Annihilation (2018)

Director: Alex Garland
Starring: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson

Synopsis:
A biologist joins a team of scientists on an expedition to a region that defies the laws of Nature.

Impressions:
I'd heard good things about this movie and I really liked writer/director Alex Garland's previous Ex Machina, so I was eager to give this a watch. This is a solid surreal thriller that's basically what Prometheus should have been. While Area X does have a deleterious effect on the minds of the team, the plot doesn't rely on them acting stupid to move forward. The characters are smart but with their share of psychological issues that get played up by the environment and the events that play out. The way Nature is twisted in Area X is delightfully disturbing, even beautiful on occasion. The bear... Oh, man. The bear... I'm not going to say anything more than that, but it's one of the most effective horror/suspense scenes I've seen in a while. I also want to credit the score by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow, which is usually fairly subtle but ramps up to great effect for the final sequence. Definitely give this a watch and consider adding this one to your collection.

Rating:
Watch It