Review of Annihilation (2018) by Reve S — 15 Mar 2018

Honestly, it scared the crap out of me. It was weird enough and had that intangible "something" that had me still thinking about it days later. It's weird because it is a true sci fi and it is about what would happen if a complete (tiny spoiler - don't read the next five words if you don't want a hint.

............... alien "something" fooled with our DNA,............ because that is what the unknown something probably does naturally. It doesn't tell too much about the unknown something, which might make people frustrated, but honestly it doesn't take away from the film because it's supposed to leave you wondering and thinking and putting it together, and it does, not just about what happened, but about what the unknown something is, what might happen next, why, and a lot more.

It gives enough info that I wouldn't ever want to encounter this situation, ever. I'd rather encounter a monster from a monster movie, because you might be able to get away from it. But it was the overall idea and the visuals that somehow made me feel really creeped out (in a good way for a scary sci fi).

If a movie leaves me still thinking about it for days, it's a good movie. It's unique, it's thought provoking, and it makes you want to know more. I think it explores the topic of what gives a person their true identity, what happens if that gets tampered with, and at what point does someone stop being who they are.

That's what creeped me out. It explores stuff that we don't completely understand ourselves, and made me think about things that are almost out of my comprehension. like how complicated a person's body and mind are, what makes me me, and would I still be me if someone shifted stuff around so I'm not the same me or a version of me.

Or if someone clones me, would that be me . I can't explain it. I can just say there's a reason it's creepy and it's hard to explain, but it explores something very thought provoking and frightening.

It's a shame that they released it on Netflix first. I couldn't believe I'd seen it on Netflix and then realized it was just coming up in the theater. That's pretty jerky for the studio to do to the producer.

I'd go see it in the theater, too, just because I think the producer got a raw deal, but I'm still feeling the creeps from it, and not sure I want to have nightmares tonight. If it doesn't scare you, then you don't understand it.

The force or ability of the unknown something, though subtle at first, is more destructive than an atom bomb, and sneaks up on you like a really sly predator that gets you to walk right up to it. The only thing I didn't think was deep was the people's characters, but I don't think that is the goal of this type of movie.

The movie is making you wonder who people are (in a general sense) anyway, on purpose, so I think character development maybe wouldn't improve the goal. Maybe I'm wrong. It's just my first thought about it.

Overall, I would not forget this movie. It left a strong impression on me. It almost seems to me to be a cross between a sci fi, a horror movie and a something just totally unreal, surreal, bizarre, but still mostly a sci fi because it COULD be possible, if there was an unknown entity with this much power, capable of this type of scientific meddling.