11 Freaky Sci-Fi Hive Minds From Movies and TV

In Pluribus, Apple TV’s new sci-fi series, an alien virus takes over Earth and connects every human into a singular hive mind—with the exception of Carol (Rhea Seehorn) and a handful of others across the globe. When a desperate Carol reaches out to a few of them, she’s shocked by how unbothered they are. 

The new way of things is harmonious and peaceful, they say, and they’re dismissive when she unleashes what she thinks is a truth bomb on the room. Everyone else in the world, she argues, is now “some kind of fucking pod person.†It doesn’t matter how nice and kind they seem to be, she says. This situation is not right: “I’ve seen this movie. We’ve all seen this movie, and we know it does not end well.â€

We tend to agree with Carol, who is messy, hot-tempered, sarcastic, and deeply relatable in the way she’s reacting to all the toxic positivity. But what, exactly, has Carol watched in her lifetime to help raise the many red flags she’s detected?

Here are 11 potential candidates—including a few TV shows, too—all showing a hive mind (or similar) situation that does not end well.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The 1956 original gave rise to the term “pod person†that Carol uses, a direct reference to the alien seed pods that appear in Don Siegel’s film and start popping out emotionless (but otherwise physically identical) copies of the people they’re replacing. The 1978 remake ups the ante by making the humanoids emit a powerful shriek whenever they encounter someone who’s dared to retain their individuality and resist the transformation.

Invaders From Mars

Both the 1953 original and the 1986 remake imagine alien invaders deciding mind control—achieved using clandestinely affixed brain implants—is the best way to take control of the planet. It’s not quite a hive mind, but the goal is still that nobody who’s human should be allowed to think for themselves.

The World’s End

Edgar Wright’s 2013 comedy follows a middle-aged ne’er-do-well named Gary (Simon Pegg, who co-wrote with Wright) trying to recapture his pub-crawling glory in the town where he grew up, with his noticeably less stunted friends along for the journey. However, what could have been a sentimental tale of bonding and redemption takes a very wild sci-fi turn when the group discovers the town has been overtaken by “the Network,†an alien hive mind that’s been busily replacing human beings with lifelike androids as part of its invasion scheme. Much like Wright’s zombie tale Shaun of the Dead, this one actually has a happy, “this is how we live now and it’s OK†sort of ending.

Cell

This 2016 feature based on a Stephen King novel (he also co-wrote the screenplay) imagines that everyone using a cellphone is affected by a mysterious pulse that turns them into frenzied killers. The “Phoners†in turn start emitting the pulse, which enables them to communicate with each other—a step up from being regular old zombies, but not much—as they chase after the few survivors.

The Faculty

In 1998, at the height of Scream fever, that film’s screenwriter, Kevin Williamson, penned this high school sci-fi tale, with Robert Rodriguez directing. It has an all-star cast (Elijah Wood, Jordana Brewster, Salma Hayek, Josh Hartnett) facing off with an alien parasite that wriggles into human brains and makes them obey their “queen,†whose identity is unmasked in act three after a few misdirects.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Pluribus reveals Carol’s comfort TV viewing choice in a later episode; no spoilers, but it’s not Star Trek. However, if she ever got around to binging The Next Generation (season two but also the end of three and start of four in particular, as well as 1996’s Star Trek: First Contact), she’d know quite a lot about hive minds, especially their hunger for assimilation and the notion that “resistance is futile.â€

Rick and Morty

Only Rick Sanchez would be bold or horny enough to date a hive mind. He reconnects with his ex, Unity, in the perfectly titled season two episode “Auto Erotic Assimilation,†then again in season seven’s “Air Force Wongâ€â€”which makes things more dire when Earth becomes Unity’s next target. However, the real delight of these episodes is the harebrained notion of trying to have a relationship with a hive mind whose offshoots surround you 24/7. Carol’s situation is a bit different on Pluribus, but she can certainly appreciate the unique invasion-of-privacy feeling that Rick experiences, as well as the odd sensation of speaking to one person and the entire world at the same time.

Slither

James Gunn’s 2006 directorial debut may not have screamed “this guy will once be running a huge chunk of Hollywood,†but it might make you scream a few other things, especially if slug-based horror gives you the heebie jeebies. Slither imagines an alien parasite crash-lands, selects a host to lead its hive mind (Michael Rooker), then sets a gruesome plan in motion to infect the entire community. It’s one of those hive-mind stories—The Faculty is another example—that imagines if you kill the main brain, you’ll also eliminate everyone who’s obeying its orders. This doesn’t seem to be the case in Pluribus, but we’ll trust in Carol to figure that out.

Starship Troopers

Speaking of main brains, who could forget the grotesque “Brain Bug†slurping the grey matter out of human skulls and using that absorbed knowledge to better direct the massive swarms of giant insects taking on Earth’s comparatively pitiful and independent-minded army? Fortunately, humanity wins this round, and the Brain Bug finds its own brain being picked for details on how to prevent Arachnic incursions. Would like to know more? Watch Starship Troopers.

Phase IV

Saul Bass’ 1974 feature is both artistically innovative and exceedingly creepy-crawly, imagining that ants—already famed for their coordinated work ethic—turn on humanity after a little nudge from the cosmos. Their ultimate goal is not humanity’s extinction but rather its obedience, and Phase IV’s eerily expressive insect close-up photography, combined with the ants’ swarm-and-destroy persuasive tactics, just might convince you they’ll succeed.

The Stuff

I hope Carol has seen The Stuff. I hope everyone has seen The Stuff, frankly. That way, if a scenario arises that even remotely resembles Larry Cohen’s unhinged 1985 sci-fi horror comedy, people will know not to eat anything that resembles dessert topping that suddenly bubbles from the ground, no matter how delicious and curiously addictive it might be. It may not create a hive mind, exactly, but once the Stuff gets inside you, all you can think about is gobbling more of it, and making sure everyone around you is doing the same.

New episodes of Pluribus arrive Fridays on Apple TV.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.