Annihilation - Movie Review

****Spoiler*****Ending Explained**** I think that the real Natalie Portman emerges, albeit changed by staying in the shimmer so long (now has the tattoo on her arm, eyes shimmer) and this is why: 1) Remember the doppelganger husband that emerges is very confused/childlike and acts like a different person. The Natalie Portman that emerges remembers almost everything and acts like the same person. This is the strongest case for it being the real Natalie. Also Portman 'outsmarts' the naive double into holding the grenade because it doesn't know any better. 2) The alien isn't 'trying' to do anything. It's not trying to kill her or replace her, it's just mirroring and mimicking her. Remember the doppelganger husband didn't kill the original. It just filmed what the confused/self-destructive real one was doing. Also, the 'clone' of the deer creature did the same mirroring thing. It didn't want anything other than to mirror the real creature. This brings me to the explanation of the ending: The theme Annihilation is self-destruction. Natalie destroyed her marriage by having an affair. Her husband chose to enter the shimmer early because he found out. Each woman on the mission had reason to self-destruct. In the climactic final 'mirroring-battle' between Portman and her double she finally outsmarts it into holding the grenade. Notice that this is the first time that it begins to take on Portman's form and start to look like her. I saw this as the double taking on the self-destructiveness of Portman. The grenade blows up and sets the double on fire. What happens next is very important to this theory Notice that while on fire, the double chooses to touch the vines in the lighthouse and set them ablaze and then chooses to walk into the epicenter and destroy the shimmer. Why would it kill itself and the shimmer? Because it copied the self-destructive nature of Natalie Portman.

Who else LOVED the synths used in the musical score in the lighthouse scene near the end? So trippy...loved it.

Natalies character cheating on her husband can be argued as a trigger for husbands self destructiveness and why he went into the shimmer in the first place. All characters that went inside had self destructive tendencies (since it's in our nature in the first place) except for Natalies who had a purpose to come back. So being unfaithful likely does have a place in the plot, just not a very obvious one.

That fucking bear thing moaning and screaming in sheperds voice was absolutely chilling. Truly horrified me

This movie kind of became a horror flick after the second half. Some scenes terrified me more so than regular horror movies.

***SPOLIER*** At first I also thought the affair subplot was out of place and unnecessary, until they mention that Kane knew about it, this fits in on how everyone who volunteered to enter the Shimmer were all somewhat distraught and self-destructive.

This really reminded me of the H.P.Lovecraft’s novel “color out of space”.

LITERALLY THE WHOLE MOVIE IS ABOUT THAT SUBPLOT!!!!! AGGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SPOILER I think that the subplot you didn't like was necessary because that's the whole reason she decided to go inside the shimmer, she felt guilty and that's why she said she owed her husband. I loved the film and totally agree with everything else you said!!

You know, I've gotten spooked by creatures before, but nothing has UNNERVED me on so primal a level as that fucking bear.

I really enjoyed this movie. The bear creature and its human screams and cry absolutely sent shivers down my spine. The mutation and the blend of its victims last screams, made my skin go cold. Absolute genius not many things haunt me, but this did

I absolutely loved this movie too!! That skull faced bear yelling in the dead woman’s voice since it ripped out her throat was one of the sickest creepiest things I’ve seen in a movie ever!!!

This film is entirely hypnotizing. Once the credits started rolling, I just sat in the theater for a while, feeling completely numb and taking time to fully process what I had just seen. I would love to hear your thoughts on it in a more spoiler-friendly video.

So future spoiler review?

Lena's affair with her colleague professor is so much necessary. And here's why: (SPOILERS) >>> Her husband signed up for the mission because he was broken (Remember that her colleague asked her if her husband knew about them, she said "yes" and she seemed very sad and told him that she will end this affair. So: The detail in the flashback came twice: 1- The first was just a glimpse, as a general overview about why she choose to enter the Shimmer. 2- The Second was to give us the more important detail, that her husband knew and he was broken, the best way for him to heal was to go away (in a mission). And, the second scene also showed how much unpleasant she was with the affair, she even told her colleague that she hates him. - She was broken, she tried to help her husband and find out what happened instead of just watching. - She tended to self-destruction, because her marriage would never be the same. But she also wanted to make things better. That conflict was reflected when she was facing the creature, she would either surrender or fight. In all cases, She will never be the same. She will never be (Lena).

I feel that the antagonist of this film is "self" (Despair, regret, loss..) Not the shimmer in the very least. The shimmer is the only steady truth. The shimmer is just going to keep on shimmering, with or without you.

Im still not giving up on recommending MINDHUNTER. Please give it a review, i feel like its a hidden gem, even tho its a fincher's project.

2018 is already beginning to look like a great year for movies

Regarding Natalie's characters interaction with the other professor: It WAS a very important sub plot, it showed her self destructing tendencies, one of the big themes in the movie. Really fantastic movie with some traumatizing scenes, help meeeee... EEEK!

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