172: Annihilation (2018)
From The Nextlander Watchcast by The Nextlander Watchcast
March 16, 2026 · 2h 42m · Episode 172
About this episode
The episode discusses the film Annihilation, exploring its themes, production challenges, and character dynamics.
Brad has made his pick for the month, and he's decided to take a trip down south to Alex Garland's Annihilation, where a funny kind of Shimmer has got everyone all confused and refracted and dead. Join us as we discuss at length the phantasmagoric scenes that await our scientific adventurers, the human drama that plagues them both in and out of the zone, and just how how messed up that bear really is. CHAPTERS: (00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 172: Annihilation (2018) (00:00:26) - Intro. (00:04:06) - Brad's pick is up this week, and he has chosen Annihilation! (00:08:50) - Talking about the book, Alex Garland, and how he set about adapting this story. (00:16:48) - On the production, and the trouble it ran into pre-release. (00:27:02) - The flashback. (00:38:23) - This is not my beautiful house. This is not my beautiful wife. How did I get here? (00:42:35) - Break! (00:42:54) - We're back, and it's time for our first look at the Shimmer. (00:53:28) - Meeting the squad. (00:59:34) - Time becomes immediately weird. (01:03:11) - The mutations start to become apparent. (01:15:33) - Video logs and environmental storytelling. (01:24:24) - Another flashback in a flashback…
People in this episode
Host: Brad
Topics covered
- film analysis
- Annihilation
- Alex Garland
- science fiction
- human drama
- mutations
- environmental storytelling
Keywords
- Annihilation
- Alex Garland
- Shimmer
- mutations
- environmental storytelling
- film analysis
- science fiction
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Annihilation
Places: the zone, the Shimmer, the lighthouse
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