Alex Garland's been a prolific sci-fi screenwriter, with 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Never Let Me Go and Dredd among his films. But it was his debut film as a director, 2015's phenomenal A.I. thriller Ex Machina, that really made his bones. That was no fluke. With Annihilation, Garland firmly establishes himself right alongside director Denis Villeneuve as one of the top visionaries in the genre working today.
Adapted from Jeff VanderMeer's novel (the first of a trilogy), Annihilation is a strange experience. A remote area of the southeastern U.S. has undergone some kind of strange transformation. Surrounded by a mysterious barrier, it's been cut off from the world at large, now dubbed "Area X." The government's sent in teams to explore it that have never returned - until one man does. The book was a surreal read, written in a sensory-disrupting style that had me rereading some pages three or four times before I felt I'd managed to really see what was happening.
Effective as the book was, Garland's improved on it dramatically, bringing more depth and definition to the characters, more tangible dread to the environment beyond "the Shimmer," and more intriguing hints about what may be behind this catalyst of mutating flora and fauna.
Natalie Portman is the biologist member of a small expedition - all female this time - who venture into the zone looking for answers. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok) are the more high profile members of the team, all well-drawn characters, all full of trepidation about the task at hand, all woefully under-prepared for what they'll find there. Oscar Isaac is the man who came back.
The less I say about particulars, the better. But know that this is intelligent science fiction that doesn't go for cheap shots, and isn't afraid to unnerve and disturb. Like Villeneuve's Arrival, Annihilation depicts life beyond our known experience as something our conventional senses may have a hard time processing - or even sanely perceiving. The film evokes other pictures like Ridley Scott's Alien, Altered States, The Mist and The Ruins, but retains a unique and original atmosphere throughout. Garland and his Ex Machina cinematographer Rob Hardy do a remarkable, painterly job of staging the bizarre, visionary mutations and landscapes that the expedition encounters. There's also refreshingly little explanation or exposition to reassure the audience. Sound and music are used particularly well to influence mood and unbalance the viewer.
I'm kicking myself for missing this one in the theater, as it's so uniquely immersive and visual. Really striking, original science fiction films are few and far between, and if you're game for a challenging, unsettling look into a realm of haunting beauty behind the chaos of nature, Annihilation is a fascinating experience, well worth seeking out.
Adapted from Jeff VanderMeer's novel (the first of a trilogy), Annihilation is a strange experience. A remote area of the southeastern U.S. has undergone some kind of strange transformation. Surrounded by a mysterious barrier, it's been cut off from the world at large, now dubbed "Area X." The government's sent in teams to explore it that have never returned - until one man does. The book was a surreal read, written in a sensory-disrupting style that had me rereading some pages three or four times before I felt I'd managed to really see what was happening.
Effective as the book was, Garland's improved on it dramatically, bringing more depth and definition to the characters, more tangible dread to the environment beyond "the Shimmer," and more intriguing hints about what may be behind this catalyst of mutating flora and fauna.
Natalie Portman is the biologist member of a small expedition - all female this time - who venture into the zone looking for answers. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok) are the more high profile members of the team, all well-drawn characters, all full of trepidation about the task at hand, all woefully under-prepared for what they'll find there. Oscar Isaac is the man who came back.
The less I say about particulars, the better. But know that this is intelligent science fiction that doesn't go for cheap shots, and isn't afraid to unnerve and disturb. Like Villeneuve's Arrival, Annihilation depicts life beyond our known experience as something our conventional senses may have a hard time processing - or even sanely perceiving. The film evokes other pictures like Ridley Scott's Alien, Altered States, The Mist and The Ruins, but retains a unique and original atmosphere throughout. Garland and his Ex Machina cinematographer Rob Hardy do a remarkable, painterly job of staging the bizarre, visionary mutations and landscapes that the expedition encounters. There's also refreshingly little explanation or exposition to reassure the audience. Sound and music are used particularly well to influence mood and unbalance the viewer.
I'm kicking myself for missing this one in the theater, as it's so uniquely immersive and visual. Really striking, original science fiction films are few and far between, and if you're game for a challenging, unsettling look into a realm of haunting beauty behind the chaos of nature, Annihilation is a fascinating experience, well worth seeking out.
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