My Review of 'Annihilation'

I saw Annihilation on Netflix and remembered the trailer for it way back when. I was always interested but never pushed myself to go watch it. Now I’m kind of kicking myself for not seeing it sooner. It is a pretty well made movie with tons of beautiful artistic pieces that I only wished I got to see on the big screen. Plus, the big sound would have really got me into the atmosphere of the movie. I have a semi decent set up, but I couldn’t turn up the volume and just let myself get immersed like I could in the theatre.

So Annihilation stars Natalie Portman as the main character named Lena. She is grieving over what seems to be the death of her husband. He’s been missing in action (he’s in the military) for about a year and no one has seen or heard from him. She’s been trying to get information but she’s been shut down by everybody. You really get a sense that she is taking his loss very badly. Then all of a sudden he shows up out of nowhere, but he’s acting all weird. She has no idea what’s going on with him but he is definitely different and secluded. She tries to get something out of him, but he can’t and I wonder if it’s because of PTSD or secrets he can’t tell because he’s in the military.

Pretty soon, he gets violently ill and then the military comes to apprehend him and she’s taken into custody as well. This is where she learns that her husband was part of a secret military operation that was sent into this area called "The Shimmer." The movie opened with this comet smashing into Earth creating it. Apparently this "shimmer' is slowly taking up more and more space and no one knows how to stop it.

This is where the movie really starts. She befriends a crew of women that are supposed to be the next crew to go into "The Shimmer" to research it and perhaps stop it. This is where we learn she has a military background and in the beginning they explain that she’s a biologist at the university.

Without spoiling the movie it gets wild. It’s got tons of thrills and excitement to keep you going. I love how everything is a mystery and you don’t know what’s going to happen next. Since there are some funky things happening in "The Shimmer" it allowed whoever genius artist that worked on the movie free-reign to do whatever they wanted. Some of the stuff in this movie really belongs in a museum. The art borders on the line between horror and beauty and seems consistent throughout the movie.

There were times when there’d be noises in the movie and it’d freak you out because you don’t know where it’s coming from and what it’s going to do to you. The horror of this movie comes from the unexpected and not knowing what’s going to happen. Luckily there’s no real jump scares, but the atmosphere is good enough to keep you on your toes.

There are a few plot twists that I didn’t really see coming. Heck even the ending had something happen that made me question what was going to happen next. It was definitely a really cool movie that I wished did better in the theatres, because I think that’s where people should really watch this. I’ll have to save up for a really nice set up so I can buy this movie and play it.

Overall, I would give this movie a nine out of 10. The ending was a bit abrupt but still good. I had so many questions afterwards, but I guess that was the point—a highly recommended movie for anyone. You’ll be stimulated visually, mentally and aurally.