We filmed this reaction in March 2021 and it’s finally making it to the channel! Clearly, we’re much more comfortable in front of the camera now 😜 Regardless, hope you enjoyed it!

The entire lighthouse sequence is probably the most perfectly realized visualization of surreal cosmic horror ever put to film.

What made Lena's group unique is that they were in all some way self-destructive. Suicidal, self-harm, infidelity, cancerous, suffering from loss. The only three to make it to the lighthouse Kane, Ventress, and Lena all were willingly there on what they knew was a suicide mission. They imparted this idea of self destruction on this strange unconscious Alien, and it destroyed itself and annihilated everything it touched, just like they did. But maybe, like Lena and Kane, it can start again, changed into something new.

That damn bear unnerves me!

Watched this film several times and I never noticed it was a copy of Lena's house. You guys had some good insights into a film that defies easy interpretation.

The movie is based on a book. It is a Trilogy: Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance. The author is Jeff VanderMeer.

Ill never forget seeing the bear scene in theaters. An old coulpe immediately left in terror😂

During the bear scene you can see a human skull fused with it on it's left side.

Everybody reacts to Arrival. Finally a reaction to this great epic movie.

i think the movie makes a pretty strong point that the "alien" does not "decide" anything -- it is more like a phenomenon or a process than a conscious or sentient being, necessarily so what happens to whom seems relatively arbitrary / random

Apparently the film had some behind the scenes drama between David Ellison of Skydance who co-financed and produced the film for Paramount and Scott Rudin the producer of the film during a test screening in the Summer of 2017. Ellison became concerned that the movie was “too intellectual” and “too complicated,” and wanted changes made to make it appeal to a wider audience which included making Portman’s character more sympathetic as well as tweaking the ending. Rudin on the other hand who was Alex Garland’s cheerleader and also produced _Ex Machina,_ sided with Garland, defending the movie and refused to take notes. Paramount who was caught in the middle of the conflict eventually decided to sold the international distribution rights to Netflix where it was streamed instead of being released to theaters while Paramount retained the theatrical rights in the US & Canada and China where the film underperformed at the box office.

I saw this movie on a whim one day, having gone to the movie theater as an excuse to get out of the house. I'd heard absolutely nothing about it and just thought the poster looked interesting. Boy when I say it blew me away. Such a fascinating examination of loss, self-destruction, the flaws of humanity, love, relationships... so many things. It stuck with me for days, and I still think about it from timw to time. Absolutely phenomenal.

This movie is excellent and underrated

YES!! The screaming bear is pure nightmare fuel! The design of the bear reminds me of the mutant killer bear Katahdin from the 1979 environmental horror thriller PROPHECY 1979, where an E.P.A. scientist (Robert Foxworth) and his wife (Talia Shire, Adrian from the ROCKY Franchise) discover Maine animals mutated due to 20 years of industrial pollution.

This movie was very unsettling (if that's the proper term) to see in the theater. It's the first movie that has made me feel that way.

The sound design on that mutant bear gets to me every time.

I saw this in theaters & couldn't figure out the metaphor entirely until I read an analysis about how it's basically about cancer. The fire is chemotherapy. The relationship between Lena & Kane at the end would be post-chemo... it makes sense to me now at least. There are many, many layers to it.

So, it was Lena who came back, but her DNA was irreparably altered when she was in the Shimmer. The alien had already taken hold in her body through her cells themselves. I really like this film. The music, the visuals, the cinematography are like a rich meal.

the opening scene is so haunting, I love it

THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING GENUINE & ENTERTAINING ESPECIALLY WHEN SOME OF US NEED IT THE MOST

"pretty and disturbing" pretty much sums this up. I remember I felt so weird after the first time I saw it. Love the visuals of this and the way mutation is portrayed.

Think of it as a movie about cancer. Mutating cells that mimic our own, self-destruction, and trying to fight it.

The tall blonde of them is played by Tuva Novotny, a great Swedish actress. I've always wondered why we don't see more of her internationally.

One of my favorite alien designs! Plus that alien soundtrack is so dope, so hypnotic

Watching this in the theaters when this was first released with surround sound was the best way to experience this movie.

This was a book. Alex Garland is one of the most intelligent writers and film makers out there. The book The Beach is an astounding piece of work. Dredd is a cult classic. Ex-Machina is wildly intellectual. So don't look at this as a movie. It is a metaphor about cancer. Ventress has Cancer. Lena was a lecturer on diseases. Sheppard's daughter died of leukemia. Annhilation is subjective, so it’s open to interpretation. "Great art invites interpretation, not by being needlessly obtuse, but by encouraging the viewers to explore certain ideas and concepts" - MATT GOLDBERG - Collider

Alligators have a rounder face, and Crocodiles have a pointier one. So Crocodiles heads look more like an "A", and an Alligators head shape is more like a "C"

I don't know if this movie is good or bad, but I love it for some reason. I know a lot of it is the score. It's hypnotic. Soothing and terrifying and otherworldly. The whole movie sort of reminds me of a dream - the way people and things can just randomly become something else or have the wrong personality or characteristics. It's like reality is just running through a blender. So cool.

You should probably watch “The Color Out of Space” now after seeing this... same concept pretty much..

32:12 That bear developed the ability to mimic to draw in prey. So when it opened it's mouth and you hear Shepard's(Shepherd?) cries for help, it was actually hunting the others.

This is a great, weird, yet fascinating movie. The movie did a great job with the atmosphere and sounds.

Leo DiCaprio could've taken that bear on his own.

One of my wife's favorite films, which I've watched 7-8 times and neither of us has EVER noted the migrating tattoo before. Nice early hint what's happening that we never picked up on before.

I think I read that Garland had read Annihilation years ago and based this movie off his half remembered version of the book without refreshing his memory, which ended up producing an amazing product and also seems thematically appropriate.

I'm so glad y'all reacted to this. It's one of my top 3 movies of all time, and nobody reacts to it! A criminally underrated gem.

it's unclear in the film since it's dark but concept art shows that there is half of a human skull fused into the bear skull which can either imply that Sheppard's consciousness merged with the bear or the bear is simply mimicking her last words which either way is horrifying and I love the concept

I lost it when she said “or maybe they just have a better chance at survival due to their knowledge” 😂

One of my favorite movies. It's so underrated.

Such a beautiful looking cosmic horror film...

I remember the first time watching this and just being confused and terrified most of the time 😵‍💫 ☠️ great film

The book which this movie is (very, very loosely) based on was the first of a trilogy. Knowing that, you will probably not be surprised to hear that the novel actually provided _fewer_ answers than the movie instead of _more._ The book is also a lot weirder than this - though to be fair, I can't imagine how you'd film some of the stuff in the book. Unfortunately, the novel of _Annihilation_ is better at setting up questions than its sequels are at answering them; so while I enjoyed the first book and may re-read it eventually, I doubt I will ever go back to either of the sequels.

This is a good example of a book adaptation that isn't exacly faithful to the source material but retains the essence of the book.The "bear" was stolen from another classic scifi novel, it's the alzabo from The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. Alex Garland does very good scifi movies.

If you're confused about the meaning of the film, it's an allegory for cancer and how different people deal with it. One dies quickly, another gradually accepts her fate, another is in denial and acts out, one fights back and loses, the last one fights back and recovers.

Oh let’s go, I love this movie!

One of the best Lovecraftian movie out there. The dread is palpable .

I really like the symbolism in this film, and one of my favorite scenes is after they lose Shepard, when Lena spots the floral deer and fawn. It's of course not literally Shepard and her daughter, but it's a reassuring thought. And then of course that scene with the bear, so nightmarish and existential. When looking at the story symbolically, the ending is more about how Caine and Lena are forever changed after their time in the shimmer. The shimmer itself may be literally gone, but it lives on in their experiences and memories, an echo if you will.

I _love_ this movie (and series *"The Southern Reach"* trilogy). One of the things I appreciate the most about it is that the answers are kind of unnecessary, apart from a viewer just desiring a full explanation. The story of these events just feels so fascinating without the answers. Without the motives of... whatever came with the comet. I absolutely love their creative decision at the end, in the lighthouse, to have Lena and the mimic move like dancers - like it's a very specific, obvious choice in the movement and falls to be a bit "theater", and idk why, I just really loved that. It felt so unnerving and intimate, but also gave the mimic a less dangerous impression. The idea of this entity having no conscious motive, just a compulsion to explore and combine and create is such an interesting take on an "alien" story. Absolutely no negotiable intent, just some kind of _other nature,_ defying what we know to effortlessly combine things that we believed couldn't combine, and in such a grotesquely dispassionate way. It's truly this like, deep offense to our consciousness, our instincts and our understanding of our own world and environment. Just being here, taking over, and violating the very foundations of our science and world. It's cold and it's violating (and violent) in a very existential way that you (the creators of this story) can't achieve if you explain everything beyond the open-endedness that I'm attempting to articulate here. Ahh! I love it. It's so weird and unnerving. I also love the idea that we (the researches/government) just had no fucking idea what to do with the lack of information we have about it, that they were just like... Okay, we've been sending men, let's send women. We've been sending soldiers, let's send academics. And the idea that everyone in this group had _loss,_ like a hole in their heart, as they venture into this unknown of _creation and building_ is so... I don't know. Beautiful and horrible. The events of this story play out very differently to the novel, and the weird part is that *they both work to tell their own interesting story.* I vaguely recall the director saying something like he specifically felt compelled to write this film like it was a dream of the story he read. Specifically, Garland said, _"In the end, in a way, what I felt like I was adapting was my dreamlike feeling while I was reading Jeff [VanderMeer]'s book."_ He had actually written this screenplay before "The Southern Reach" even had Books 2, and 3. It was just "Annihilation" the novel when Garland was working on this, so he intended on giving _this_ story some kind of conclusion. Interesting stuff! The series is _even more weird,_ and tackles the experience of this event from several different points of view. Worth reading if you're into weirdLit. I'm glad you guys liked it, and glad you shared it with us!

I love watching the full watch-along with you guys, and seeing how far you've progressed with your channel. Here's to 200K subscribers and onwards!

One of the top 5 movies of 2018. I remember watching this a million times getting friends/family to watch it. Probably one of my main recommendations The score in this is so good. Can't wait for 28 Years Later with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland.

The whole lighthouse part was so consistently loud when I saw this in a theater that I think I suffered hearing loss. I almost left, but I ended up watching the end from the exit hallway near the door with my ears plugged.

So glad we finally got to see your reaction to this. It’s one of my favorite creepy, alien horror films!

Fantastic movie, love the haunting score and the creativity of the visuals

The bear: "Hello, ladies. You must be wondering how I speak your language."

I agree with you that Lena was driven to make it back. Everyone else volunteered for a suicide mission, but Lena, although wracked with guilt over cheating on Kane, felt a ray of hope that if she could only find answers to what happened to Kane in The Shimmer, that she could save his life if she made it back with those answers. I think she wants to save him both because she loves him, and because that would expiate her guilt. She discovered Kane died, but also that Kane told his echo to find Lena. In a way, Kane left his echo to Lena like in a will. I don’t think she or we know why Kane wanted the Echo to go to her. There are a few possibilities that jump to mind immediately. One of the hopeful answers is that Kane knows that Echo Kane loves Lena, and as physically wrecked as Original Kane is, that’s Kane’s only way to kind of get back to Lena and live out life with her. So Lena accepts Echo Kane as her husband, because Original Kane wanted her to.

One of the best Lovecraftian horror films in recent years (even though the author of the book that the movie's based on blatantly rejects the idea of it being Lovecraftian).

hell yeah - saw this in my sub feed and immediately started watching - love this movie and love you both :D

Even though I am late to watch this, I’m happy to see you guys reacted to this movie. I really enjoyed it but I also don’t see any other reaction channels I know of react to this. Underrated

This movie is good, weird, but good. They also previously did Ex Machina. Short, 1hr 40min, very straightforward, and the best movie I've seen in last 20 years

There's a rabbit hole of notable inspirations for this film and the novel it's based on. -1927, H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Colour Out of Space" -1972, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's novel "Roadside Picnic" -1979, Andrei Tarkovsky's film "Stalker" -2007-2009, GSC Gameworld's videogame series "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl" -2014, Jeff VanderMeer's novel "Annihilation" -2018, Alex Garland's film "Annihilation" -2019, Richard Stanley's film "The Color Out of Space" -2024, GSC Gameworld's sequel videogame, "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl"

That bear is the scariest thing Ive ever seen in a horror movie. The fact that it just SCREAMS with Shepherds voice is so insanely terrifying. But I the thing about this movie I like is that there is no like villain. The shimmer isnt evil, its just THERE. I dont think it has ANY intentions in its basic form, we see it mirroring. It mirrors Kane, he seems like hes given up and is calm, so the shimmer is calm too. He talks to it and instructs it to shield its eyes. He asks for it to look for Lena and it does and it recognises her because it is Kane kind of. Meanwhile Lenas shimmer is aggressive, it attacks her because she wants to get out, she attacks it first. Tbh I felt bad for it, seeing it holding the phosphorus granade like that. Because it doesnt KNOW things, it just seems to kind of trust in a way. Idk its a really cool movie and its probably a metaphor for SOMETHING. But my brain isnt big enough for that😂

The sound design is spectacular

You guys totally gave me insights i missed!

One of my favorite movies. Everything is perfect. Cast, writing, soundtrack, visuals all outstanding!

Brokenness and self-destruction are integral themes of Annihilation, and the five women represent this going into this mission. The Shimmer is a mirror image of this problem on a larger scale. Mutating and destroying the world on an environmental level, Lena's inability to stop what is happening reflects what is happening in the world. Natural resources continue to decay and be misused daily. As the world dismantles due to humankind's own self-destruction, all one can do is watch.

Not many cosmic horror movies

Folding Ideas did a really great video on this movie and how steeped in theme it is

I love how, even though this is very much a horror movie, it's... not malicious in any way, and maybe not even a bad thing? The horror is less about the Shimmer and more about what you bring with yourself into the Shimmer, because it will be spread around and mirrored back to you, and most people don't have the degree of self-insight required to even *know* what they carry inside, nevermind accepting it. It almost works as a metaphor for therapy. As far as the literal plot... I think the point is that, even though Kane is "fake" and Lena is "real", neither is exactly the same person who went into the Shimmer and both carry part of the Shimmer inside of them. Lena left part of herself behind in the duplicate that caught fire -- her self-destructive part, the part of her that made her have an affair -- and Kane's duplicate kept the parts of Kane that Kane gave to him, with Kane keeping his own self-destructive part and setting *himself* on fire. Part of the point of the ending, I think, is that it doesn't matter which is the "duplicate" and which is "real": the Shimmer sparked a reaction, sort of a next phase of evolution, but the reaction is still burning inside of both of them, as well as in all of the other living things that were still inside the Shimmer when it vanished. It can't be stopped, in the same way that a coal-seam fire can't be stopped. (Look up Centralia, Pennsylvania to learn more about those!)

Loved it in the theater. This is my favorite 2nd Jennifer Jason Leigh film. 1st is "Hateful 8" and third "Fargo 5".

The novel this is adapted from was itself inspired, at least in part, by The Colour Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft.

Lena is self-destructive and teaches the alien self-destruction at the Lighthouse.

This is such an interesting and complex movie - it's designed to leave you thinking what it was all about. Cancer starts the movie, there's a theme of mutation, and cancer is a random mutation that occurs within us that causes our annihilation. So these damaged women enter into the shimmer that reflects everything and they each face their trauma. Is the Natlie Portman that entered into the Shimmer the same as the one that emerged? Is the copy of her husband not still her husband? Very underrated, complex, and deeply disturbing but it's become one of my favorites.

I love it great reaction

Such an underrated movie. A truly unique SF. The closest mainstream movie we got to Tarkovsky's Stalker

Thanks - this film always reminds me of Tarkovsky's Stalker, an alternate version of the story in which Stalker has action sequences

Haven't even watched yet and gave this a like. I love this movie.

This is my all-time favorite movie, unequivocally... up until this came out I had a list of "ties" like most of us, but something about this movie just hit every button for me. Thanks for the reaction!

This is a great movie, I'm waiting for it to go on sale on 4k bluray to add it to my collection. Great reaction!

Underrated film. That bear scene still gives me chills

This movie is, a dmt trip. Love it. Edit: After finishing this reaction, this absolutely a perfect representation of a dmt trip, down to the chrome beings. Everything is one with everything and ever changing/evolving. Such a great movie.

Annihilation is based on the book of the same name, which is part of the Southern Reach trilogy (Annihilation, Authority and Acceptance) by Jeff VanderMeer. This trilogy is part of the literary movement known as New Weird. It is speculated that this subgenre emerged at the beginning of the 21st century with the productions of writer China Miéville - mainly in his novel Perdido Street Station (2000) -, although some of its roots manifested themselves during the 1990s. Within the so-called genre fiction, which encompasses “market” literature produced for mass consumption, there are the branches of speculative fiction, which encompasses all literature that involves supernatural, futuristic and fantastic elements. It is here, for example, that we find fantasy, horror and science fiction literature, and, permeating these genres in a transversal way, we have weird fiction. Emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, with roots from the 19th century, such as Poe and Chambers, weird fiction, in the words of China Miéville, "is generally, roughly speaking, conceived as a distressing and generically uncertain macabre fiction, a dark fantastic (' horror' with 'fantasy'), often featuring non-traditional alien monsters (thus with 'science fiction')." New Weird is a subgenre of Fantasy that, in general, combines its narrative with horror, science fiction and other genres in a mysterious and grotesque setting. Named at the beginning of 2000, the genre consists of an attempt to follow the same concept as (old) weird, in terms of the search for transgression to the molds and common places of literature in its search for quality stories, which contribute to speculative fiction, reaffirming the intention of the original movement to break with these traditions. By following in the footsteps of the old weird, in its transgressive essence, the new weird tries to open a new range of possibilities for speculative writing. Here again the maxim of repulsion to the rules established in favor of the author's creative freedom becomes a central key. Similar to weird literature, new weird presented, at first glance, elements of fantasy, horror and science fiction. The proposal is, in fact, a genre that arises from the hybridization of these previous ones. But, as you investigate, you realize that the thing is deeper and more comprehensive. Although it starts, in fact, from a mixture between the three genres, new weird is not content or limited to this, but rather radically stands up against the rules that govern all genre fiction. New weird is not fantasy, horror or science fiction. It is that, for sure (or maybe), but it can also be a detective novel, comedy, drama, or even pure nonsense, seeking to use these elements to build a quality narrative without the prejudices of “That can/can't”. The supernatural is an ever-present element, and the relationship with it marks the genre. The fantasy is there. Far from Tolkien's wings, the new weird thinks of beetle-faced women, lizard men and aliens who reproduce by laying eggs in humans, but also uses magic, be it a strange mix of thaumaturgical technology, talismans and energy or shadow emitted by masked fingers. Science fiction is present, whether in the form of advanced technology (or why not good old steampunk?), but mainly in its approach to the supernatural. Its creatures, although not always deeply explained, are strange to the point that they often cannot be easily conceived as a result of our folklore, especially in their approach. Horror often, different from the cosmic, distant and unknowable Lovecraftian horror, presents itself as something close, real and personal, but still deeply questioning reality, both of the characters and of the reader himself. No element is “forbidden” when the objective is to build an effectively good narrative. Freedom of writing is the rule. The entire collection of fantasy, horror and science fiction is at your disposal, all the writer needs to do is stray a little from traditional models and create something worth telling. “Abandon the clichés!” says the new weird. “Break your limits”, “Try something new”, “Dare to do it!”. There are no standards! The good story itself justifies itself.

This film is an echo itself. It bears a massive resemblance to a famous Russian film called STALKER by Andrei Tarkovsky, who was basically the Russian Stanley Kubrick. It's an adaptation of the Struzatski bros. novella _Roadside Picnic_ about people venturing into an area called The Zone where the laws of physics have been warped by a brief alien visitation. It's a 3-hr. film and a heady, slow burn, but it's impossible to watch ANNIHILATION and *NOT* see the similarities with STALKER. I highly, highly recommend watching it, even if it's the only Russian film you ever see in your lives, it's *that* good.

I like how the alien is portrayed in this movie. Its nothing like any organism we have ever seen, and not even sure if its an actual alien, alien technology or a merger of the two. Its so far removed from the human species that communication with it is impossible and its motivations are unknown and probably unknowable. Its a good representation of how a first contact could possibly go and I mean that in the sense of it not going well.

Absolute vintage Schmitts. Appreciate that you reviewed this one, which while far from great, has genuinely interesting, weird and disturbing moments.

One of the best movies of 2018, and my favorite Alex Garland film so far.

I don’t get deep movies, but I’ve seen a lot of analysis of this movie, and it’s more of a metaphor than literal. The annihilation of self.

The scene with the bear is in my top 5 most disturbing.

The Shimmer is such a awesome concept.

After I saw this, I immediately bought the books. Kind of a generic name, but the "Area X" series was true cosmic horror and the movie reflects that. The Shimmer could be alive or it could just be a kind of energy, but either way... it doesn't want anything. It just is. Like sunlight or a bear eating trout or a river that destroys a town when the banks overflow. To the comet, to the trout, to the townsfolk the phenomenon affecting them is Bad or Destructive, but they're just doing what they do. I'm not even clear if it landed on Earth deliberately or not. Is it even capable of being human? It seems like Earth is doomed in the long run. The movie was inspired by the first book, where an unnamed Biologist is the main character in the all-female team. Naturally, they're very different in many ways, but the movie does capture the important story elements. If they ever make a sequel, there's plenty of story to mine regarding how the Shimmer first began and The Tower that descends deep underground. Plus the secretive organization that keeps sending teams into the Shimmer.

I love that this film doesn't tell you what's happening nor what things really mean. You can view it in whatever way you want. For me, the best (and correct) interpretation of this film is best explained by Folding Ideas' "Annihilation and Decoding Metaphor" video.

7:04 funny thing is, that this movie was almost entirely filmed in some park in or nearby London. The power of set decoration.

Awesome reaction of my favorite movie!!!!😊😊😊😊

I loved this movie

I love this film. I've got a huge Annihilation print behind where I sit illustrated by Tomer Hanuka.

I imagine others have said this, but the mood and general conceit of the film, as well as being an adaptation of author Jeff VanderMeer's first _Southern Reach_ novel, is an echo of the classic Tarkovsky film _Stalker_ , which itself was influenced by the apocalyptic novel _Roadside Picnic_ . It's eerie and beautiful. And ironically, it carries the DNA of so many incarnations before it. More people should watch this.

It's worth reading the novel this movie is adapted from. There's a lot in the movie that is highly generalised or summarised from the book. It's definitely worth reading.

One of my favorite movies of all time. Absolutely brilliant. And so disturbing. And I love how they didn't cheap out at the end. It just went deeper and deeper. They went full bore. Loved this movie. Anyone hating in this movie is absolutely delusional. Give me this over Arrival, which everyone loved, any day of the week

I love both this film and the books, which are so totally different from one another that I will also recommend giving the book a read. It’s kind of interesting to note the production process which was basically simultaneous the completion of the books-The filmmakers and writer had conversations, a very similarly unusual process as 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I absolutely love cosmic horror!

You may want to see Garland's next project - DEVS. His greatest show yet

The original that inspired this called 'Stalker' is a masterpiece made by one of the greatest directors. Definitely recommend seeing that one too.