Critic’s Choice: Smart, spooky ‘Annihilation’ finds a home-viewing afterlife
Rarely do the movie studios give us big-budget science fiction as intelligent, scary and feverishly beautiful as “Annihilation,” Alex Garland’s entrancing thriller about an expedition into the unknown. These days, alas, a smart, imaginative concept, an excellent cast (led by Natalie Portman) and across-the-board enthusiastic reviews don’t necessarily translate into commercial success, which may help explain why the movie, released by Paramount to disappointing box-office numbers in the U.S., bypassed theaters and headed straight to Netflix queues in numerous other territories.
Now it’s available on Blu-ray and DVD, giving audiences the perfect chance to catch up with Garland’s deceptively tranquil vision of a looming biogenetic apocalypse. Set in a wilderness full of trippy colors, eerily warped flowers and one truly terrifying critter, “Annihilation” deserved to be seen more widely on the big screen, but really, it deserves to be seen, period.
See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour »
Movie Trailers
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
