A comet crash lands from outer space and it creates “The Shimmer”. A mysterious land where whomever goes in, doesn’t come back out. That is until Kane, played by Oscar Isaac returns home from a secret mission to his grieving wife, Lena, played by Natalie Portman. This sets the plot and narrative into motion, and until the credits roll Annihilation never loses its grip. 2015’s Ex Machina came out in the second quarter of the year, and garnered endless acclaim as being one of the greatest science-fiction films of our time, and maybe even ever. It’s ideas, themes, and imagery felt familiar and showed shades of some of the ideas that Blade Runner and Metropolis perfected. As most science-fiction films do, their inspiration is heavily drawn from the masterpieces of the past, and there isn’t much room for original types of science-fiction films anymore. Outside of 2016’s Arrival there isn’t much we can point to without saying, “That was great and reminded me of “insert other science-fiction film here”.” Now, with Garland’s second film in the genre he delivers something most audiences have never seen before in Annihilation. Yes, Annihilation has shades of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker, but the imagery and scenes we are gifted will likely leave you utterly perplexed and petrified. The cinematography is horrifyingly hypnotizing and will paint your eyes with the deepest blacks and most lush greens. Traversing throughout the twisted maze that is “The Shimmer” alongside Lena and the crew sent in to discover the mystery within is thematically profound and full of rich material. Without giving too much away in detail, the film is as much about the destruction of the world as it is about our own self-destruction and the harm we can cause to those surrounding us, and ourselves. This is treated with care and delicacy, and Garland never grooms your brain with the direct information you’re looking for. He leaves it up to you to take it as it is and to look beyond the colorful curtain he places before your eyes to discover more about the world of Annihilation. On a negative note, the only issues with Annihilation is Jennifer Jason Leigh’s performance and the use of an interview process throughout the film. As for Jason Leigh, she came across as someone who didn’t care to be in the film or about the material she was dealing with. Understanding that her character is dealing with personal obstacles just as much as every other cast member, she lacked nuance in comparison to the likes of a Natalie Portman. Script wise, it’s simply structured and very easy to follow, the use of the interviewing process that was scattered throughout is where the issue lies. It’s use was redundant and makes you feel as if you’re not following along well enough with the film. It may bode as useful information and importance to a mass majority of people, but if you’re someone who can’t stand being spoon fed information then you’ll loathe the interview scenes. To conclude, Annihilation is a lucid fever dream that acts as the offspring of David Cronenberg thematically and Andrei Tarkovsky aesthetically. Outside of some awkward script decisions and one weak performance, Annihilation is nothing short of a spectacular science-fiction film that once again capitalizes on how special this genre is. Amid it’s hallucinatory imagery and sequences of events that will shake you down to your very soul, Annihilation slowly unravels the discussion of self-destructiveness and how it could annihilate us all. Annihilation gets a 90/100