1. Movies

'Annihilation' is strange, beautiful biological mystery

Natalie Portman in a scene from "Annihilation." (Paramount Pictures/Skydance via AP)
Published Feb. 22, 2018

Alex Garland's Annihilation is a bracing blend of cerebral sci-fi and grindhouse terror, a genre movie that's more, maybe too much for some viewers.

Based on Tallahassee author Jeff VanderMeer's novel, Annihilation on the surface is a dead-ducks mission like Alien with the Ripley factor times five. That's how many intelligent women with guns will be stalked and worse by mutant creatures in a supernatural setting. Garland stages dread and body horror with the best of 'em.

Look and listen closer. Annihilation is also a biological mystery stemming from simple laws of cell division, a process Natalie Portman's professor Lena teaches at the outset. Everything strange, beautiful or repellent Garland presents in "the shimmer" where new species are born is BIO 101 imagined to scary effect.

Garland teases our understanding of Lena, starting with interrogation by a haz-mat scientist, questions she can't answer. Flashback to her isolation after work, a missing military husband, a meteorite striking a Pacific coast lighthouse. Lena doesn't know, but that's where she's heading.

Her husband Kane (Oscar Issac) returns unannounced from another covert mission, eerily distant and soon belching blood. His ambulance ride is hijacked by mysterious agents whisking them to top secret Area X where the shimmer — a soap bubble spectrum jungle — is growing from the lighthouse. Explorers enter but never leave except Kane. Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh) wants to know how.

Lena joins the next expedition to discover what happened there to Kane. She won't like the answers, plural in Garland's trippy, slightly off-putting conclusion. Joining Lena are Dr. Ventress, Anya (Gina Rodriguez), Josie (Tessa Thompson) and Cass (Tuva Novotny), each of them academia specialists not played as nerds or reckless. Fantastic situations like ones they'll face are made more credible and thrilling when smart people deal with them.

The shimmer is a production design marvel with Mark Digby's colorfully mutated flora and fauna making this sinister place beautiful. Everyday sights — a campground, a boat landing — are contrasted with odd hybrids and eerie topiary. Garland's special effects team whips up some lovely mutations; deer-like creatures with blooming branch antlers and jelly eel minnows among them.

Then there's the brutal side of this new nature, an albino alligator with a killer shark's maw and attitude, a gut-churning parasite, a bear whose decaying skull suggests he needs a few minutes extra in the evolution oven. The carnage and boo-jumps these critters bring are B-movie contrasts to Annihilation's smarter, more deliberate instincts, and what will keep some folks interested.

For others like me, Annihilation confirms Garland as science fiction's most intriguing new cinematic voice, after debuting with 2014's Ex Machina, another subtly feminist fantasy with brains. By simple law of cell division we should have more talent like his working by now.



  1. Kristen Stewart, Ella Balinska and Naomi Scott in "Charlie's Angels." MERIE WEISMILLER WALLACE  |  Columbia Pictures
    Screenings of ‘Turning Point’ and ‘Lionel Richie at Glastonbury’ are also in store for the week.
  2. FILE - In this April 3, 2019, file photo characters from Disney and Fox movies are displayed behind Cathleen Taff, president of distribution, franchise management, business and audience insight for Walt Disney Studios during the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures presentation at CinemaCon 2019, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. On Tuesday, Nov. 12, Disney Plus launches its streaming service. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) CHRIS PIZZELLO  |  Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
    The Walt Disney Company’s foray into streaming services is off with a few hitches
  3. The Blair Witch Project director Dan Myrick, left, and his production company partner Kristian Krempel on Seventh Avenue in Ybor City.
    The production company estimates it will spend over $1 million locally
  4. Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Terminator: Dark Fate." KERRY BROWN  |  Paramount Pictures
    ‘Motherless Brooklyn’ and ‘Arctic Dogs’ open, too, plus screenings of ‘Jane’ with a score by the Florida Orchestra and ‘Parasite.’
  5. Former WWE wrestler turned actor John Hennigan performs stunts in the movie "Speed of Time" being made in Clearwater. Christian Cashmir
    It stars former WWE wrestler-turned-actor John Hennigan.
  6. Crewmembers from the Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater and the Coast Guard Cutter "Tornado" rescue Nick Schuyler from an overturned vessel in 2009. Coast Guard photo/Fireman Adam Campbell (2009)
    “Not Without Hope” is based on the true story of the boat accident that took the lives of three football players and left a fourth stranded at sea.
  7. Mike Sandlin, owner of Grindhouse Video in Tampa, poses for a photo at his store. OCTAVIO JONES  |  Times
    Grindhouse Video, a temple of horror flicks, B movies and cult films, proves the video store isn’t dead yet.
  8. "The Current War" stars Benedict Cumberbatch. DEAN ROGERS  |  101 Studios
    ‘Countdown,’ ‘One Piece: Stampede,’ ‘Dolemite Is My Name’ and ‘The Great Alaskan Race’ also open, plus three horror screenings.
  9. Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta, shown here in the 1978 film "Grease," will make a Dec. 14 appearance in Tampa for a film sing-along and meet and greet with fans. AP
    The actors, who both have ties to the Tampa Bay area, will also do a question and answer session and meet some fans.
  10. Screenwriter Andy Warrener shows off a copy of his film "The Black String" available at a local Walmart. Andy Warrener
    Andy Warrener went from Civil War reenactor to screenwriter. ‘The Black String’ has two local screenings next week.