Annihilation

 

I came across this movie because it had Natalie Portman in it. I've watched several movies with her in it and have always been impressed. Black Swan. Star Wars I, II, and III. Anyways, because I was familiar with her,  I figured I'd give this one a go. 

The first thing I want noted, was the chronology of the way it showed things. The story line was starting off fine, but it was doing a lot of bopping from past, present, and future. Or present, past, and further past, depending on how you look at it. I wish it had showed them interrogating Lena (Natalie Portman) all at one time either at the beginning or later on, rather than spread out like they did.

On the other hand, memory loss, like what they experienced upon entering the shimmer is always intriguing. Wondering what they've been up to. Wondering whether they were still acting like themselves during that time or not.

I've gotta say, there were definitely some disconcerting scenes, which I'm all for. It wouldn't be much of a horror movie if it was easy to watch. And the scenes where people were mutating in gross ways definitely classified.

When it showed the skeleton in the lighthouse, I wondered if Lena was thinking 'at least you died a human'. I assumed it was someone who died at the start of the event, until it showed the footage and revealed that her husband blew himself up with a flash grenade even though he had returned at the beginning of the movie.

I guessed that creepy faceless creature was going to morph to mimic Lena's appearance, though it took longer than I expected. Though I think looking like an actual person would've made the scene a bit less creepy.

 

Lena vs. the faceless creature

I think the ending was brilliant. How Lena asked the man who turned out not to be Lena's husband, if he was Kane, and he said 'I don't think so.' Then he asked her 'Are you Lena?' She didn't answer, but it showed her eyes change, suggesting she had changed while she was in there. It leaves you wondering whether or not the main character actually survived or not.

Overall, I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars. The jumping between time frames was the only thing I didn't care for, and even then it didn't get in the way of following the story line. But there was as great plot, great characters, and horror that required more skill than just putting a blender on someone's head and spewing blood everywhere.

You're Next

    First thing I've got to say, is that I love a movie that pulls you in very quickly. This was one of those movies. Only a few minutes in, and those ominous words, 'You're Next' sent a shiver down my spine. Great, great way to start a movie. Then it can go on to show some other stuff that introduces you to the characters, now that that thought has been put in your head.

     

    I was noticing how two of the characters actually owned the house, rather than simply staying in it, as is sometimes the case. Though, later I did note how they said he had recently gotten it.

    Something I didn't like, was how much arguing it seemed like they were doing at one point after the first murder. It seemed excessive to the point that the horrible situation they were in was just a background detail. To me it seemed like it diluted what was going on a little.

    Once it got going, and the bodies started dropping it was pretty good though. Most of them put aside their differences to focus on how screwed they were. At the time, I thought it was all of them, before I knew that it was a brother (and his girlfriend) who actually orchestrated the whole thing. 

    An observation I couldn't help but make, was how the assailants were wearing masks. Though, unlike in Happy Death Day, they were creepy animal masks, not a happy (but creepy) baby mask.

Erin (survivor girl)

    As the survivor girl started knocking attackers off, I was thinking about how this is a horror movie, she's doing great but she could still die at any moment. After she setup the trap with the ax above the front door, I was waiting for her boyfriend to walk into it, especially after it looked like the last of the bad guys had been killed. Though, considering his involvement, perhaps it actually wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world.

    In a way that reminded me of Cabin in the Woods, everyone died in the end since a cop saw her stab someone and mistook her for an attacker and shot her. Even the people attacking them and the cop it showed for 2 minutes got killed. Overall, it had a good start, it slowed down a bit, then it picked up again once the killing got going.