Annihilation (2018)

Director: Alex Garland
Stars: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson
Runtime: 115 minutes

Performances: 7/10
Screenplay: 6/10
Special Effects: 8/10
Costumes/Makeup: 7/10
Editing: 5/10
Cinematography: 6/10
Score/Soundtrack: 7/10

Verdict: Mainly set in an area called the Shimmer where the laws of biology and physics are altered by a mysterious crashed meteor, “Annihilation” follows a group of scientists who enter that zone with the objective of coming out of it with some answers. The world director Alex Garland builds in the Shimmer is both beautiful and terrifying at the same time, which makes it perfectly suited to accompany the two main genres of the film: horror and science fiction. The performances, mainly by Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh, succeed in giving depth to their respective characters, and not present them as the usual disposable horror protagonists. However, these performances were tainted by mediocre dialogue and conveniently questionable decisions, and as a result, made me care less about them than I originally wanted to. Garland’s heavy use of flares also got on my nerves at one point, and the weird way the movie was edited, despite it making some sense as the concept of time is altered inside the Shimmer, didn’t really work for me. “Annihilation”, in the end, was a bit of a letdown considering the talent involved in it, but the mere beauty of the enigmatic area alone makes it worth a watch. 

Final Grade: 6/10