Annihilation (2018)
★★★ — Annihilation (2018)
Alex Garland adapted Annihilation from Jeff VanderMeer's 2014 novel (the first in his Southern Reach trilogy), following the considerable success of his directorial debut Ex Machina in 2015. Paramount, nervous about the finished cut, handed international distribution to Netflix rather than give it a wide theatrical release abroad, a vote of no-confidence that became a minor industry talking point at the time. Made for around $40 million, it earned just over $43 million at the American box office, making it a modest performer at best. Garland shot largely on location in England, with Osea Island and Twickenham Studios standing in for the film's eerie, quarantined landscape. Portman leads an all-female ensemble through the kind of cerebral, uncompromising science fiction that was relatively rare from a major studio in the late 2010s.
Annihilation (2018) is a haunting, visually stunning sci-fi film that dares to be strange, ambitious in scope, rich in atmosphere, and unafraid of the unknown. Alex Garland crafts a world transformed by an alien phenomenon known as “The Shimmer,” a creeping zone of mutated biology and warped physics that feels both beautiful and deeply unsettling. The visuals are extraordinary: glowing flora, crystalline trees, a bear with a human scream, it’s like evolution gone rogue, shot with eerie precision. Natalie Portman delivers a typically strong performance as Lena, a biologist drawn into the mystery after her husband returns from the Zone changed and dying, while Oscar Isaac brings quiet intensity to his brief but powerful role. The film blends elements of horror, science fiction, and psychological drama, which is part of its strength, and also its problem. It never fully commits to one genre, leaving it caught between dread and exposition, body horror and metaphysical musing. Is it a survival story? A meditation on self-destruction? A creature feature? At times, the tone wavers, and the third act spirals into surreal imagery that’s mesmerizing but emotionally distant. You admire it more than you feel it. Still, for all its ambiguity, Annihilation is bold, thought-provoking, and unlike anything else in mainstream sci-fi. Flawed, yes, but fascinating. A film that lingers not because it answers questions, but because it makes you keep asking them.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 2018 | Watched: 2025-10-04
Where to watch (UK)
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Alex Garland: Ex Machina (2015)
More with Natalie Portman: Thor (2011) · Black Swan (2010) · Léon: The Professional (1994) · Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
More from United Kingdom: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) · Blue (1993)
More from the 2010s: Wonder (2017) · Beautiful Boy (2018) · The Witch (2015) · What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
More science fiction: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Fantastic Planet (1973) · Nightmare City (1980) · The Long Walk (2025)
More horror: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Viy (1967) · Nightmare City (1980) · Angst (1983)
