Picture, not movie

Rating: 9/10 (26 March 2018)

Myself, I watched this with mixed emotions. At first, i only thought it's yet another sci-fi garbage, a vain attempt to make something as scary as "The Thing" and as scientific as "Star Trek", but no. This is not a movie, that's a picture. Say, a Hieronymus Bosch's "patched" work, with many unrelated pieces stitching together, begetting a specific atmosphere (no, not literally).
There's no logic around Shimmer. The first absurdity si too obvious: the interrogation scene, which is interrupted by flashbacks assumes those people at "Area X" know something about security. But they send five people to Shimmer without biohazard suits.
The expedition team is composed out of scientists, yet they care next to nothing about bringing information back, nothing about keeping out of trouble. Out of many possible decisions they almost always choose the most dangerous one. Everything is done irrationally, on a whim, with no plan.
Yet it creates the atmosphere I like. If Shimmer transforms life forms, it can transform their minds, as well. I can easily accept that the moment the expedition entered the shimmered land, they stopped being scientists. Just five more organisms, so fun to play with.
To me, the most frightening scene is when Josie talks about Shimmer while beginning to transform into a plant. No fear, no panic, nothing at all - she just accepts her transformation as something normal, and keeps talking. This, not the mutant bear, nor gator, nor the eerie human remains, reminding me of both "Xtro" and "The Thing" - halcyon and serene Josie-soon-to-be-a-bush was the real horror.
I watched this movie several times. I like that patchwork of unrelated events. I like the atmosphere. And the soundtrack, of course.