Annihilation

Annihilation! Boom in your face! What’s it about? Aliens? War? Genocide? An 80’s metal album? No on all accounts. Well except the alien thing, but that is up for speculation really.

Annihilation see’s biologist Lena (Natalie Portman; Thor, Black Swan) taken to a government-controlled, quarantined area to conduct research on whatever it is that’s happening there. Her military husband had disappeared in the area on a mission and has suddenly reappeared after a long absence. Lena is recruited to research the area after her husband becomes sick and they are taken to the government facility.

The Shimmer is an area struck by some sort of a meteorite, the area is locked down and off-limits to the public. Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh; Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Hitcher) puts together an expedition team to go into the shimmer and discover its origin. The shimmer itself is a wide, almost bubble-like area around the fallout zone of the meteorite. Everything within the bubble of the shimmer is “refracted” like light through a crystal, creating beautiful colour hues throughout the area.

As the expeditionary team explores the area, they realize something is even more amiss than originally thought. Animals have changed colour, plant life has imitated human life, and more. Something very weird is going on within the Shimmer. The team of Lena, Ventress, Sheppard (Tuva Novotny; Eat, Pray, Love, Blindsone), and Anya (Gina Rodrguez; Deepwater Horizon, Scoob!) set out to find out what exactly is going on.

This film has sat in my watch list on Netflix for well over a year by now. I was apprehensive to watch it as most of my Netflix and relaxing time is usually reserved for either Saturday or Sunday evenings Both of which I usually try to fill with some activity or other.

My apprehension came from the title and marketing of this movie. Annihilation could not be a worse name for this film. It does not represent what this film is about. The amount of actual annihilating is minimal, having a smaller body count than most extraterrestrial movies.

The second thing was mixed messaging in both the purposeful marketing and the guerilla-style marketing. The trailers made this seem like some kind of sci-fi thriller compared to social media and headlines which usually sounded something akin to “Annihilation is too intellectual for common audiences.” This soured me all the more on the film. Not because I don’t like a deeper film, but the very fact that the film was marketed that way annoyed me, and I strongly imagine alienated most of the audience who would have enjoyed it. So much of this film works against it. It would be better to title it Shimmer. It sounds like it wasn’t written by a 12-year-old and it actually has something to do with the film. Towards the end of the film, they shoehorn the word annihilation into the dialogue in reference to the events of the film only to contradict about 20 minutes later.

Another improvement would be to cut all the actors’ lines in half. This film is beyond beautiful and deep and meaningful in what you are seeing in front of you. It is really annoying when you are soaking all of that in then suddenly an actor says, “No. Time instead for ten minutes of exposition,” that leads to absolutely nothing. Now that all that nasty business is out of the way, lemme get to the good stuff!

So I’m going to tell you straight away, Annihilation, whether it is deliberate or not, is a direct retelling of the film Stalker (1979) by Tarkovsky. Which itself was a retelling of a novel called Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky brothers. Ever heard of either of them? Ok, what about a video game called S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl? Still nothing? How about the video games or books Metro: 2033? All of these franchises owe something to both Tarkovsky’s Stalker and the Stugatsky brothers’ book. Which I won’t ruin for you here other than to tell you either alien/nuclear artifacts discarded have a strange effect on humans with almost a religious quality to them. Changing everything in the area surrounding and subverting it as a whole. Annihilation has these elements, but slightly altered.

When I say this film is gorgeous, I really mean it. The imagery tells the story of what’s going on, but also habituates the screen with the science of the movie. This film has many layers, but its upper layer, the characters, and their personal stories, are definitely its weakest point. It is pretty hard to care for them.

The casting choices are very poor in places. The moments of the film where the characters are giving a soliloquy about their lives are just boring. Either because they are not inhabiting the character or the CGI has literally left them down with what is going on around them.

The quiet moments are also poor. I put this down to the actors. Rather than giving you some time to take it all in, they gasp and rummage and seem to mess with the scenery. Where we, in the first person, should be taking this in. This is also prevalent in camera movements and placements. At one point in the midst of Annihilation, a body is found and we see it all directly in front of us. Which is fine, but the placement of the body and the actual art and impact of its depiction is totally ruined because you see it as a whole instantly. On the other hand, if the camera had done a slow pullout from a focal point and slowly revealed the different things about the composition of the body we could have savoured every inch of it. The body, how it is positioned, and the wonderful colours enveloping the screen each tell a small story about the person, the plot, and the science of it all. Which is almost lost entirely because you see it all at once and have to dart your eyes around the screen to see the varied hints at what is going on.

Foreshadowing and subtle hints of the mystery are great. The whole of the plot is basically told to you within the first 40 minutes and by the last scene, you can get the amazing “Ah Hah” moment which is in itself worth watching this film for. The other mastery of Annihilation is its special effects and CGI (the actors being aware of it or not is a different argument). Beautifully trippy and works of art is all I can describe them as. Also, they are used as narrative tools as well which is a much-needed boon for the film industry.

The amazing bear scene is one of the best uses of CGI to create a cool narrative, explain a little about the film’s science, and create some poetic horror on level with that Georgie scene from IT (2017). Maybe not as gut-wrenching as that movie, but in its own poetry, it hits the same beats with sound and visuals.

The horror is good in places, mainly one or two, but it doesn’t scare you physically. It will hit you philosophically and maybe stay with you for a couple of hours or into the next day. The soundtrack was subtle but didn’t stand out to me at all so for the music it’s passable.

All in all, Annihilation is definitely going to be a personal favourite and is totally an amalgamation of thoughts and queries that often crossed my mind. But every viewer may not find the same joy in the places I do. I do however believe this film uses ambiguity indecisively, for the first two acts of the film are filled with wonder and somewhat out-of-context flashbacks. While the latter act suffers from over-exposition. This duality sets the tone on a downward plunge as the explanation tends to demean a lot of the exploration of the zone. Which is the most enjoyable part of the film.

If you have no interest in science then just forget about it entirely. Nobody put their best acting into this film and I do feel they didn’t really know what the hell it was they were making, to begin with. But if you feel like a decent sci-fi/mystery or are a fan of more “philosophical” films this is worth a watch.

Rating:

Thomas C:

 

So you’re reading this segment? You must want more. As per usual, Tom has got ya covered. If you want to go even more hardcore into the philosophy of this film maybe check out Stalker by pioneer director Andrei Tarkovsky. In Stalker, the location they filmed in, killed most of the crew and Tarkovsky himself after his self-imposed exile from the USSR.

If reading the basis for all of this is more your gig, then try and find a copy of Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky brothers Boris and Arkady, Which gets a whole lot weirder than either Annihilation or Stalker. If you do get a copy let me know on Twitter or Instagram!

So, after all, that very strange stuff you still want more? Ok well, pick up your mouse and keyboard or controller cause the horror in the material above is nothing on what’s coming. For the linear adventure gamer, Metro 2033 is where you’re at. Similar to Half-life in execution, but pulls you in with cramped metro tunnels in post-apocalyptic Russia. A white knuckle race throughout Moscow battling other survivors and monsters alike. It is a true survival experience where the main currency is the bullets you need to defend yourself. If an open world is more your thing, you have to try S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. Indeed, it is its own spin on things, but closest to the original material and one of the most frightening games out there. It never gets talked about enough. Both of these games are available on GOG.com, Steam, or Amazon.

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