Despite being a brilliant movie, some viewers find the movie “Annihilation” complex. Well!! Like other Sci-fi action movies, Annihilation is something beyond the mind of a normal person.
Without wasting much time, let’s gain some clarity behind the Annihilation story by knowing whether the movie is based on a true story or not.
The movie Annihilation is a Science fiction movie. Even though the movie is not based on any true story, the scientific theories shown in this movie are real.
Is Annihilation Movie A True Story?
No, Annihilation is not a true story. It’s a completely Sci-fi action movie with elements of horror and thriller. The movie was directed by Alex Garland in 2018.
This movie is based on the 2014 novel of the same name “Annihilation” written by Jeff VanderMeer. The movie follows a group of investigators team as they enter an enigmatic location under quarantine called “Shimmer”.
What Is The Story Behind The Movie Annihilation?
The movie’s concept is mind-blowing but still an interesting one. This movie is related to cancer, self-destruction, love, marriage, hate, and true science.
The main storyline of the movie revolves around a strange thing “Shimmer”. It is a field of bubbly rainbow which spreads around a lighthouse. And the whole area is called “Area X”.
The Shimmer is dangerous because anyone who enters the Shimmer to investigate can never come back. Its investigation is done by an organization “Southern Reach”.
Almost 2 years have passed, and the Shimmer has expanded a lot. So, the Southern Reach team sends a group of soldiers into Shimmer. One of the soldiers is Kane (played by Oscar Issac).
Kane’s Personal Life
Kane has a wife named Lena (played by Natalie Portman). She is currently a biologists and Ex-soldier. She loves his husband but cheated on him with one of her colleagues.
But, somehow, Kane comes to know about his wife’s cheating and becomes sad and heartbroken. Then, he decides to go on a Shimmer, a suicide mission. Lena has no idea about her husband’s mission and even after a year, Kane doesn’t come back.
Lena is in regret and might think that her husband is dead.
Is Kane Really Died In Shimmer?
No, Kane is not dead. This is the first time in 3 years that someone who went to Shimmer comes back and that is Kane.
He goes straight to his home, where Lena is very happy to see him. But, his behavior and health of Kane are weird. Suddenly, his condition becomes so bad that Lena takes him to the ambulance.
But, both of them are picked up by the Southern Reach people on the way. Kane’s condition is terrible and no one understands that. Why Kane’s health is critical? You will get to know about Kane’s reality later in this article.
What Happened To Lena After That?
Lena is kept in the facility of Southern Reach. The organization’s head Dr. Ventress (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh) tells Lena everything about Shimmer and Area X.
Another women’s team is ready to go inside the Shimmer including- Dr-Ventress, Josie (played by Tessa Thompson), Anya (played by Gina Rodriguez), and Cass (played by Tuva Novotny).
Lena also joins their team to begin the Shimmer mission. Dr. Ventress has cancer and Cancer played an important role in this movie that will be disclosed in the end.
The team of 5 women gets ready and they reach Area X. Here, the Shimmer mission starts.
Shimmer Mission: Revealing True Science Behind The Shimmer
Shimmer uses the true concept of Refraction and DNA but in a different way. Inside the Shimmer, there is an unknown entity maybe an Alien Entity.
According to Shimmer’s science, each species’s DNA inside Shimmer refracts. We can see the same kind of flowers have different species (this is due to DNA’s refractions of flowers with each other inside the Shimmer).
A crocodile is also seen whose DNA is refracted with Shark’s DNA. Similarly, flowers and leaves are emerging from deer’s antlers. All because of DNA’s refraction.
Now, this is clear, that living beings exchange their properties among themselves and become new or different creatures. All this is happening inside the Shimmer.
The shocking is that not only plants and animals but the DNA of humans is also refracted with other species. Another property of Shimmer is that, as compared to Earth, time moves fast in Shimmer.
Journey Of Women’s Team Inside The Shimmer
The women’s team including Lena becomes aware of the Shimmer’s DNA exchange process. As they move further into Shimmer, they see some horrifying and unexpected things.
But, still, without any fear, the women move forward to complete the mission. But, with time, they start dying one by one. An unknown mutant bear killed Cass in the night and her dead body was found in the morning.
Next, we see, that they all go inside a house, which looks exactly like Lena’a real house. Later due to the refraction of cells, Anya goes mad and ties her friends to a chair.
In the next scene, we see the same mutant bear (who killed Cass) and he killed Anys too. But, the remaining 3 girls killed that bear bravely.
The next morning, Dr. Ventress goes to the Lighthouse, and Josie’s cells are refracted with the plants. Gradually, her body converted into a human-structured plant and she died.
What Is The Real Truth Of Kane’s Being Alive?
Next, we see Lena at the lighthouse, where she learns the truth about Kane. Through a video, she learns that Kane is actually dead, and an Alien or Dark Entity has come to earth by disguising as Kane.
Lena’s Journey To Complete The Mission
Lena goes inside an underground hole to find the alien. Later she finds Dr. Ventress without eyes. She became a mutant and claimed that some entity had overpowered her body.
After some time, liquid comes out of Ventress’s mouth and she dies. The entity then creates a human replica of itself from Lena’s blood and starts to copy Lena.
In the end, the entity becomes exactly the mirror refraction of Lena. Then, Lena hands the Phosphorus Granite to her entity replica and walks out of the lighthouse.
The granite explodes and the alien entity burns along with the Lighthouse. Along with the burning Lighthouse, Shimmer’s field begins to disappear.
Annihilation Ending Explained
In the movie’s climax, we see Lena explaining the incidents of Shimmer to the Southern Reach team. Everybody feels this is not Lena but an alien entity similar to Lena.
Lena’s body has been refracted by the aliens, due to which her body cells are dividing into alien cells. She then came to meet Kane (the one Lena knows, he’s not real Kane).
Kane and Lena (both are human-alien species) start living together normally on Earth. We see a rainbow effect (like Shimmer) in both eyes when they hug each other in the hospital.
How Does Cancer Is Related To Annihilation?
According to the Garland (director), the movie is based on the cancer. It is a metaphorical movie and the hidden meaning of everything that happened in the movie is Cancer. How?
Just as cancer suddenly attacks the human body, similarly this Shimmer also appears on the earth and expands like the stages of cancer.
Many few people survive cancer, just shown inside the Shimmer, only two people (Kane and Lena) survive from the Shimmer.
Remember, Josie’s dialogue inside the Shimmer to Lena, “You wanna fight it, Ventress gonna face it, but I just want to accept it.”
You can connect the cancer with this dialogue. That indicates the fact, that some people fight against cancer and survive, some fight and then die, and some people just accept it and die happily.
Annihilation Movie Reviews & Ratings
Well!! Even though people’s minds are messed up with this movie, Annihilation is something different in the category of Sci-Fi. With its complex yet interesting storyline, the overall rating of this movie is 3.6 out of 5 stars from 1204 ratings.
On other platforms like IMDb, its ratings are 6.8/10. One of the highly recommended Sci-Fi movies according to the critics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Main Idea Of The Movie Annihilation?
The main idea or concept of the movie is Cancer.
What’s The Logic Of Sending Women’s Group To Shimmer?
The logic is also related to cancer. Most cases of cancer on Earth are Breast Cancer. So, sending the women’s group to the Shimmer shows, how bravely women fight against breast cancer, as the women’s group fight inside the Shimmer.
Why Did Lena Have A Tatoo At The End Of Annihilation?
At the Southern Reach facility, we see a tattoo at the wrist of Lena. It is the same tattoo made on Anya’s hand. Due to cell refraction inside the Shimmer, Anya’s tattoo got shifted to Lena’s hand.
Will There Be An Annihilation 2?
There are very less chances of making Annihilation 2.
Where To Watch Annihilation Now?
The movie is not free on any platform. You can watch it on Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and Google Play Movies & TV.
Conclusion
That’s it with this article. Annihilation is a science fiction movie that has no connection with any real-life event and it’s quite obvious. The storyline is strange but quite interesting and unique.