‘Annihilation’ delivers a heady, thoughtful sci-fi story that will stay with you long after it is over

Posted on March 9, 2018

By MARK VIOLA

In 2014, Alex Garland made his directorial debut with the relatively low-budget sci-fi film “Ex Machina,” which made my top 10 list for that year. Since then, the question has been, what would his next project be?

The answer is “Annihilation,” based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer about a mysterious phenomena called the “shimmer” — a seemingly alien disturbance that is slowly growing and from which no one has returned — at least until someone does.

Like “Ex Machina,” this film is a relatively slow burn, unfolding its various secrets slowly and deliberately, mixing the personal with the fantastical and weaving the two together in unexpected and unique ways. I’m not going to pretend that I have the story completely figured out; that will take at least one more viewing and probably several. But the fact that I want to go see it again to learn those secrets rather than just throwing my hands up in defeat shows just how much this film, along with its story and characters, drew me in and have yet to let me go.

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