Spontaneous references some of the biggest explosion moments in cinema history, so which films are cited? The 2020 movie blends romantic comedy with bloody gore, as the storyline focuses on teenagers who inexplicably blow up. Written and directed by Brian Duffield, Spontaneous includes thematic shout-outs to filmmakers like David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick, and Steven Spielberg, among others.
In Spontaneous, Dylan Hovemeyer (Charlie Plummer) reaches out to his crush Mara Carlyle (Katherine Langford) after the first student explosion at Covington High School. The young lovers form an intense bond, and try not to worry as several other classmates violently explode. Spontaneous begins as a typical dark comedy but then becomes more complex when Mara must face the truth about her existence.
Whereas many films include random movie references, Spontaneous' Easter eggs and references are specific to the story. Mara's thoughts are consumed by real-life explosions and blood, and so she can't help but laugh when her friends make thematic connection to feature films. Here's every movie reference in the 2020 science fiction/horror movie Spontaneous.
Scanners
After the death of Katelyn (Mellany Barros) - who explodes in front of her classmates - Covington High students are quarantined and studied. One of Mara's classmates states that "It was like a Cronenberg movie" (3:30) - a line that makes her chuckle. As a movie fan, Mara is likely familiar with the 1981 David Cronenberg film Scanners, which features one of the most famous head explosions in cinema history.
Dr. Strangelove
When Dylan meets with Mara and Tess at a restaurant (10:00), he openly wonders if he's "bombing the banter thing" after referencing his father's funeral. Mara hasn't yet figured out that Dylan is her secret admirer, and jokingly teases that he is indeed bombing the conversation "like the end of Dr. Strangelove." She's referring to Stanley Kubrick's 1964 black comedy Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, which culminates with a series of nuclear explosions.
Back To The Future
At the 15-minute mark, Dylan opens up to Mara about his father's death and a school rumor that circulated about the specifics. Dylan reveals that his dad, a farmer, wasn't "crushed to death by sh*t" and then references the Back to the Future franchise to suggest that such a death is impossible. He's referring to the Tannen family having a mortal fear of manure because of several messy experiences.
Carrie
On Halloween (17:00), Dylan admires Mara's elegant costume. "Are you supposed to be Carrie?" he says - a reference to Brian De Palma's 1976 horror movie Carrie. Mara is super excited that Dylan identified her costume theme, and there's a secondary joke that subtly references Katelyn's violent classroom explosion, along with a famous scene from Carrie in which Sissy Spacek's title character becomes drenched in blood.
The X-Files & Traffic
After Agent Rosetti (Yvonne Orji) implies that drugs are making students explode, Mara breaks the news to Jenna Dalton (Laine MacNeil), who identifies the FBI agent as a "Scully wannabe" - a reference to Gillian Anderson's character Dana Scully in The X-Files. In response (30:00), Mara makes a Benicio del Toro-themed joke and references Steven Soderbergh's 2000 film Traffic, which stars del Toro as a Mexican police officer.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
During a woods sequence (35:00), Dylan and Mara spot various people wearing hazmat suits. "What the hell is this E.T. bullsh*t," the latter says - a reference to the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Specifically, Mara is thinking about the opening forest sequence in the Steven Spielberg classic.
Bad News Bears
When Mara visits a graveyard (85:00), she speaks with Dylan's mother Denise (Chelah Horsdal) about their relationship. She reflects about being high on mushrooms when they first hung out, and wonders if Denise thought she was "Bad News Bears." This time, Mara makes a retro movie reference by citing the 1976 movie Bad News Bears, a film about an alcoholic who coaches a baseball team full of misfits.
Unforgiven
During the climactic cemetery scene, Denise offers some life advice to Mara (87:00). She states "None of you deserves this. But deserve's got nothing to do with it." Denise then admits that she stole the line from actor Clint Eastwood. In the 1992 western Unforgiven, Eastwood's Will Munny speaks the second part of the line before killing Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman).