Watched late last night. I liked this one and I think my rating has a chance to go up on a re-watch, which will probably happen as one of my daughters really wants to see it...
Annihilation gave a similar vibe as Arrival, a favorite of mine. Both are a kind of hard-science-fiction thriller with a slow build that leaves you with a lot to think about. Unfortunately though, and kind of a killer in these kinds of movies, I felt there were too many moments where characters in Annihilation didn't act believably...
When they initially enter the shimmer, there's no "testing" or "feeling out" of the psychedelic shimmer boundary: they just walk through as if it's not even there. I think a normal person would require some mental exertion to make such a "leap".
Then, almost immediately they all forget the next several days, waking in their campsite. Their reaction to this is near laughable: they're not worried this will happen again? They're not curious what they may have done in that time? I think most normal people would be more than just a little freaked out about suddenly, somewhat randomly, losing a few days. Especially in a hostile environment.
There was a lot I really liked about it though: there were some truly terrifying moments, and there's a strong feeling of "what the hell is actually going on here". If you can successfully suspend your disbelief in the way some characters act, this is a pretty good movie.
A couple other random spoilery comments...
Bears are scary enough on their own, the "shimmer" bear was pure nightmare fuel. Holy crap.
I also really liked the somewhat ambiguous end. My take on it is that we're all screwed.
Watched on Prime, think this is available on Hulu as well.
Review by ɥɐıɯǝɹǝɾBlockedParent2019-01-12T18:53:15Z
Watched late last night. I liked this one and I think my rating has a chance to go up on a re-watch, which will probably happen as one of my daughters really wants to see it...
Annihilation gave a similar vibe as Arrival, a favorite of mine. Both are a kind of hard-science-fiction thriller with a slow build that leaves you with a lot to think about. Unfortunately though, and kind of a killer in these kinds of movies, I felt there were too many moments where characters in Annihilation didn't act believably...
When they initially enter the shimmer, there's no "testing" or "feeling out" of the psychedelic shimmer boundary: they just walk through as if it's not even there. I think a normal person would require some mental exertion to make such a "leap".
Then, almost immediately they all forget the next several days, waking in their campsite. Their reaction to this is near laughable: they're not worried this will happen again? They're not curious what they may have done in that time? I think most normal people would be more than just a little freaked out about suddenly, somewhat randomly, losing a few days. Especially in a hostile environment.
There was a lot I really liked about it though: there were some truly terrifying moments, and there's a strong feeling of "what the hell is actually going on here". If you can successfully suspend your disbelief in the way some characters act, this is a pretty good movie.
A couple other random spoilery comments...
Bears are scary enough on their own, the "shimmer" bear was pure nightmare fuel. Holy crap.
I also really liked the somewhat ambiguous end. My take on it is that we're all screwed.
Watched on Prime, think this is available on Hulu as well.