A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don’t apply.
FILM
Every once in a while you go to the theatre and find a pleasant surprise. Annihilation definitely a surprise, but pleasant would not be a word I would use to describe it, more like terrifying. Director Alex Garland does a great job of reaching into the horror sci-fi genre and laying down a high brow, thought provoking movie. The cast led by Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tessa Thompson, does a solid and believable job as a scientific team of investigators exploring the mysterious Shimmer that has appeared upon the earth.
Once inside the Shimmer the world as the team know it begins to change both physically and even psychologically. They encounter familiar yet strange beasts and the discovery of what is really going on is a twist that pays off in the end. The only knock I have with this film is that the first act is way too long. If you would tighten this film up and cut out some of the superfluous storyline in the beginning we would have a new genre masterpiece. However what we get is a scary and enjoyable ride into a mysterious realm that will challenge your thinking about the nature of the world.
FAITH
Outside of the larger questions of life, death, death after life and what it means to have consciousness Annihilation does not contain any direct references any specific religion of faith.
This movie is worth seeing in the theatre.
3 1/2 out of 5 stars.