Annihilation: Surrendering To Creation

[@GormTheElder]

"I wish I knew why Cassie's body doesn't get eaten" Because the Bear-imitation doesn't eat. It stalks and kills prey because it's made to imitate something that also does that, but without understanding the original purpose of it, same as when the Presence makes bushes that resemble people or trees out of glass. It replicates things, but it does do completely blind to the purpose of those original things.

[@synthdriver8817]

That's fucking horrifying. Didn't consider the prospect that the bear was a duplicate instead of heavily altered living bear. EDIT: I wonder if the reason why the bear is able to mimic human groaning and seems to have absorbed instead of eaten Casse is due to the way imitations created by the shimmer behave. The imitation probably killed the original bear that it was created from all being considered.

[@dejaporter7338]

@@synthdriver8817 the bear ripped out Cassie's throat where her vocal cords are y hasnt anyone suggested this 🤔🤷🏾‍♀

[@brucekendall9873]

@@dejaporter7338 bingo, dna binding

[@ReedBarlow_]

I agree with this assessment completely. However I wish the movie had gone the extra length to have her body be re-discovered as undigested but clearly at least partially consumed -- as if the bear was acting out what it would do to prey but without the biological parts (in our world's sense of the word) the actually break down and digest food. The book leaves a lot of hints about how the universe works that allow us to form fairly grounded (although sometimes paradoxical) theories, and I think the movie is slightly more contained, either obvious or so weird that it's sort of ungrounded. It leaves things open ended but there is less evidence beyond the conclusions the characters come to -- if anyone enjoys the theoretical/mysterious aspects of the movie, I implore you to read the book, as it is filled with that sort of imagery that is both enigmatic but a little like connecting a puzzle and conceptualizing how the otherworldly could change our world. The plot and characters come to certain conclusions, but you as the reader are also fed enough information to form your own separate theories, and this is something that made me really fall in love with the series. I enjoy that we play as our own characters/selves in understanding the mystery of the world, which is equally as intriguing as the characters that inhabit it.

[@mandymarie1073]

I have Always enjoyed sci-fi, thrillers, mysteries, and horror! I literally enjoy being creeped out and scared by a film and it’s pretty hard for a film to get me like that, But… this one! The bear scene is something that has stuck with me and always will! It is the most terrifying scene from a movie I have ever witnessed! The fact that the bear (which just so happens to be the one predator on earth I’m most fearful of) and Cass are one, where you see her jaw and her eye on one side of the creature’s face, and Especially hear her final screams from that thing killing her is Beyond Chilling! Even as full grown rational adult I couldn’t go to the bathroom after that scene, and found myself thinking about it for a couple days later! 😱🫣🫢

[@jo-mj3kd]

"If God didn't want us to make peace with emptiness, God wouldn't be so quiet." Fuck.

[@Wikkedfit]

Damn that hit different....

[@ElJorro]

Damn!!!

[@fl00d69]

But it's so much worse than that - there is no god.

[@murk4552]

@@fl00d69 You really didn't get the quote 🤣.....skepticism is rational, but it was about something more harrowing than God merely not existing...God is nonexistence - or idk maybe through this way, we understand how "He" is totally immaterial. It makes you rethink the entire idea of how once perceives the essence of God.

[@cuttlebird]

@@fl00d69 I think a silent god is worse than no god, but maybe that's just me

[@Neptunequeen42]

With regards to book differences, I think a lot of things were shifted around because the main theme of the book and the movie are way different - the book is a lot more about control, like you said, but the movie is heavily focused on self destruction and suicide. Almost every character is suicidal in some fashion, Josie has self harm scars, Ventress throws herself into the lighthouse because she’s dying of cancer anyway, and it’s somewhat implied that Lena is able to kill the Entity not because of the fire but because in mimicking her, it mimicked her suicidal tendencies as well. There’s a really strong theme linking change to suicide, as losing your identity to something else being destruction of the self on par with physical death.

[@samanthag8653]

Super interested take!

[@EmmaSmith-hr6nb]

Wow, thank you

[@bleepbloop101010101]

Beautifully said. Everyone who went into the Shimmer had a death wish of sorts. The characters all seem so tired of life, which makes sense when you're volunteering to go into a place no one has ever come out of. The movie also mentions self destruction quite a bit as an inherent part of human nature and of life itself.

[@KingRevingtonRebel]

damn bitch u smart smart

[@janeyannachicken9053]

I love this movie so much. I so connect with it. Here's my interpretation: I feel like what happens inside the Shimmer is what happens to a person when trauma strikes. One lost a child, one has cancer, one was an addict, one betrayed, then thought she lost, her husband. They all went through a kind of trauma and it's changing them, weather they want it or not. They can only choose how to deal with it. One is ravaged by it, one dives into self-destruction, one finds beauty in accepting change, and one battles the thing she would become to survive - and through it reconnects with her husband who found his own way through the trauma. Annihilation is the only example of a story taking a metaphor all the way without it cracking.

[@Pusher97]

This movie was dope. I think it highlights somethings we’re all scared of deep down: change and the unknown. Also, that fucking bear.

[@celeritas2-810]

I only stopped being scared of the bear after watching the making of doco.

[@ingridarmona6526]

GOD that scene where they were tied to the chairs had me sat there w my mouth wide open, it was just oozing tension and terror

[@asharani7860]

🤣🤣🤣

[@revenge3265]

The bear was so goddamn cool.

[@alltheworldsastage4785]

That bear scared the shit out of me. 😂

[@mah0817]

"She's someone who uses the scientific method as a kind of coping mechanism..." Hey, now. I did not come here to be attacked 😂

[@glass4breakfast]

Lol bs I don’t believe that’s even possible. Her character proves it.

[@Jeffrey314159]

There is no science in science fiction generally it's There is no science in science fiction generally it's just social allegory

[@silverhawkscape2677]

Cosmic horror in a nutshell where the scientific method is a coping Mechanism

[@justanotherredheadattheend955]

Was expecting a great review, wasn’t expecting to be put into an altered state of consciousness

[@celeritas2-810]

Asmr too

[@Elisabethonline]

No literally all of his videos do this

[@raedgaj3878]

Lasted 2 mins then zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Ok 3, I spent more time in comments.

[@glass4breakfast]

Fuck yeah, to be fair...u should have. Everything associated with the experience of this film and book is trippy as fuck.

[@tomasld]

Hahahaha completely accurate this message it express what I also feel

[@Yashendwirh]

"Self revelation is the annihilation of the self"- The Addiction.

[@Yashendwirh]

@Bodie Dutch It is very underrepresented as a vampire film!

[@MisterSifuentes]

"You know nothing" - Christopher Walkens...

[@RardTangler]

The fate of destruction is also the joy of rebirth.

[@MisterSifuentes]

I finally saw The Addiction in HD! Only seen it on VHS. Brilliant flick!

[@glass4breakfast]

Not sure I can agree with that. It sounds like a subjective psychological truth not an imperial absolute scientific truth. So it can be true some but not all. Also what does that really mean? Why? Can’t self revaluation by the growth, the evolution, and fulfillment and validation of the self?

[@corwin32]

I loved your last line: “Survival is change. Control is chaos. Annihilation is creation”. Poetry, man.

[@Jeffrey314159]

How Darwinian

[@EmperorUsul]

im 14 and this is deep

[@AcolytesOfHorror]

1. Wanted to shout out the incredible work of Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow for the soundtrack of Annihilation - especially the last few tracks - which I didn't know how to talk about in the vid because of KZbin's copyright nonsense. The track titled "The Alien" is by far my favorite song from a soundtrack from the 2010s. 2. I sampled a lot of Stan Brakhage's work in the section with the Crawler. He was a towering figure in avante garde film from the 70s-00s. His stuff reminds me a lot of a moving Rothko painting, all color and shape, trying to burn right down to your primal core through sheer visual force. Find some of his stuff on KZbin, turn out the lights, and watch it on fullscreen.

[@justinkroboth360]

"The Alien" is sooooo stunning. By far my favorite from this movie, but I don't think I can say it's my favorite of the decade because "Bunsen Burner" from Ex Machina is, like, right there. I said below that these two movies are perfect partners for a movie not, and not just because Alex Garland was in charge of both of 'em. I just love how much contemplation each one elicits. Love your channel, by the way.

[@henryburby6077]

@@justinkroboth360 the four tones of The Alien were stuck in my head for days after seeing the trailer for this movie. they are the reason i read the books and watched the film when it came out. they just made my skin crawl in ways I had never experienced before.

[@Wagon113]

Fucking awesome

[@sh-bp4iw]

the soundtrack really amplified my experience of wonder ate the end of the film. also definitely reminded me of arca's synths kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZWUhKp4qb9mb8U and mica levi's 'under the skin' soundtrack kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJCmlGVmfpKgl68 i think especially in the ways that the music isn't really percussive, and is so fluid

[@ceIIardoor]

Yeah the music was haunting.

[@zombinedotrar]

My wife and I went to see this for my first birthday after our wedding. We had back-to-back tickets to both Annihilation and Black Panther, but after finishing this we just talked in the lobby about our interpretations for so long we lost track of time and missed the Black Panther showing. We decided to just exchange for tickets for the next Annihilation showing that evening. Best birthday I've ever had.

[@jordanlink7020]

You got married as a baby??

[@Kotretovr]

@@jordanlink7020this got me wet and hard

[@ru4realzzz]

the "pile of journals" is such a great horror concept. I wish more of that was in the movie, even though it was pretty good

[@juicyparsons]

SERIOUSLY. rotting under their own weight?! I'm shook

[@Veryy_Victoriaa]

I wanted to see the tower with the words and the crawler

[@DasGreenCow]

The concept reminds me of Peter Capaldi's best episode of Doctor Who, Heaven Sent. I'm not going to spoil the episode, but if you've seen it, you know.

[@AveryMMartin]

@@Veryy_VictoriaaI actually think the shift away from attempting to include those aspects and the liberal other departures from the book are a strength of the film. The trilogy at its core is concerned with transformation and mutation, adaptation and identification. So the film taking unabashedly clear departures, more like borrowing a genetic template than trying to 1:1 translate or clone the book, actually fits the central themes of change and in a meta sort of way exemplifies the severity of the work lending it a more credible mythos

[@henryburby6077]

I remember walking out of a late night showing of Annihilation into a misty rain and being struck by the sight of the Empire State Building, which (in honor of the LGBTQ community, i assume) was lit up in a blinding rainbow. The colors, reflected by the rain, bled out across the dark sky. I was stunned.

[@lydiafayre9806]

Damn

[@nifftbatuff676]

Synchronicity.

[@afraidoftrees8360]

This was our gay agenda all along

[@viciousKev]

@@nifftbatuff676 the secret.

[@bannedmann4469]

Lol

[@MayaWhatton]

I was lucky enough to stumble into a screening of Annihilation not long after it came out where Alex Garland happened to be giving a Q&A at the end and two things he said really stuck with me, I’ve never forgotten them: 1. For him at least, the film is about how humans will always self destruct in various ways and that this self-destruction will always induce irrevocable change. For example, a relationship can continue even after a betrayal but it will always be different, it can never go back to the way it was. 2. His approach to adapting the book was to only read it once or twice and then never refer to it again during the screenplay writing process. He said he felt relying on his very human, flawed memory felt perversely like a more faithful way of adapting the story which of course is in itself all about self-destruction, self-doubt and change.

[@snoozygames4291]

I got my metaphor for popcorn and my allegory of a couch all ready, can't wait for what I perceive as the premiere.

[@AcolytesOfHorror]

lol you get me

[@groofay]

Annihiliation was one of my favorite books I've read in recent years. There were some passages in that book where I could barely make sense of what exactly I was reading, but it was *intoxicating* all throughout.

[@samanthag8653]

I think maybe that was my problem with it is that I felt so lost during sections of the book. I truly love the movie, but I gave up on the books halfway through the second one..

[@groofay]

@@samanthag8653 I think the general consensus is that the first book is the best, and the follow-ups just don't measure up. I stopped reading at some point in the third as well, the sequels just lost so much of the power the first one had.

[@hankrearden20]

@@groofay Without a doubt. The books were a tough slog. But the series' finale was oddly cathartic. And different.

[@admech590]

That's sort of Jeff vandermeer for you. If you can, get veniss underground. Or even the ambergris trilogy. Highly recommend them.

[@sykes1024]

That was the most beautiful and terrifying part of it. The rambling sentence that lines the wall of the tower makes absolutely no sense at first. But as you continue on in the books, as we get more and more context from the characters, of Area X, and as more of the passage is revealed and repeated, it almost starts to make a kind of sense. And as that happens, one is left to wonder if that nonsense could begin to make sense to us, we're almost going through the same kind of transformation as the characters. Something that appeared as chaos and utter meaninglessness begins to seem like they have meaning. And if that can happen with that, maybe there is meaning in everything, just not a meaning we can understand because we aren't that thing.

[@Psyteth]

Finding this channel was one of the only good things to come out of 2020.

[@erikire]

agreed!

[@ceIIardoor]

Agreed.

[@niksta007a]

Agreed!

[@liccmy2517]

And just how well it fits 2020

[@IfYouInsist]

Been here for 10 minutes and I already agree.

[@goodtaste2185]

As far as the book and movie go, I believe they are completely different takes on the same concept which is the best way to adapt other media. They are different experiences and I appreciate them. A really neat detail I noticed was when Kane is speaking to the camera, he assimilated the country accent of one of the soldiers in the video recording earlier in the film.

[@Alder41]

Completely agree on your notion about adaptations. Tarkovsky made Stalker with authors of the original book, and they were saying that with each new draft of the script it was becoming more and more different from the book, while at the same time being take on the same concept.

[@JD-ld1vk]

I saw this on a whim in theaters, completely unaware of what I was walking into, and by the end I walked out to my car and sat in silence for a good 15 minutes just, thinking about it. Such a stunning film and such a fantastic example of cosmic horror done right on the screen. I love your analysis, it hits the nail on the head imho.

[@hunkyfunkyletsgetmonkey7464]

This video was honestly very therapeutic. Your soft voice was very hypnotic and relaxing and it went so well with the context of what you were talking about. brilliant analysis as always

[@juicyparsons]

he would explain the scariest shit with the quietest calmest deep vocal fry. lol it definitely added to the horror ambience

[@cyberpunkqueen1525]

“The world might remain forever neutral but that means hope is just as likely as despair" watch me tear up

[@snakey973]

This movie scared me on a deep level- total cosmic dread

[@Jeffrey314159]

Cosmic horror you mean? Or Lovecraftian?

[@liabw05]

Naw dread! Whatever landed on earth will destroy it 😅

[@jdk9673]

I’m not exaggerating when I say that this video was absolutely thrilling to me. I subscribed to this channel immediately after watching only a single episode, something I almost never do. It was about Midsommar, a movie that I only sorta enjoyed but felt I might not be fully appreciating . I was interested in a fresh viewpoint but I got a lot more than that. I like film analysis but this guy can really slap some serious epiphanies into your face and you love him for it. I came for the horror film analysis and stayed for the... humanity church? I don’t know, I guess that’s my only way to describe it. But I like it.

[@StudentoSan]

Wow, exactly the same happened to me.

[@WesCoastPiano]

After your fantastic Lighthouse review I'll be first in line for this.

[@brandon9172]

obligatory "how did you comment that before the video was posted!!?!!"

[@michimatsch5862]

I can only afford a cheap seat.

[@samanthag8653]

Your response won this comment section!

[@ThomasWake-k9j]

Wyd ye spill yer beans

[@ludviglidstrom6924]

“Our temptation to conquer art instead of letting art conquer us” - one of the most insightful comments I have ever heard. I think that is the reason why so many have a hard time with poetry - they try to conquer the poem rather than allowing the poem to conquer them.

[@hello.eriall7303]

"It was dreamlike.." Nightmarish?" "Not always. Sometimes it was beautiful."

[@jade3866]

This movie gave me so much End of Evangelion vibes. Such a great video, you're literally my favorite youtube channel right now.

[@josevigil4233]

I remember watching this film while struggling hard with my ego. I studied philosophy when I saw the movie, so I understood it as the existential anguish of losing yourself. I was angry because I believed that Area X had this sinister force and that annihilation had some moral sense. Thinking of self-harm or self-destruction as something natural to humans felt horrendous. I didn't know that self-preservation can be just as destructive. I wanted to survive (I mean my ego), and that desire was the reason for my suffering because I denied myself the opportunity to transform. I thought of death as the opposite of life, nothing devoid of being, everything without a purpose. I was sad and afraid and, I felt like falling into devouring darkness. Thankfully I have been experiencing a change of heart. Now I see that I am free (including of myself). I have the freedom to choose who I want to be. And that choice conveys the unknown. The reason why Christians believe God is creative is that He is free. Freedom and creation are analogous. Surrendering to creation means to give up oneself. I needed to give up who I thought I was to become free, to enter the mystery of being means not to know who we are. Unknowing oneself is an opportunity for creation, erratic movements that flow with absolute freedom from our hearts: our desires, feelings, and intuitions. I loved your video because it explains perfectly the meaning of the movie. Annihilation portrays that once we overcome destruction as an impulse of death (as it was when I wanted to protect my identity, same as the need to control in your explanation of the book) we allow it to be a natural part of life; destruction and creation become a whole. Death is a part of life, not it's opposite. To unknown who we are, provides life's meaning as we explore all possibilities, as we blissfully contemplate the mystery of Being.

[@cruddddddddddddddd]

I enjoyed this film, but Vandermeer's book was superior, imo. Vandermeer is an awesome writer. That hypnotism subplot involving the Psychologist was, for me, far creepier than anything in the film. To take someone's control away is very frightening. It gave me chills. City of Saints and Madmen is also a great collection by him--not quite horror, but at times horrifying. Vandermeer is the quintessential 'biopunk' writer. I've enjoyed your work--especially your views on the Nurse Ratched character. You're very good at getting right down to the essence of the themes you cover

[@BriarPatchNyra]

I agree

[@carnival5458]

Seeing the flowers and plants grow out of Josie’s self harm scars made me cry when I first saw it, and it still does

[@halfpintrr]

Josie’s death (?) was beautiful in the movie. That act of surrender was also an act of peace and contentment. It was personal but also so much more. I’m sad but also happy for her.

[@claudiah.2935]

I remember feeling absolutely haunted after seeing this in the theater. Drove home listening to Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Helplessly Hoping” (which is featured towards the beginning of the film) over and over. Nathan, what is your profession? I’m super impressed by your film analyses and if you tell me this isn’t something you’ve studied extensively... I won’t believe you lol

[@guthrien]

It's funny, that was the exact series of events I had. This is one of my favorite films of the last few years and I had just watched it a week or so ago and once again got into a CSN "Helplessly Hoping" loop. It's used so perfectly in this.

[@160p2GHz]

I also listened to it on repeat for weeks after seeing it.

[@patreekotime4578]

In The Lighthouse video he talks about his job. Would recommend just watching it. Suffice to say... people are not the job they do for money.

[@LoryskaEntertainment]

*shakes like a mutated leaf in excitement* I BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ‘UN. Your other work has been a delight, and it’s so amazing you’re covering one of my favorite horror films. Can’t wait!

[@denarisnoctem4562]

"The world might be forever neutral, but that means hope is just as likely as despair . . . ." These are things people should hear more often.

[@choirgrrrl1257]

When I watched the movie version, I got the feeling that I really should read the book. But, of course, I didn’t. This has given me new incentive to do just that. And btw, I’m down with pretty much everything you are considering for next year, esp Blue Velvet.

[@saraha2667]

Fun fact - there are three books! I actually didn't like them as much as the movie. "Cosmic indifference" sums them up though.

[@RoboBoddicker]

I'd def recommend the books, but the movie stands on its own. They really don't have much in common except for some very basic plot elements.

[@BeMeCam]

Everyone's comparing Annihilation to Stalker, but I see much more parallels to Solaris (the book, by Stanislaw Lem). The futility of trying to fathom the unfathomable, it's all there. Solaris, the book not the movie, is definitely worth checking out if you haven't already.

[@everforward5561]

Though I always feel nothing unfathomable, we simply may lack the means/senses to fathom it.

[@MisterSifuentes]

Alex Garland has a perverse obsession with the power of creation. It seems to be his recurring theme. Devs takes it to another level. One of my favs.

[@mylittlewhatnow]

Such an overlooked movie- so glad you're covering it

[@samanthag8653]

I'm honestly so sad that this movie didn't do better I really don't understand why it was truly horrifying in some parts and in other parts so beautiful

[@CarlErikSimonsen]

@@samanthag8653 It goes to show that the most transformative experiences can be either the most beautiful or the most terrifying. "To fathom Hell or soar angelic, take a pinch of psychedelic".

[@skrrtskrrt2410]

@@CarlErikSimonsen Or just take a bath

[@BriarPatchNyra]

Given that Indigenous and Asian actors are still largely ignored and miscast, I agree.

[@Jeffrey314159]

You are a troll for political correctness

[@ヴァリ-z3e]

@@Jeffrey314159 Please stop arguing against Twitter incompetently. They need to go and you make everyone's job harder. This is going to be a non sequitur but everyone reading this should google the phrase "10 signs you are in a cult"

[@dbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdb]

I'm on board for a Blue Velvet video next year...if we still have time! Really though, I do like the idea.

[@GLENNACHEEMS]

oh that movie. it's impacted me so much, I absolutely adore it in an almost familial sense

[@ectopasta]

I want to pick up this book so badly, the movie struck such a chord with me and the book's prose sounds stunning. This analysis is everything.

[@479sam]

oh, please do the Hannibal series! It's so rich and interesting. Thank you for the recommendation!

[@goylefriend]

Somewhere, Dan Olson breathes a sigh of relief.

[@ThisisnotTwitter]

His review of this film was really masterful and I have gone back to re-watch it multiple times.

[@headwyvern11]

essentially Annihilation is a story about accepting Shub Niggurath the chaotic force of life incarnate, understanding our limited scope and relevance to a larger scope of things.

[@maxw.2579]

Sure, if you want to call it that. The message, more of the book than of the movie imo is that the thunderous pulse of life is primordial and mysterious. Its hubris to think we are in any way above it or capable of even scratching the surface of understanding it, we arent even outside of it. We and all our messy emotions and complex theories and systems are a tiny drop in the chaotic torrent of nature. To stick with your imagery: humankind has to realize that our species is one of the thousand young of the black goat.

[@headwyvern11]

@@maxw.2579 Aww ty for that. I appreciate the elaboration and book perspective.

[@ThomasWake-k9j]

Yeah Jeff Vandermeer apparently borrowed HEAVILY from Lovecraft almost too much and rebranded it

[@shoua7]

The bear is always the first thing I think of when hear this movie's title. Hands down, scariest sci-fi creature ever put on screen. Excellent video, BTW!

[@Mr_Case_Time]

One could argue that the HULU show DEVS (also an Alex Garland work of art) could be a story about cosmic horror. The inability to change the past is itself horrific.

[@samaasc9182]

Love from India! I adore the work you do. To find the kind of content that keeps you up at night just thinking is the kind of content we must live for!

[@SmileySuperSam]

this did inspire me to finally read the whole southern reach trilogy, and i know it's outside the scope of this review, but i loved how in the end--much like in the movie--acceptance reaffirms human connection in the face of absurdist annhilation; human moments, feelings, and connections still have meaning against the unknowable, even if only to us

[@AcolytesOfHorror]

yeah I love how it ends with Grace and Ghost bird walking, possibly to the border, or possibly there is no more border, but the point is they're walking together, and that will just have to be okay

[@robweissman5952]

Wow this dude sure does know how to make a video essay.. I almost just watch movies just to watch what AOH makes as a response.

[@KazuraBlaze]

So I was listening to this rather than watching, and man... The way the narration worms into your ear and arrests your attention is great.

[@jeffcobb2734]

I think this movie is a meditation about how we often compromise our true selves in order to fit into society, marriage, work place, etc. Alex Garland is making a film about how we self destruct our true selves and assimilate into different societal roles. I think the central theme of the marriage between Lena & Kane is the key. To be married (at least successfully) requires one to somewhat "kill" their real self, their ego, their id, and take on the role of spouse that is expected by their partner. In return their partner is doing the same thing. Nobody is being themselves, in a way "play acting" what they think the other expects. We've assimilated ourselves into a "wife" or "husband" while the part of us down deep inside wants to be selfish and do what it want, screw the other person. In a similar way, the alien tries to copy the humans, but either gets it completely wrong with some weird mutation (the mutant bear which is lashing out in a violent way, but when it opens its mouth, it says: "Help me"), or produces some emotionless cardboard version of us (the Kane who escapes the shimmer and comes back home). Which is what often happens to us humans as we try to fit in or play along by the rules of society. At least that what I get out of it.

[@elmoonfire]

This video is incredible. Truly, I'm so impressed at how you made this feel like the movie. A movie I'd really love to hear you talk about is Sunshine, might be a weird sell for it being horror as it's not really horror until the last third, but I bet you'd knock it outa the park.

[@ceIIardoor]

Yes! Love that movie. Not one million percent in love with the monster guy ending, but the movie was so good that doesn't matter.

[@jdk9673]

I too would like to see his take on Sunshine. I saw it years ago and don’t even remember the plot or characters all that well. But I definitely remember the way it made me feel. Disquieting dread, existential discomfort, claustrophobic impending doom. That all adds up to horror if you ask me.

[@lunarmagpie619]

Sandra Oh in Annihilation....... sir your mind......

[@deedeeblackwater8354]

I wasn't going to read the book, but you've really piqued my curiosity for this story back up. There was a lot I missed in my first viewing. I'll need to rewatch it after I finish the book as well. I can't believe I missed the (wo)man bear pig! lol I remember wanting to see The Love Witch so badly when it originally came out and then being SUPER disappointed. Although after The Take's recent mini analysis of it in their Witch Troupe video and the fact that you're considering diving deeper into it, it's looking like I might need to rewatch and reevaluate.

[@eggyyockio]

I love Annihilation, so glad you're covering it. You're making me want to read the books.

[@groofay]

You really should, the climax of the first book is dizzying.

[@hakimchulan]

Yesss

[@NewMessage]

The scariest bit of this is the Hank Green impression.

[@jumpinjaggi8152]

When I heard the music by father2006 i was thinking: "no. fucking. way." Im always glad to see someone that enjoys his music too! it really does capture that feeling of decay and desolation.

[@fiverfrank]

i keep coming back here. what a truly remarkable video. i watched this ages ago and now im writing my final year undergrad dissertation on posthumanism in annihilation, and its partially inspired and encouraged by this very video. wishing you all the best in 2024 everyone.

[@AcolytesOfHorror]

that's so cool, congrats on your dissertation

[@joaomurad8206]

Your videos are beautifully hypnotic! The text, the edit, the narration and soundtrack feels simultaneously disurptive and seductive, in a poetic flow that really allows everything to sink in deep in our souls. Geniunely inspiring! Congratulations! I Really hope you keep sending this amazing content in our way!

[@ulfingvar1]

One of the best films of the past 20 years. Hope it finds a bigger audience and finds its place among the classics, like Blade Runner did, for instance.

[@sarahb1862]

I'm really excited about this, I just want to let you know (respectfully) that I can barely hear you over the ambient music.

[@PseudoMystic]

As much as I love the book and the movie I've come to realize both draw heavily upon Roadside Picnic (1972) and Tarkovsky's adaptation. Area X is more or less The Zone, but with ecology more explicitly in mind, bio horror and Lovecraftian influences.

[@Abyssiondubs]

Love that i made it in time for the premiere, your audience is only going to continue to grow. Amazing work as always 🙏

[@homeworkhelp5374]

Yay! I’m going to rewatch this in anticipation.

[@luciddreamqueen812]

I accidentally caught the last half of this movie one day and couldn’t stop watching. I recorded it on the dvr later and watched it again. It was the exact kind of horror I could enjoy in that it’s not the physical fear of a threat but peeling open something too big for people to handle. I loved the movie when I saw it and I love your analysis of it and the additions of the books.

[@ChoosenOneStudios]

You will be missed! I look forward to your stuff in January. I hope the move goes well! :)

[@AcolytesOfHorror]

Thanks!

[@AoiLucine]

I'm glad I discovered your work! You've got a fantastic style and really soothing voice. Despite loving the concept of horror I can't easily handle horror movies just due to how my mind lingers on it for so long (it's really not mentally healthy for me, w-whoops) and how movies specifically affect me, but I adore the analysis of horror movies and games. Do you care for any horror games at all?

[@liabw05]

Same 😔

[@masterkeavenloveportalbrin7272]

What is my body, but a moving sculpture? The one who animates it is the infinite. Annihilation, is a movie, but it is also the duel the ego has with knowing it doesn't exist. The ego can only persist with conflict. Without conflict it dissolves into everything like a newborn who can't differentiate themselves apart from their mother or their surroundings (as they say). The movie, I think, is about the ego's fright knowing deep down inside it doesn't and never did exist. But infinite grace gives it the gift of allowing it to sing and dance and play as if it does. You were right when you said the movie is a much love as it is about fear. Giving love to this character we play even if in truth its not who we are.

[@DistantKingdom]

the white guilt segment is peak cringe

[@kseniav586]

Can I just say that I LOVE the way you speak and the graceful eloquence of everything you say

[@ChoosenOneStudios]

David Firth is someone whose work I've found fascinating for a long time, and an in depth exploration by someone who isn't clickbaity and really has interesting thoughts? I'd love to see that.

[@TheBeird]

I forget the line completely, but I think it goes something like 'my flesh flows like liquid.' Creeps me the fuck out. Great film

[@moondog548]

Content: Glorious. Sound Mix: Challenging to say the least

[@ALLCAPSKELL]

I missed candlelight Nathan! Glad to have you back! Amazing video!!! It was everything I anticipated and more!

[@NoName-vq6cg]

Good to see you posting again

[@PulpandArt]

Your videos inpired me so much I decided to make my own channel talking about movies and its just so much fun. Thank you for being an inspiration!!!

[@MrKYT-gb8gs]

Audio needs to improve a bit and lower background audio. but good vid.

[@hotandslavic]

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS. It feels eerily timed, as I'm currently ploughing my way through the third book and have become so... mesmerised by Area X that my life right now is just watching the film and reading the books. This was a fantastic video!

[@elizahogan4704]

I saw this movie a few years ago when I was 12 or 13 (I am sixteen now, so whenever this movie came out is how old I was when I saw it, as I saw it in theathers). I had no idea what the movie was about, and I was just tagging along with my friend group who always just picked whichever movie was showing at a time that worked best for everyone. This movie was the scariest movie I had ever seen. It left me feeling so empty and confused. A true horror film will change how you feel about life.

[@claudiah.2935]

I was 20 when I saw it and I felt the exact same way!

[@wallsofgranite]

Your work always stuns me! I've been recommending your videos to all my friends and they seem to really enjoy them, too! Congratulations on your success so far, I can't wait to see your channel grow and the work you're going to do in the future.

[@rayjophiell]

Great vid, hard to understand you at times - the music is quite loud.

[@Opossuh]

I absolutely love your videos and I can't tell you my excitement when I saw this video. Thank you for everything youve done.Also hearing what you have to say on David Firth's work would be really nice to hear! Either way I cant wait to see what you have in store next. I know this year has been rough and I really relate to your feelings when you mentioned the smoke and fires that happen on our side of the states. Hopefully we can all end this year strong and start the next hopeful for something better. I'm thankful for your work as youve helped make this year better for a good handful of us :)

[@mishaz4820]

I really disagree with the assessment that ‘life will find a way’ because ☹️ most life will not. Entire species have already perished due to climate change and of course other human influences, as I’m sure you all know. Maybe this is a thought some people need to be hopeful, because while I often think about and grapple with climate change I’m not a depressive personality and can engage with how hopeless the situation is without losing hope (or anger or excitement). But for me, the thought that ‘life will prevail’ can be a way to self-soothe when perhaps what is most useful is to not be soothed. To be loud and angry and TRULY hopeful. Because as someone who engages with climate change frequently, I know the technology is there, I know what needs to be done and that it CAN be done, that climate change is 100% survivable and that life WILL find a way. But I know that WE need to be that life, WE need to find a way, to protect all the glow worms and insects of this world. I admire evolution but I will not place all my hopes for a future onto its shoulders when there is still so much fighting left to do to protect this wonderful world. ... Basically, I remember having this thought process when I was an edgy teenager, and when I grew up I realized how self-defeating it was for me, so whenever other people share that view I project my own concerns about my past self onto them. So, don’t mind me but if this comment is read I hope it offers something of an interesting perspective, the way this video offered an interesting perspective to me. Nice vid.

[@AcolytesOfHorror]

Yes to all of this. I guess what I was getting at is that ultimately, the rise and fall of the human race (whether it’s soon or a jillion years) and all who are under our power is, in a cosmic POV, a blip on the radar of evolution, and there’s something kind of comforting about that to me, in a twisted sort of way. But of course that sentiment is only valuable in those moments when I’m already paralyzed by despair. I definitely wouldn’t shout it into a loudspeaker at like a climate rally or on a fundraising phone call lol. Annihilation is creation, and that’s a beautiful thing to ponder. But if you’re dying in the desert, the thought that you’re about to make some nice vultures very happy is only going to be so helpful.

[@admech590]

@@AcolytesOfHorror cage of souls by Adrien Tchaikovsky is a great exploration of this theme. Fair warning, the middle is a bit of a slog, but the ending just feels like an emotional, existential kick to the groin. I won't spoil too much, but suffice it to say, regardless of the choices the main character makes, the human race won't be able to survive in the hell-ecosystem they've created for themselves. But life will continue to go on, no matter how twisted and horrible it may appear to us.

[@cajunseasoning1846]

@@admech590 Life will find a way. Not the same life, not the life that has already lived and died. New life is never the same but is life all the same.

[@carlwhy]

99.9 percent of all life that has ever existed on Earth has gone extinct. To say that you discount the sentiment that life will find a way because most life will not is just asinine. If we end up causing the 6th mass extinction event with climate change, then the forms of life that rise to dominate the Earth will do so because they will have adapted to the change. So yeah, life will find a way.

[@LordofFullmetal]

Also, to add to your point - we really DON'T know that life will find a way. This particular situation is unprecedented. Life has NEVER been destroyed on this kind of scale before. All of those other mass extinction events took place over hundreds or thousands or millions of years - long enough for evolution to catch up and produce new species who could respond to it. So far, this has all happened in less than a hundred years. The same time frame as one single human lifetime. It's entirely possible that life WON'T win, because it's all moving too fast for its one defence mechanism to catch up.

[@sr6826]

NBC Hannibal! Please do Hannibal. It's so beautiful and so many film/horror creators say they love it and how unique it is, there aren't a ton of high-quality video essays on it. Though, I know it's harder to tackle shows rather than films in depth. Oh, and Senator, just one more thing: love your suit. B-)

[@everforward5561]

I found it more fascinating then horrifying. As a biologist, it's really interesting. I also felt more sorry for the bear than afraid, that thing must have been in agonizing pain, non-stop.

[@staunchystal]

This has to be my favourite video of yours, production wise. The use of the VAd exerpts from the book, the subdued and soft delivery of your lines "soggy and fading", the constantly little changes in post on your voice is amazing, and the music, argh the use of music is just perfect. I am so happy I found you

[@alys265]

The music is SO loud, man. I can't understand what you're saying. It's taking all my concentration.

[@cerebrustusbordungolski7183]

The idea of possesion comes to mind, in many mystical traditions, identity is a mutable substance sensitive to alteration through rituals that blur the lines of this perception of oneself to access something bigger than itself. In this line of thought, the visible, physical person is little more than a vessel which can channel different things, many of which are vastly different from the mundane mode of self. Shamans, mediums, oracles and the like were meant to be this class of holy people who do not partake in normal everyday life, but are instead meant to be a link between a community and greater entities.

[@juliangershwin]

"In the mouth of madness" would be good to see dissected. What does it mean to be crazy?

[@bilbeman4125]

Finally came back to finish this; I left halfway through because I had watched the film but not read the book, then I read the book but forgot about this video. Truly excellent stuff

[@claytoncarl4926]

Really wish I could hear you over the deafening background music.

[@Fala_Elias]

this video was so good and beautifully written. i was listening to it while working on an illustration and, in a way, it felt like listening to a guided meditation. i often struggle with feeling helpless about the state of the world but the poetic way the video talked about it gave me a little spark of hope. thank you for your work.

[@amakerwitch]

Oh please please do The Love Witch. One of my favorite favorite movies from the last decade. Would really love your take on it. Thanks for doing this, I haven’t actually seen this movie, and actually hadn’t even heard of it prior to watching this tonight. And thanks for the video recommendations at the end, that’s really cool.

[@ishaantiwari]

Found you through the Lighthouse video, amazing work man your channel is definitely one to watch out for. Your future projects all sound exciting, my inclination would be towards getting to watch the David Lynch video first but I'll be watching anything you drop. Cheers.

[@gracecampbell4556]

Another suggestion for future video: The Girl on The Train

[@tienngothuy3540]

Psychology has a way to my heart. U nailed it with the suspended atmosphere and play of words which made tears coming out of my eyes and mouth blabbering along to the emotion of each character displayed. Thanks for sharing!

[@达努佳]

Hi just a suggestion could you lower the background music. Its totally overpowering your soft soothing voice.

[@ryandavis280]

thanks for making this. this movie is criminally underrated

[@heauxmade1456]

The birth of a humanoid scene is one of the most trippy, awesome scenes that I sometimes like to watch when I’m high.

[@Vhestale]

It's actually hard to explain just how much this video moved me. One moment that really resonnated with me was when you said that the most important moments in our lives are also the ones we can't put into words... I've always loved writing stories and a lot of people close to me consider that I'm rather good at using them, so they can't understand why, more and more, I find myself frustrated when I have to explain how I feel. All of this to say that I really CAN'T find the words to explain how important this video was for me. But it was, and I'm sure I'll come back to it often in the future, so thank you a lot. ^^

[@maybelater5893]

the balcground sound is almost deafening. sound needs to a balanced more. I cannot understand what you are saying