A brilliant work closely related to 'Ex Machina' and 'Sunshine'

Rating: 9/10 (7 March 2018)

This is a remarkable film with hypnotic power and philosophical depth.
It seems to me that its core is the symbolism of the lighthouse.
The initial scene with the meteor striking the lighthouse is Garland's way of saying that our collective unconscious needs to assimilate something alien which causes disorientation and anxiety. I believe that is simply the scientific knowledge that we have about our biology and the unsettling transformative prospects it opens.
'Ex Machina' seems another meditation on the dislocation caused by knowledge, only the unsettling prospect there is the creation of artificial mentality.
The striking similarity between the narrative of 'Sunshine' (which Garland wrote) and that of 'Annihilation' should also be pointed out. A failed expedition with one lone survivor (Pinbacker in 'Sunshine', Kane in 'Annihilation') is followed by a second one, which uncovers video messages left behind. Both stories involve self-immolation (the crew of Icarus I, Kane) and the dissolution of a central character by a primordial force (Capa by fire, Ventress by a formless life entity).
Not to be missed.