One of the best films of 2018 & destined to be a cult classic

Rating: 9/10 (30 September 2018)

Directed by and "based on a dream of his about the book", Alex Garland (who made Ex Machina) brings us something so intensely beautiful, haunting and mesmerizing that it makes one question the sanity of whoever decided to not release it on theaters worldwide.
(It's sad that everyone got to see the completely unnecessary PC "Ghostbusters" remake with an all-female cast, but this brilliant film had to be Netflix-only. Wow.)
Featuring an almost entirely female cast, starring Nicole Portman as Lena, a cellular-biology professor and former soldier and an ensemble piece really, with quality acting from all fronts - including Jennifer Jason Leigh in a great role.
It features an alien invasion... but it's probably not how you expect it to play out. Think "Stalker". Think "The Happening", but a marvellous work of art instead of a waste of your time.
More than a few scenes here are particularly tense, bone-chilling and memorable, and the story is ambiguous enough to make you want to see it a second time right away. Every scene looks fantastical, beautiful, out of this world, and both natural and supernatural. However there are some very ugly things that happen, and there's some gruesome "body horror" for good measure.
I can't really go into the technical details as I'm not an expert, but from the direction, to the screenplay, from the cinematography to the acting this is a perfect, completely solid science-fiction film that also serves as an allegory and metaphor for guilt, grief, disease, self-sabotage and frankly, evolution and life itself - but in the most amazing and natural way possible.
The Soundtrack is also very notable and is used incredibly effectively. It's a masterpiece of sorts and compliments the movie perfectly.
Science minded people will not be disappointed and neither will most cinephiles who have a preference for movies that are able to both respect and awe their audiences. This is one of those such rare movies which deserves to be seen and appreciated.