A poster is circulating on social networks, mainly in Spanish, claiming that a film dating from 1963 would have predicted an “Omicron variant”, of the same name as the new variant of Covid-19 discovered in South Africa. But this is a photomontage made from the poster of another film.
The movie poster titled “The Omicron Variant” reveals a bloodied hand with a man and a woman looking skyward, in a psychedelic setting. The English surtitle reads: “The day the Earth was turned into a cemetery”.
Some Facebook users sharing the poster are outraged about a “hidden agenda” with a film “shot over 50 years ago”. Others specify that the film dates from 1963.
A poster of another film, modified …
But the poster used in these publications does not exist as is, as its title has been changed. The film’s initial title is “Phase IV” (“Sucesos en la IV Fase”, in Spanish).
This is a 1974 film directed by Saul Bass, in which a scientist discovers that the cosmos influences certain species of ants in Arizona. These become particularly aggressive, to the point of attacking humans to dominate the Earth.
… But the movie “Omicron” exists
People who shared these posts have confused this movie with another: “Omicron” (not “The Omicron Variant”), a parody sci-fi movie, which dates back to 1963 and was directed by Ugo Gregoretti.
In this film, an alien grabs the body of an Earthman in order to learn more about the planet and threatens the human race.
News9live news outlet notes that this film and another, “Visitor to Planet Omicron” (released in 2013), have both seen renewed interest since the emergence of the Omicron variant.
This is not the first time that supposed old posters or extracts from documentaries have been presented with the aim of proving that the Covid-19 pandemic would have been foreseen: a painting, claiming to show “life in 2022”, and a report of 1956 which would have announced a global epidemic coming from Asia in 2020 had in particular circulated in October 2020. Find the decryption of these two examples in the episode of Info or Intox below.
