James Wan explicitly cited Mario Bava's Planet of the Vampires (1965), the Italian sci-fi horror film for its eerie, atmospheric use of color and space-horror. Wan wanted the deep oceanic trenches to feel alien and menacing, not just expensive. Bava's belief that color itself could express dread—neon blues, sickly greens—became the visual language for Atlantis's darker passages.
Films That Influenced Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
