10 Movie Scenes With Unexpected Influences
3. The Rooftop Battle Was Inspired By A Left 4 Dead Level - Hardcore Henry
The finale to the buck wild sci-fi action flick Hardcore Henry takes place at the HQ of the villainous Akan (Danila Kozlovsky), as Henry battles his way through the facility to the roof for a final showdown with Akan and his remaining goons.
Some video game fans soon enough noted distinct similarities between the movie's rooftop and a level from the hit multiplayer video game Left 4 Dead - namely the hospital rooftop section at the very end of the No Mercy campaign.
And in a 2021 Reddit AMA, director Ilya Naishuller was asked about the suspicious aesthetic similarities of the two set-pieces, and indeed confirmed that he was directly influenced by the iconic video game. Naishuller said:
"Absolutely intentional. I love, love, love L4D. Some of my very fondest multiplayer memories, so I showed my production designer the No Mercy hospital rooftop finale as a reference for the HH finale."