Leave The World Behind: What The Deer Scenes Mean According To The Director

Sam Esmail has essentially made his name in the entertainment industry by imagining how technology might be used to change the world in ways that are often terrifying in their simplicity. This is the trick that the "Mr. Robot" creator uses to full effect in his latest project, the Netflix apocalyptic thriller, "Leave the World Behind."

However, there's one aspect of the film that may leave viewers scratching their heads even after the credits roll. An ominous herd of deer is seen gathering around the six survivors throughout "Leave the World Behind," culminating in them surrounding Amanda (Julia Roberts) and Ruth (Myha'la Herrold) at a nearby shed in the woods.

While the symbolism of the deer may have been a puzzling aspect of "Leave the World Behind" for many viewers, Esmail revealed precisely what they're all about in his film. "Deer are peaceful creatures," Esmail told Esquire. "To turn that sweet image into now this sort of ominous, menacing, almost warning — I thought was really interesting ... That's the trick about this movie. We always tried to take things that we never really considered a threat and then turn it around on them."

Of course, how effective this is in "Leave the World Behind" hinges heavily on how convincing the deer are. Fortunately, Sam Esmail had three exceptional crew members who helped to bring the scenes with the animals to life seamlessly. "It's a testament to Chris Harvey, my VFX supervisor; Dione [Wood], my VFX producer; and Alec [Hart], who's on the VFX team," he explained.

"They knew that we wanted to make the deer feel as real as possible, and they were on set," the "Leave the World Behind" director went on. "We had mock-ups there so that the actors had something to play off of, and we made sure that the lighting on the fur [was] as accurate as possible."

Those painstaking details go a long way to making the growing threat of the deer more frightening and unsettling as the film goes on, and they also add to the growing mystery that powers the events of "Leave the World Behind." While there are plenty of other aspects of the movie that are likely to have viewers squirming with anxiety and dread, the film's eerie wildlife is definitely one of the most memorable parts of the Netflix thriller.