Annihilation

Alex Garland's second dig at sci-fi post Ex-Machina wears a unique specs on alien invasion. An extra-terrestrial event has occurred. Comet landing from outer space has colonized an area with translucent boundaries called The Shimmer. Day by day, it's expanding. As it grows, it's gradually refracting mutation into living beings inside it, transforming them into parts of the new environment.

The characters. Everyone's hiding something. Or we are led to think that way. Although it may not be explicit and tied-in well enough with the story, the writer-director has wielded the theme of destruction by inviting characters who are either self-destructed or seeking self-destruction into a place where a major annihilation via terraforming is happening, hence the title. As we travel with our protagonist Lena, unclothing one layer after another, from her profession to marriage before finding out the secret affair we couldn't believe happened, we finally realize why she's disturbed. It's definitely a little unconvincing that she was previously in the military as we only receive verbal reinstatements for us to buy the fact. That said, actors Natalie Portman and Oscar Isaac shared good chemistry as Lena and Kane.

The Shimmer. This unmapped, outlandish New World screams at the top of stupefaction! This place is new. Bizarre. No one has ever been here before. Memories disgruntled. Communications barred. We know danger's about to hit these principal characters, but we aren't sure of its form and ways! We certainly do not possess a clue regarding where the proceedings are headed, which carried in a truly unsettling effect while keeping the suspense at the highest level! Post Midpoint, the film becomes a nerve-strangling psychological thriller with paranoia, mutation and wild beast at the center of a house terrorizing our characters! With these being said, the first half of Act II has nothing much transpiring, and it is predictable that something would drag Josie (Tessa Thompson) away as she stands outside the doorway.

The revelations. When we learn that the actual husband was dead long ago and it is the duplicated version of him that has been with Lena all this while, a lump is left in our throats! In an unconventionally scary climax, we see a freshly fabricated metal-like entity mirroring and imitating our hero prior to embodying her fully. We have no idea what to make of it! Even with the goal achieved and source destroyed, the real Lena would eventually turn into the foreign being herself as her blood's already mutated. With the two aliens successfully making it out of the Shimmer into our planet, their colonization will continue. And therein lies the perturbance.

The concept. So what is the movie all about? Alien invasion? Metaphorical journey visually showing the conditions of minds and hearts of self-destructed people? Nature's taking over Earth's reconstruction to its cellular level? Colonization via mutation? Guess it is all, one of or maybe beyond any of these. Annihilation is surrounded with mystery. In fact, the most suitable replacement title would be just that. From the writing, plotting, character building right to the very nature of the feature itself, every element is covered in veil that requires you to go deeper and deeper to uncover. Is this hallucination? Why is it dreamlike? What's real and what's not? At many instances, you'll be constantly questioning yourselves along these lines, which aligns perfectly with the filmmaker's intention to plant in the shoes of the main character. Contrary to popular belief, the film isn't complex, obtrusive or anything of the like. It's just drenched in mystery that doesn't give you straight answers, and that's the whole point. It fits the purpose, premise and motion picture perfectly. If everything's given away directly, won't the sense of discovery go puff and the korero die?

Said writer-director gathered a technical team of brilliance to render his vision tangibly possible! The universe erected here is gorgeous. The hypnotic colours. The deer with flower branch antlers. Shrubs grown in human form. Crystallized trees. Everything. Even the unpleasant parts were constructed elegantly, such as the infestation growth on walls, human carcass' prosthetics, night hours, motion snake-like structure within abdomen and tight oblivion hole leading to a horror-stricken abyss. Agreed however, computer graphics for the alligator and initial bear could have been done better. Slick editing by Barney Pilling alternated between timelines effortlessly. Sound design and mixing deserves praises too. Discussion here wouldn't be complete without mentioning Ben Salisbury's and Geoff Barrow's score! Be it the country song choices or the wringed distorted musical piece at the climax, we are literally moved!

One aspect of the picture that keeps bugging us is, why aren't the scientists equipped with shielded helmets or at the very least, gloves before entering The Shimmer? Well, maybe the environment is conducive for our kind as per research and data gathered, but it's still foreign and they already have the knowledge that the location isn't safe. The only person to come out of it prior to the main mission vomits blood and becomes critically ill! How could they go in unprotected, touch objects without hand covers and allowed to wander alone finding corpses? Is it a symbolization of being vulnerable? Not sure. Another thing is, this very well may have been a character-specific knee-jerk reaction, but Anya (Gina Rodriguez), a paramedic, panicking in disbelief about what her own eyes saw in the camcorder footage and pressing to leave the place after knowing clearly what she signed up for seems silly.