Annihilation, 2018

As a Jeff VanderMeer fangirl, I was excited for Alex Garland’s Annihilation, inspired by VanderMeer’s novels, long before it debuted. In it, a mysterious barrier known only as the Shimmer (Area X in the books) that suddenly emerged from a lighthouse in the Florida panhandle is being studied by an incredibly suspicious government organization. Attempts to send manned patrols into the Shimmer have resulted in their disappearance, save for one person, Kane (Oscar Isaac) who returns seemingly unchanged but rapidly declines once leaving the space. His wife, Lena (Natalie Portman), a cellular biology professor and former soldier, joins an all-female expedition into the Shimmer, encountering mutated flora and fauna and much, much more.

Though the film deviates quite a bit from the source material (which is both a clever choice considering how bizarre the novel is and a metatextual analysis of the novel itself), Annihilation is incredible. It’s a film that forces you to question the nature of humanity and reckon with your truly baby-brained understanding of the world around you. It brilliantly twists the source material, mirroring what happens to all living organisms that cross this alien threshold, and really demonstrates Garland’s understanding of VanderMeer’s novels. The film is also beautifully surreal and incredibly well-acted, with a few truly horrifying moments that will leave you shaken to the core. — Alyssa Mercante