A guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, an alien place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A Stalker, one of only a handful who have the mental gifts (and who risk imprisonment) to lead people into the Zone is tasked with reaching the Room, said to be a place where one's secret hopes come true. His clients are a burned out popular writer, cynical, and questioning his talent; and a quiet scientist more concerned about his knapsack than the journey. In the deserted Zone, the approach to the Room must be indirect. As they draw near, the rules seem to change and the stalker faces a crisis. The film is loosely based on the novel "Roadside Picnic" by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
4/10
A man briefly refers to his wife 'sleeping with' another man, and that he wishes both of them were dead.
In one scene, the mummified bodies of a man and a woman are shown lying in an embrace (no explicit nudity).
In a scene early in the film, the outline of a woman's nipples can be seen through a thin undergarment.
violence
5/10
Throughout the film, a few dead bodies are shown (either mummified or decayed, the latter being in shadow).
Characters refer to a trap known as the 'Meat Grinder', and people being killed in it - although it is never explicitly stated how it works.
At the end of the film, one of the three main characters takes out a bomb and says that he is going to use it to destroy the Zone. The three men then struggle over it (at the end of the scene, one of them has a bleeding nose). The bomb is later disassembled.
profanity
3/10
Very infrequent mild language, especially considering the length.
A few uses of hell, damn and shit.
alcohol
4/10
Characters drink alcohol in a few scenes.
One of the characters clams that he is a heavy smoker; however he is only seen smoking in a very few scenes.
frightening
10/10
The duration of the film that takes place in the Zone is very unsettling - the Stalker describes it as a very dangerous place filled with deadly traps, and the atmosphere is always very intense when the main characters stray away from the trail. However, none of them are harmed
Also, the idea of an alien place where people disappear may be unsettling to younger viewers.
There is a scene when the main characters must walk through a dark tunnel and then wade through deep, dirty water. While nothing frightening happens, the atmosphere here is very claustrophobic.
33/50
