Annihilation Still Has One of The Best Sci-Fi Endings

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Alex Garland showed early directing talent when he first worked with Danny Boyle. While he’s known for films like Ex Machina and Dredd, it’s worth remembering his other work too. One example is a film based on Jeff VanderMeer’s novel of the same name, which centers around a team of female scientists investigating a strange, enclosed zone called The Shimmer.

The scientists each focused on a different aspect of the area’s strange happenings. All previous teams disappeared, except for Kane, who returned drastically altered. The film Annihilation wasn’t a direct copy of the original story; instead, it used the core idea to delve into the characters’ experiences. While the film’s unusual events didn’t make it a hit with all fans, it stands out for its creative approach to storytelling and its memorable conclusion.

Annihilation’s Cliffhanger Was the Perfect Ending

When Annihilation was first released, it immediately captivated and confused many viewers unfamiliar with the source material. The film opens by introducing us to Lena, the sole survivor of a recent mission into a mysterious zone called The Shimmer. The Shimmer appeared years prior, originating from the site of a meteor impact. Numerous teams had ventured into the area before, driven by the fact that The Shimmer was growing larger.

Lena’s husband, Kane, was a soldier who went missing a year ago after entering a mysterious area. When he finally returned, he was drastically changed and quickly became sick. Determined to understand what happened to him, Lena joined the next research team sent to investigate. As a cellular biologist, she was well-qualified for the mission, but she soon discovered the situation within ‘The Shimmer’ was far more complex and dangerous than anyone anticipated.

As the team went deeper into The Shimmer, things got seriously weird. It wasn’t just a different place, it felt like time itself was broken, and plants and animals were… blending together. It all built to this incredible climax where Lena finally made it to the lighthouse – the spot where the meteor landed. That lighthouse was the source of everything strange, the epicenter of it all, and it led to… well, a pretty mind-bending conclusion.

Lena’s discovery of the meteor crater led to a shocking realization about her husband. A videotape revealed Kane taking his own life, but then someone who looked identical to him walked into view. Later, after the strange shimmer absorbed some of her blood, a creature resembling a human emerged and began copying her actions, mirroring the unsettling experience with her husband.

The creature transformed into a copy of Lena, but she managed to defeat it by cleverly making it pull the pin on a grenade, allowing her to escape. When she returned, it was obvious The Shimmer was something alien, though little else was certain. After recovering, both she and Kane wondered if either of them was truly the original. The film concluded without clear answers, showing only that both their eyes still had a strange shimmer, leaving viewers with more questions than answers and sparking a lot of discussion.

What Happened in The Shimmer?

The mixed reactions to the movie Annihilation – praised by critics but disliked by many viewers – may stem from its ending. The film didn’t focus on explaining the alien invasion itself, but rather on the experiences of the characters within that strange new world.

Lena wasn’t an ideal wife, and the other women on the expedition weren’t perfect either. As one scientist observed, everyone on the team was dealing with personal problems. While female-led casts often receive criticism in movies, in this case, the negative reaction to Annihilation stemmed from a misunderstanding of the story, because its meaning wasn’t explicitly stated.

The movie Annihilation presented a sequence of events without explicitly explaining them, leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions about the nature of ‘The Shimmer.’ Ultimately, the film doesn’t offer a logical reason for the alien meteorite’s impact on Earth—it simply happened, and the characters had to deal with the consequences. The Shimmer itself was a strange phenomenon resulting from the meteor and whatever alien life it carried. The movie doesn’t reveal whether the aliens had any grand scheme or purpose.

The ending of Annihilation reveals the aliens were as puzzled by events as the human characters. Lena’s return from The Shimmer meant she, like the other women who had become part of the environment, was fundamentally altered. Both she and Kane underwent a similar transformation, and neither was the same person they were before.

The mystery of The Shimmer came down to a surprisingly straightforward explanation: it was causing different life forms to combine in ways that couldn’t happen naturally on Earth. Throughout her journey, Lena witnessed this happening with plants and animals, even seeing a scientist tragically merge with a boar. Josie understood this process as well and chose to become one with a flower. This was The Shimmer’s effect on everything around it, and the alien beings were no exception.

Like the wildlife around them, Lena and Kane began to blend into their environment – a concept hinted at earlier when Lena absorbed a scientist’s tattoo. This merging of people explains the film’s ending. Kane admitted he wasn’t fully himself, and though Lena didn’t say anything, her eyes glowed just like his, confirming she’d undergone a similar transformation. The ending was thought-provoking, and the film’s ambiguous nature truly set it apart from other stories in the science fiction genre, sparking a lot of discussion.

Annihilation Never Needed a Follow-Up

Alex Garland created the film Annihilation based on the first book in the Southern Reach series. However, his adaptation effectively ended the story, even though the original series consisted of three books. While some fans disagreed with this approach, it suited the film’s overall mood and tone.

The film felt strangely dreamlike and difficult to define, which made it stand out from other movies. This quality lingered in viewers’ minds even after they left the theater. The director wasn’t concerned with how well the film performed financially; he simply wanted to create something memorable. When asked if that was his goal, he confirmed that it was.

That’s precisely what I was aiming for,” Garland explained to SyFy Wire. “I understand it won’t appeal to everyone, and that’s perfectly fine. I don’t expect everyone to want the same things. But this is what I want to create, so I focus on making what I envision. I honestly don’t consider the financial aspects much. I can discuss them, but I won’t compromise my creative vision for profit. I believe in being upfront: ‘Here’s the idea, the script, the look – are you on board?’ If the answer is yes, then we proceed.”

The success of Annihilation as a critically acclaimed film also signaled that a follow-up was improbable. Director Alex Garland didn’t seem focused on appealing to big studios, instead crafting a deeply personal story for both the characters and himself as a filmmaker. The movie was intentionally thought-provoking, exploring themes of self-destruction on both a literal and emotional level. Expanding on it would have diminished the impact of the characters’ experiences. While a more straightforward continuation might be possible someday, Garland gifted audiences with a truly unique and underappreciated film.

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2026-01-10 01:38