5 Surprisingly Realistic Depictions Of Aliens In Movies

4. The Shimmer - Annihilation

Arrival Aliens
Netflix

Writer-director Alex Garland already offered us a convincing interpretation of artificial intelligence with his debut film, Ex Machina. For his second feature, Annihilation, he went on to give us his two cents on alien life.

Like The Ocean from Solaris, The Shimmer is not really an animal, but more of a living, breathing environment, one that emerged shortly after an asteroid hit earth.

The Shimmer has the ability to distort time, erase thoughts, and alter the DNA of its ‘visitors’ in order to become one with them, as it does with protagonist Lena, played by Natalie Portman.

Copying and enhancing the DNA of other organisms seems to be the only thing it’s interested in, though, as The Shimmer effectively destroys itself when it internalizes Lena’s suicidal thoughts and tendencies.

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