READERS' CHOICE #40: ANNIHILATION (2018)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

8.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, probably a year or so after it was released

BEST SEQUENCE

The scariest part is the scene with the bear, the most haunting part is the final scene in the lighthouse

BEST LINE

"It's not like us... it's unlike us. I don't know what it wants, or if it wants, but it'll grow until it encompasses everything. Our bodies and our minds will be fragmented into their smallest parts until not one part remains... Annihilation."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

88%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Annihilation backs up its sci-fi visual wonders and visceral genre thrills with an impressively ambitious -- and surprisingly strange -- exploration of challenging themes that should leave audiences pondering long after the end credits roll."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't apply."

DIRECTOR

Alex Garland

MAIN CAST

Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, Oscar Isaac

THOUGHTS

• From start to finish this movie isn't as thrilling as some of the others I've reviewed, which is fine, that's not really what it's going for. There are certainly some heart-pounding moments, even beyond the ones I mentioned above, but 8.5 might honestly be a bit high if we were judging this movie just based on thrills alone. It's an undeniably excellent movie, though, and the parts that thrill do so in a manner that will worm their way under your skin
• Annihilation has some of the most beautifully bizarre and hauntingly eerie sights I've ever seen in a movie. Worth watching for the visuals alone, and they stay with you long after the credits roll
• Such an effective setting. Even though there are aspects of this movie that make it appear to take place on an alien planet, it's not set on an alien planet - it's set in a Florida swamp, and despite the tweaks and twists to this environment, it's still recognizable to our human eyes. Not that there's anything wrong with alien planets, but I connect more when it's a familiar place
• The cast is great all around, with Jennifer Jason Leigh giving my favourite performance as the steely, blunt and emotionally detached Dr. Ventress
• I found the very last shot of the movie to be less impactful than I think was intended, and I can't really put my finger on why (also I'm going to be purposefully vague just in case people are avoiding spoilers). Perhaps it was because the movie had so much else going on that this final beat seemed unnecessary, or perhaps it was because I've seen similar concepts done better in other movies. Worth acknowledging, though, it's possible that this last scene was deemed important in order to connect with some of the "challenging themes" mentioned in the Rotten Tomatoes consensus above
• Very effective use of the song "Helplessly Hoping" by Crosby, Stills & Nash - a song that I think is just beautiful, and I can't think of any other movies that use it
• The AFI 100 Thrills list doesn't include any movies released after 1999, so considering Alex Garland didn't get into filmmaking until after the turn of the millennium, it makes sense that he isn't included in any of the AFI movies. He made a fair impact on the Readers' Choice list, though. He wrote the screenplay for 28 Days Later, and before writing and directing Annihilation he wrote and directed Ex Machina. 28 Days Later and Ex Machina will both be appearing later on in the Readers' Choice list. He also began his career by writing the novel The Beach, which was adapted into a movie by Danny Boyle, who would also collaborate with Garland on 28 Days Later. I only just saw The Beach for the first time recently, and man, I did not connect with that movie one bit. Any Beach defenders out there?

Up next: Us, from 2019, the second movie directed by Jordan Peele (and Get Out will also be appearing much, much later)