Annihilation (2018), Alex Garland

[mister_roboto]

i think its an AWESOME movie and in a way it totally has messed up my head because it works on SO many levels.

yeah it can be boring for people if they are just looking for the explosions and jump starts and monsters

but the real deeper stuff is a huge pleasure in seeing this ....story which operates not just on the literal level but also on the metaphorical levels.....

[nightlysparrow]

I really liked this movie. Had to suspend disbelief at the group the government chose to send in, and was confused about the how the different manifestations appeared in the group, but it did not interfere with my enjoyment. The special effects at the end were very fractal-LSD trip stuff. Had a good conversation about it afterwards; that hardly happens anymore, at least not since 'Arrival,' as most movies sci-fi movies are so dumbed-down.

[HighSpeed]

Originally Posted by mister_roboto

i think its an AWESOME movie and in a way it totally has messed up my head because it works on SO many levels.

yeah it can be boring for people if they are just looking for the explosions and jump starts and monsters

but the real deeper stuff is a huge pleasure in seeing this ....story which operates not just on the literal level but also on the metaphorical levels.....

Can you "enlighten" me please. How does it operate on the "metaphorical" level. My only understanding of Annihilation is that a formless alien being shoots down to earth, covers a region in some magnetic field, and begins to de-synthesize biological entities that enter that magnetic field to use the de-synthesized matter to form bad duplicates or mutations.

the metaphorical part I didn't get.

[Suburban_Guy]

Originally Posted by HighSpeed

Can you "enlighten" me please. How does it operate on the "metaphorical" level. My only understanding of Annihilation is that a formless alien being shoots down to earth, covers a region in some magnetic field, and begins to de-synthesize biological entities that enter that magnetic field to use the de-synthesized matter to form bad duplicates or mutations.

the metaphorical part I didn't get.

Annihilation was metaphorical in the sense that it explored themes of self destructive behavior, not only humans but also organisms in general. Hence the leading female characters all had self destructive behaviors and lives (as did the males that came before them), and the alien life forms also had self destructive tendencies. The director Alex Garland mentioned that was his intent.

And the beauty of motion pictures is that it can mean different things to different people. What some people see only on the surface, to others it can mean something more personal and deep. Take Garland's divisive debut story/movie,"The Beach." I never read the book but I'm sure some people thought it some pointless drama about a guy wanting to find an idyllic paradise. To me it was much more, a metaphor about the feeling of isolation from society and the desire to find something more 'pure' and welcoming (the grass isn't always greener on the other side of course).

A case can be made that many movies are metaphorical in that there are underlying themes and symbolism beneath what is shown literally onscreen. Even 'simple' Disney movies are heavy with metaphors like The Lion King.

[11thHour]

I finally watched this. Went into it knowing nothing about it at all. I loved it. Great film that I would watch again.

[Cent0089]

That screaming bear was probably creepiest thing ive ever saw in TV.