I haven’t figured this movie out yet. And that’s both a good and bad thing. It’s good because sometimes we need to be surprised, and baffled, and dumbfounded, and confused. That’s what keeps us interested. That’s what sparks our own creativity. It’s what makes us keep coming back for more. It’s what prolongs the movie-going experience. I’m still thinking about Annihilation, 24 hours after seeing it. I’m still grappling with its meaning. But not having it figured out is bad because…well, I want to know what the heck was going on in this movie! I feel like Alex Garland gave us the puzzle pieces, and now we have to put them together. I don’t want to get too spoilery, so I’ll try to stay ambiguous (shouldn’t be hard – the movie itself is ambiguous too, at least in parts). But I think this is the type of movie that makes more sense with repeat viewings. After the first watch, the experience of the film itself is what stays with you, especially with how it ends. The movie is beautiful, both visually and aurally. And what I really like about it is that within that beauty, there is horror. That’s a strange combination, I know. But life contains both of those things, often concurrently. And it creates this competing set of emotions inside you, which is very effective in keeping you on the edge of your seat and engaged.

Now, the hard part is finding the correct rating for this movie. There are some flaws. The character development is mostly non-existent for all the characters, except for the main character, Lena (Natalie Portman). But honestly…I don’t really know if I need more character development. That’s something that’s easy to criticize. But you have to examine each film differently. Just because some movies work better with fully fleshed out characters, doesn’t mean that all movies are required to do that as well. And with this movie, I don’t need to know much about the other characters. They’re important, sure. But not as important as the deeper subjects that the film needs to focus on and devote time to. More character development = more time = an even slower movie that can be too long and make you lose focus on what’s important.

And that ending. Wow. That ending. No spoilers. But wow. I’ll be contemplating the meaning of that ending for a while. This is one of those good/bad things. Beauty and Horror. I still can’t decide if I love it or hate it. It can only be one or the other. And I’m leaning towards love. I know that many people will hate it. Because, upon first viewing, it seems like it’s trying too hard to be crazy and obscure. But the more I think about it, the more it starts to make sense. It’s starting to become clearer to me. And it’s extremely complex and allegorical. Which I very much appreciate. This is not some average science fiction movie. It makes you work for answers. Heck, it makes you work for the questions you need to ask before you can even get any answers. And for that reason, I find myself appreciating the film more and more. It’s also what makes analyzing it difficult.

In the end, and upon MUCH reflection, I really liked Annihilation. I thought it was extremely refreshing as an exercise in auteur science fiction. It’s a shame that this movie will likely be a commercial failure. I don’t think it will find a large audience (in fact, I think a lot of people will hate it). It won’t be appreciated in this moment. But I think this will be a movie that people come back to. I certainly will. In fact, I may even see it in the theater again. There are certain moments that benefit from a theater-viewing, when you can feel the movie pushing up against you, in your face and ears, ready to explode. Ready to annihilate you.

4 out of 5 stars