Annihilation Is A Well-Made Intentionally Disorienting Thriller

Alex Garland already had a solid foothold as a noteworthy name in American science-fiction cinema with his work as a writer on projects like Sunshine and Dredd, but with 2015's Ex Machina, he made a high-quality leap into the world of directing. His follow-up directorial effort to that feature is Annihilation, a feature film adaptation of a novel by Jeff VanderMeer, that allows Garland to expand his scope as a filmmaker without losing the contemplative nature of Ex Machina. Interestingly, despite having a larger canvas to work with this time, as well as a major studio footing the bill, Garland has written a film that engages in more unorthodox narrative techniques than Ex Machina, believe it or not.

Ex Machina Review

My Super Ex-Machina

Robots tend to permeate pop culture for good reason; they're so flexible from a storytelling perspective that they can be used for pretty much any plotline you can imagine. Robots can crack wise about low quality movies, fight Kaiju or ask you to bite their shiny metal ass. Everybody from Philip K. Dick to Tobias Carlson have dealt with the idea of robotics and how they'll affect the human psyche, and now Alex Garland throws his hat into the ring with the film Ex Machina.