INTO THE ZONE PART 2: ANNHILATION (adap/dir by Alex Garland, 2018, USA) by film critic Jared Watson

The color that arrives on earth by way of meteorite in Lovecraft's 1927 short story isn't just one color, but described to be a spectrum of colors. Colors that infuse themselves into the very chemical makeup of life, altering it, contorting it into something alien. A spectrum of color can be achieved by fracturing light into its individual attributes. A process that Alex Garland's 2018 sci-fi horror Annihilation explores with more than just light.

In this particular story, the meteorite collides with a lighthouse in Blackwater Park, Maryland. The event is classified as the government evacuates the surrounding area, and begins to study the development in what is to be called Area X. An incorporeal barrier forms around the lighthouse creating the zone, and increases in size for a period of three years. This zone is come to be known as The Shimmer. Every person who enters The Shimmer never returns, except for one.

Lena (Natalie Portman) is surprised to find her husband Kane (Oscar Isaac) show up after having been missing for a year. Once he reveals that he has no idea where he's been, or how he got home, Kane then experiences a medical emergency. He convulses in the ambulance as police force them to pull over, subsequently blackbagging them, and taking them to Area X.

Here Lena meets Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who informs her that Kane is suffering from multiple Organ failure, and was part of the last team to venture into The Shimmer. She then makes the decision to join Dr. Ventress along with three other women to be the next group making the expedition.

Annihilation is a breathtaking journey through a fusion of Sci-fi and fantasy as the shimmer blurs the lines between the compositions that make up our core essence. It is absolutely beautiful at times, and downright terrifying at others. It questions the concept of ego, and shakes the sense of self relentlessly as it explores the self destructive nature of humanity.

One on-going arch about a mutant bear who absorbs the characteristics of all it consumes provides a nifty cinematic idea of many of the unsettling themes Garland is exploring. When the bear terrorizes the team in an abandoned house and makes heart breaking noises no bear would make, the movie reaches one of its absolute pinnacles.

As with wildly ambitious conceptual sci-fi movies like Kubrick’s 2001, Tarkovsky’s Solaris and Stalker (of which this writer wrote last week, another Zone movie favorite), Annihilation is simultaneously about extraterrestrial intelligence and our own inner psychological mysteries. It’s fascinating how the very best of the genre always seems to make this connection that the furthest reaches of the galaxy beyond our understanding are somehow paradoxically tied to the inner-most mysteries of our motivations and psyche.

As an absolute favorite of this critic, it is highly suggested to check out this film. Withstanding a few plot contrivances, some lackluster acting, and a couple poor dialogue choices, Annihilation is much more than the sum of its parts. It is absolutely deserving of attention from any sci-fi fan looking for something new.

Jared Watson is a moviemaker, writer, and avid cinefile. Check out his work: https://www.ridgeviewdrive.com/