The Mutant Tardigrades are the main antagonists of the 2015 American horror film Harbinger Down.
When the crabbing boat Harbinger recovers a crashed Soviet space capsule containing a cosmonaut infected with mutant tardigrades, the ship's crew members become infected.
Appearance
Like most tardigrades, these are microscopic, eight-legged creatures with cylindrical mouths. In large groups, these mutants are capable of infecting and assimilating living things and transforming their bodies into horrific monsters. each variety looks different
- the stalks: several pink tube like stalks spewing a black liquid emerging from Dr Stephens back turning his skin a rash like red , his hair scraggly and clear saliva drooling from his mouth
- mouth: a blob like creature spawned from the infected member dock with octopus like tendrils, a huge jaw with razor fangs dripping with sticky slime and docks legs humorously sticking out of its maw
- svetlana: the only humanoid like tadigrade in the movie with prickly fleshy skin,extra lizard like backlegs sprouted from her spine, lobster like claw hands,torn clothing, svetlanas original head with pure black eyes with small tendrils writhing around her neck and a massive crocodile like jaw protruding from her neck
- final tardigrade: a huge man sized worm like monster with pale grey ice toned skin, one serrated beak like hook on its upper and lower jaw and a flurry of tendrils bursting from its mouth
Powers and Abilities
The Mutant Tardigrades possess the following powers and abilities:
- Assimilation of biomass
- DNA absorption
- Shapeshifting
- Infection of humans
- They can create objects from pure matter or projected in other forms, using either for creation or destruction.
Fate
The final conglomeration of tardigrades is frozen in the ice after Sadie intentionally crashes the ship into an iceberg. However, with rescue choppers closing in, it is implied that they will spread to the mainland.
Trivia
- The film was heavily inspired by the 1982 film The Thing.
- the tardigrades were part of a Soviet experiment to create radiation-resistant cosmonauts.