hunted by the end of the film.
Likewise, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer, a retelling of the Greek tale of Iphigenia in Aulis, may not feature a deer directly, but has clear connotations with the animal. In the original work by Euripides, the character of Iphigenia is hailed for her willingness to sacrifice herself, and is therefore protected, with a deer taking her place. For Lanthimos, this concept was taken in a much more sinister direction, with Colin Farrell’s character forced to make an awful decision regarding which member of his family to submit for sacrifice.
If we’re looking for the otherworldly aspect of deer, you may look no further than Alex Garland’s sophomore picture, Annihilation. The animal appears only briefly, but when Lena (Natalie Portman) sees a resplendent, pure white deer with chrysalised antlers and another with rotting flesh, it’s an implicit warning to the character, and to the audience, that all is not well in this distorted animal kingdom.
It will be fascinating to see exactly how Spielberg utilises this magnificent and mystical animal in Disclosure Day, but one thing’s for sure: whenever a deer is around, something strange is usually bound to happen.
