"We're all damaged goods here."

Rating: 7/10 (11 March 2019)

Well, it had a promising start and the physical aspect of The Shimmer was impressive, but as the story progressed it just seemed to meander in a way that suggested that the script writers were working on the fly. Which is what would have explained things like the ginormous mutant crocodile and weirdly convoluted bear creature. Speaking of which, did anyone else consider it somewhat foolhardy that the expedition party would take off in boats through the swamp right after the croc incident? Talk about poor judgment, but maybe it's just me. The concepts explored in the film were rather unique, like the corrupt mutations of form inside the Shimmer boundary, and the DNA refractions giving rise to all sorts of inventive looking plants and animals, but again, that goes to my earlier comment about winging it with any idea that sounds good on paper. I kind of compare this one to 2016's "Arrival", another film I felt had no consistency for internal logic but was considered monumental by a lot of viewers.
So if we take this story to it's logical conclusion, then it's the mirrored Kane (Oscar Isaac) that makes it back to civilization following his ordeal in The Shimmer, while it's the 'real' Lena who reunites with him in the isolation chamber. And yet they embrace in total acceptance of each other for having survived their respective nightmares. Seems if it happened to me, I'd be a little creeped out by the whole prospect. And regarding Lena's affair with her boss, what did that have to do with anything? For this viewer at least, the only one who got it right was Jennifer Jason Leigh, who explained at one point that the remaining members of the expedition were disintegrating, which in an apt comparison, was exactly what happened to the story.