8 Movies That Inspired James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad

The release of the first Suicide Squad film was largely disappointing for most viewers, with a lowly 26% on rotten tomatoes, despite being a box office success with a total haul of about $745 million. However,  it seems that new life has been breathed into the villain ensemble thanks to James Gunn. Mostly known for his work on the Guardians of the Galaxy films, Gunn seems to have a knack for creating characters in worlds that are both action-packed and heartfelt.

Gunns’ work on Guardians of the Galaxy and two live-action Scooby-Doo movies also gave him plenty of experience working with ensemble films and helped him balance out the screentime and storylines when dealing with numerous characters. With mostly favorable reviews from fans and critics alike it seems that the run of poor reviews from the DCEU films has come to an end. There is a lot to unpack in the new film and much of that is thanks to James Gunn not being afraid to wear his influences on his sleeve.

8 Raiders Of The Lost Ark

The classic adventure film is also a major influence on Gunn. In an interview with Deadline, Gunn talks about how Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark was the movie that made him want to pursue a career in film. Although its influence on his most recent film isn’t too obvious there are definitely elements that both films have in common. Most notably would be the dialogue, similar to Gunn’s other work there is a healthy dose of comedic relief throughout the entire movie, yet the movie knows when to get serious and not ruin an otherwise powerful moment with a joke, one of the many reasons that the Indiana Jones movie still holds up today.

7 Jaws

Steven Spielberg seems to have left quite the impact on young James Gunn as Gunn mentions Jaws specifically when talking about movies that made him want to be a filmmaker. In the same Deadline interview, Gunn mentions how the “Naturalistic,” aspect of Jaws was what drew him to the film at first.

This realistic dialogue that he mentions can easily be seen in all his movies, as characters like Bloodsport and Peacemaker talk more like regular people than what an audience might expect from two characters in a comic book movie.

6 Justice League

When being thrown into an already existing cinematic universe, it makes sense that Gunn would look towards existing movies in the franchise to see what works and what doesn’t work. Although Justice League didn’t receive the best reviews, the movie had plenty of ideas and style choices that influenced Gunn’s movie. Most notably was the issue of how the movie balanced screentime amongst its major characters.  This was of particular importance to Gunn with his movie also featuring a fairly large ensemble cast.

5 The Dirty Dozen

When it comes to movies that specifically influence The Suicide Squad Gunn mentioned in an interview with Den of Geek, that the classic 1967 film The Dirty Dozen as a major influence on his movie. The movie follows an army major during WWII and a team of Military prisoners that are selected to undergo an extremely dangerous mission behind enemy lines, sound familiar?

It makes perfect sense that Gunn would draw influence from a classic war film with a very similar plot, and in doing so created a superhero movie that feels more like a war movie than anything comic book related.

4 The Great Escape

Another name drop by Gunn during his interview with Den of Geek, The Great Escape was also a major influence on The Suicide Squad. Another WWII film is about a prison escape from a German POW camp. The film also features a large ensemble cast with tons of intensity and lots of heartfelt moments. It seems that these two movies had perhaps the biggest influence on the final cut of the new film, with Gunn approaching the plot as a war movie ensemble rather than a comic book movie. The result was something that felt real and charming, despite all the absurdities.

3 Night Of The Living Dead

An interview with Gunn from St.Louis Mag revealed some of Gunns earliest influences besides movie titans like Spielberg. It may seem surprising to those who are only familiar with Gunn’s work on Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad but horror played a major influence on Gunn’s career. Specifically, George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead was a major influence and one that can easily be seen in his newest movie given his obsession with blood and gore that is showcased throughout. It’s no wonder that one of the best zombie movies ever had a huge impact on a young James Gunn.

2 Friday The 13th

The gore featured in one of the most well-known horror movies of all time clearly had an impact on Gunn but surprisingly the plotline of Friday the 13th is also a factor in how Gunn would write his movies down the line. Although Friday the 13th spawned an entire franchise, it was the first film that impacted Gunn. Mentioned in the same interview as Night of the Living Dead, the blood and the willingness to kill off major characters was clearly something that Gunn took to as a filmmaker. Rather than relying on the “good guy saves the day and get the girl,” plots seen in much of Spielberg’s works, Friday the 13th was willing to get rid of every major character and create a plot arc where even the protagonist can’t escape.

1 Dawn Of The Dead

Gunn’s first entry into big Hollywood films was actually alongside fellow DCEU director Zack Snyder. A remake of the classic George Romero zombie film, the movie follows a group of zombie apocalypse survivors who have taken shelter in a shopping mall. The movie is a gory, ensemble with plenty of comedic relief thrown in despite the circumstances. This is likely the movie that caused Gunn to gravitate toward ensemble movies as well as reinvigorating his taste for gore.

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