McNary, Dave (31 October 2014). " 'Annihilation' Movie Gains Momentum at Paramount with Alex Garland". Variety.com . Retrieved 7 February 2018. The psychologist grinned, which seemed odd. But she must have known any one of us might have been tasked with observing her own reactions to stimuli. Perhaps the idea that a surveyor, an expert in the surface of things, might have been chosen, rather than a biologist or anthropologist, amused her. "I must admit to feeling a great deal of unease at the moment. But I am unsure whether it is because of the effect of the overall environment or the presence of the tunnel. Personally, I would like to rule out the tunnel." I thought again of the silhouette of the lighthouse, as I had seen it during the late afternoon of our first day at base camp. We assumed that the structure in question was a lighthouse because the map showed a lighthouse at that location and because everyone immediately recognized what a lighthouse should look like. In fact, the surveyor and anthropologist had both expressed a kind of relief when they had seen the lighthouse. Its appearance on both the map and in reality reassured them, anchored them. Being familiar with its function further reassured them. A silence came over us again, there under the canopy of trees. A beetle spiraled up toward the branches, trailing dust motes. I think we all realized that only now had we truly entered Area X.

Garland said his adaptation is "a memory of the book", rather than book-referenced screenwriting, with the intention of capturing the "dreamlike nature" and tone [11] [12] [13] of his experience reading VanderMeer's novel. Rather than trying to directly adapt the book, Garland deliberately took the story in his own direction, with VanderMeer's permission. Garland did not read the other two books when they were completed, as he was concerned he would need to revise his script. When others informed him of elements of the sequels, he expressed surprise at some of the similarities to what he had written. [14] but whether it decays under the earth or above on green fields, or out to sea or in the very air, all shall come to revelation, and to revel, in the knowledge of the strangling fruit and the hand of the sinner shall rejoice, for there is no sin in shadow or in light that the seeds of the dead cannot forgive…” I stared straight ahead as she said these words, and when she snapped her fingers I took my cue from the actions of the other two. I don't believe the psychologist suspected anything, and I retired to my tent just as the others retired to their tents. I had to laugh. "No, there is no animal that communicates in this way." Or, if there were, I could not recall its name, and never did later, either.

There is no recorded human language that uses this method of writing," the anthropologist said. "Is there any animal that communicates in this way?" The movie opens with a biologist, Lena (Natalie Portman), being questioned by a man in a hazmat suit. He wants to know about her experience in the Shimmer, also known as “Area X.” How long was she in there, what did she eat, what happened to the other members of her expedition? I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know. The surveyor concentrated on adding detail and nuance to the maps our superiors had given us. The anthropologist went off to examine the remains of some cabins a quarter mile away. The psychologist stayed in her tent, writing in her journal. Perhaps she was reporting on how she was surrounded by idiots, or just setting out every moment of our morning discoveries.

Newitz, Annalee (28 March 2013). "Jeff VanderMeer gets movie deal for his forthcoming Southern Reach trilogy". Gizmodo . Retrieved 2021-11-27. Campbell, Christopher (24 February 2018). "Watch 'Annihilation' and 'Mute,' Then Watch These Movies". Film School Rejects . Retrieved 8 March 2020. My sole gift or talent, I believe now, was that places could impress themselves upon me, and I could become a part of them with ease.” Is everything okay?" the psychologist called out to the surveyor. Everything had been fine just a second before. Why would anything be different now?Kroll, Justin (April 29, 2016). " 'Containment' Star Joins Natalie Portman in 'Annihilation' (Exclusive)". Variety . Retrieved January 11, 2022. While you have this wonderful premise of an expedition to a remote 'Area X' where the world is not quite right after some mysterious intervention from outside, you also have this mystery clouded over by characters that are puppets, have no personality, are deliberately obfuscate and are entirely unreliable. What you end up with is what I liken to a biologist having a particularly vivid dream. And that is possibly one explanation for the story, but dreams are dreams and stories are better than dreams for a reason.

McNary, Dave (October 31, 2014). " 'Annihilation' Movie Gains Momentum at Paramount with Alex Garland". Variety . Retrieved January 11, 2022.Roeper, Richard (February 21, 2018). "Annihilation': Innovations abound as Natalie Portman ventures into the unknown". Chicago Sun Times . Retrieved February 22, 2018. Look!" the surveyor said, training her flashlight down into the archway. We hurried over and stared past her, adding our own illumination. Williams, Phillip (April 26, 2016). "Construction of location set in Pond, 'Annihilation' ". Geograph Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018 . Retrieved May 17, 2016. Ulstein, Gry (2017). "Brave New Weird: Anthropocene Monsters in Jeff VanderMeer's The Southern Reach". Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies. 43: 71–96. doi: 10.6240/concentric.lit.2017.43.1.05.

What frightens you? According to many psychologists, our most widely shared phobia is the fear of falling. Jeff VanderMeer's novel Annihilation taps into that bottomless terror . . . VanderMeer ups the book's eeriness quotient with the smoothest of skill, the subtlest of grace. His prose makes the horrific beautiful.” — Nisi Shawl, Seattle Times Kroll, Justin (May 7, 2015). "Natalie Portman Circles 'Ex Machina' Director's Next Sci-Fi Movie (Exclusive)". Variety . Retrieved January 11, 2022. Three to one, then," the anthropologist said, clearly relieved that the decision had been made for her. Where lies the strangling fruit that came from the hand of the sinner I shall bring forth the seeds of the dead to share with the worms that gather in the darkness and surround the world with the power of their lives while from the dim lit halls of other places forms that never were and never could be writhe for the impatience of the few who never saw what could have been.” Annihilation' director Alex Garland chats with CNET about the upcoming film. CNET. February 8, 2018. Event occurs at 32m15s-33m30s . Retrieved March 18, 2018– via YouTube.Ventress leaves the group and heads for the lighthouse, the center of the Shimmer. Josie believes Cassie's dying mind was "refracted" into the bear, and then allows herself to "refract" into a humanoid plant to avoid a similar fate. My voice must have seemed calmer than my actual thoughts because there was no hesitation in their response. No hint in their tone of having seen the spores erupt into my face. I had been so close. The spores had been so tiny, so insignificant. I shall bring forth the seeds of the dead. Basically, I had to balance the meaning of each rating here on Goodreads against what I thought about my reading experience with the novel, and I realized that I wasn't confortable even thinking on the book that "I like it" which it would imply a 3-stars rating, so at the end, I opted to give it a 2-star rating, but I don't enjoy to do it.