After the mind melting journey that was Ex Machina, director Alex Garland instantly became a director whose name alone would put us front and center for anything that had him attached. Annihilation is that next film and if you missed it in theaters (tsk, tsk!), now is the chance to witness the majesty of the sci-fi thriller as it lands on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download.
Natalie Portman stars as Lena, a biologist and former military standout. When her soldier husband, Kane (Oscar Isaac), returns home near death, she gets sucked into a mission that finds nothing in her past—education or military expertise—that could prepare her for what she will experience and find when Lena heads into The Shimmer. The area is quarantined because since it showed up on our planet, it has been a source of danger, fear, an array of unanswered questions and something not one soul has emerged from after entering.
Kane is the only one and as he lies fighting for his life unconscious, it is not like any questions will be answered from him.
Lena leads a team of women who are the best chance of understanding the myriad of mysteries that is The Shimmer. The area arrived without warning and is surrounded by what can basically be described as a blurry see-through wall of some sort of substance that is permeable and thus how people are able to enter it. Once inside, our team will learn that everything they think they know about science, military strategy, nature—well, basically everything—goes right out the window. It is unlike anything anyone onscreen has seen, and frankly, audiences have experienced as well. Leave it to the Ex Machina creator to craft a landscape like The Shimmer that goes directly to our source of fear of the unknown meets what our subconscious can do when wreaking havoc with our conscious.
Oh, The Shimmer is also growing and if something is not done about it… it is likely to swallow up our entire world. The future of the human race is on the line and when facing a foe that is about as mysterious as is scientifically possible, the prognosis for success is not good. In fact, never have I experienced a film where I’m thinking “get out of there” more times per minute. Making that even more intense is the fact that once inside The Shimmer, all sense of time, geography and anything else that grounds our reality, is distorted—and that is putting it mildly.
The actresses that comprise Lena’s team—Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson and Tuva Novotny—are top notch and their fear is our fear. As a viewer, one is completely lost in this world, this tale and emotionally vested in our heroines, while still maintaining all sorts of hope that they can complete their mission successfully. It is not even due to our desire to see the human race saved, but more to do with the fact that we are so attached to these characters—thanks to the stunning performances by these actresses and the script they were handed by Garland.
Annihilation arrives on home video with over an hour of bonus content that is worthy of the brilliance of the feature itself. That is sadly rare, honestly, and a refreshing experience making our way through the Blu-Ray bonus features with a level of fascination that is laid out in the most intelligent of ways. Again, it is refreshing that a smart, cerebral cinematic experience delivers a behind-the-scenes experience that is equally as clever.
The bonus features are laid out in three parts, Southern Reach, Area X and To the Lighthouse.
Refractions commences the Southern Reach section and finds an incredibly candid Garland offering his highly intelligent insight into his choices for the textures, tone and even color palettes for the varied environments on the set and how he approached the challenge of bringing a rich novel to the screen. When it comes to a film like this, the tenor is everything. It almost becomes a character itself in a sci-fi flick and when done right, is a priceless addition to the actors bringing reality to their characterizations. The second part of Southern Reach is For Those That Follow and it features Garland’s charmed cast offering their perspective on the characters they play and why each found this wildly original story so compelling.
Area X is led off by the source of all our thrills, Shimmer. It is a fascinating look at how Garland’s behind-the-camera team transformed practical set locales and gave viewers an alarmingly altered view of landscapes we all know so well. Vanished into Havoc follows and closes out Area X’s featurette with the actresses’ take on playing inside this Shimmer world as we get a terrific “tour” of “how did they do that?” in terms of the stunts and special effects that all add up to make this mind-blowing film so mind-bending.
To the Lighthouse commences with Unfathomable Mind. It provides a revelation in terms of getting into the mind of Garland and how his use of visual effects plays two parts. One, how it informs the actors and two, how it gives the viewer a visual journey never before experienced. Lastly, (appropriately titled), The Last Phase puts the spotlight on the cast and crew as they share their favorite moments making the movie magic and what memories will stick with them decades after the Annihilation experience fades into the rear view.
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: A