Annihilation | Film Review

Hey Guys x

First of all, I've changed my blog design. I was sick of what I had before and wanted to make it look a lot more professional - let me know what you think of it in the comments!

Anyway, let's get on with the review!

This film didn't get a theatrical release because it's been distributed by Netflix. I'm not sure about other countries, but it's definitely on UK Netflix, so you can go and watch this if it feels like your kind of thing!

The film is about a biologist called Lena. When the film starts, her husband has been missing for a year after he vanishes during a secret mission. One day, he mysteriously returns, but soon he lapses into a coma. While speaking about his expedition to psychologist Dr. Ventress, Lena discovers that a group of four women (the psychologist, plus a paramedic, a physicist and an anthropologist) and venturing into 'The Shimmer', a place where no one (except her husband) has ever returned from. To get answers about her husband's condition, Lena decides to join them, venturing into the Shimmer. But can they work out the secrets of this mysterious place before it's too late?

I'll be honest, I didn't expect to like this film.

It is heavily branded as Sci-Fi, and it is Sci-Fi through and through. Sci-Fi is one of my least favourite film genres. So I went into this feeling like I probably wouldn't like it.

However, I really really liked it!

The plot was so interesting. From the beginning, you're as curious about everything as everyone else is because you only know as much as Lena herself knows. As the audience, we are learning as we go along, and figuring things out as she does, and that really helps this film. In some cases, Sci-Fi can definitely get confusing, but with this, everything confusing was sorted out as the women slowly began to work things out about the Shimmer.

The actors that starred in this movie were so amazing! First of all, Natalie Portman is obviously great, but we also have Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson and Tuva Novotny, as well as Oscar Isaac and Benedict Wong. They all brought exactly what they needed to bring to their respective roles, and they really made the film that much more amazing.

Then there's the production design. Particularly in the Shimmer, although there was a definite sense of uncertainty and danger, my gosh was it beautiful! It was an amazing mix of fantasy and nature and it was honestly stunning. In a way, that made the movie more ominous because you're wondering how a place this beautiful could be so scary.

I've heard a lot of people talking about the ending, in both a positive and negative light. For me, to be honest the film wasn't about the ending. I didn't really care how it ended, and a slightly ambiguous ending worked well for me. Sometimes films need to have that sure-fire concrete answer to all the questions, and sometimes it just doesn't matter. For me, what mattered the most was whether or not the women would survive the Shimmer.

Overall, get onto Netflix and give this film a go! It probably won't be for everyone, but if a complete Sci-Fi novice loved it, you might too!

Lou