The Inanimate Syndrome is a clear homage to John Carpenter's "The Thing" When the alien "The Inanimate" (a synonym for "The Thing") lands on Earth the security guard peculiarly asks "Who goes there?" which is the title of the short story "The Thing" was based on. When K explained The Inanimate's powers he mentions how it can "assimilate" inanimate objects. Just like The Thing can assimilate living organisms. Even in the scene at the shopping mall when the head of a assimilated manikin falls on the ground, tentacles come out from the bottom for The Inanimate to get up and start running. Just like the defibrillator scene in The Thing.