The “Crazy” & “Unforgettable” Sci-Fi Movie That’s Now Streaming for Free

One of the most underrated sci-fi movies of the 2010s is now streaming for free. Tubi, the free streaming platform, has added several high-profile sci-fi movies to its streaming library this month, including Total Recall, Watchmen, Under the Skin, and Ex Machina. But, before Alex Garland became a major name, thanks to the likes of Warfare, Civil War, 28 Years Later, and the aforementioned Ex Machina, he partnered with Netflix to direct one of the most underrated sci-fi movies in years. The film was once a Netflix original, but the streamer has since let it go to other platforms, and Tubi has swept it up.

The film in question is Alex Garland’s Annihilation, which is now streaming for free on Tubi. Annihilation was originally produced by Paramount and received a limited theatrical release in the US. However, international audiences had to settle for watching the film on Netflix. Years after it was released, Paramount and Netflix’s deal has since expired, and Annihilation has been snatched up by Tubi.

Annihilation is based on the sci-fi novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. Garland penned the script and directed the movie, which starred Natalie Portman, Sonoya Mizuno, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Benedict Wong, David Gyasi. Oscar Isaac, and John Schwab. The official synopsis reads:

“Lena, a biologist and former soldier, joins a mission to uncover what happened to her husband inside Area X — a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. Once inside, the expedition discovers a world of mutated landscapes and creatures, as dangerous as it is beautiful, that threatens both their lives and their sanity.”

‘Annihilation’s The Shimmer Was Inspired by an iPad

The Mutant Bear in Annihilation

Paramount Pictures

One of the best parts of Annihilation is The Shimmer, the unofficial name for Area X. The Shimmer blends all kinds of horror elements, but mainly pulls from cosmic and psychological horror. You’d think, then, that The Shimmer was inspired by the all-time horror greats. But Alex Garland revealed that the visual aesthetic of The Shimmer came from a far more mundane inspiration. Speaking to SyFy in 2024, he said:

“Some of it, we’d find it in nature. One of the key ones that we found was actually on an iPad app. It was a representation of a mathematical shape, which is a 3D representation of a fractal form, like the Mandelbrot set. If you animate them, they move in a way that feels predictable and makes sense, but is also literally not possible to predict. It’s slightly organic and slightly nonorganic at the same time. In the end, the thing that became most significant, I think, was that 3D fractal shape.”

Annihilation was a major critical hit when it was released in 2018. The film holds a tremendous 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The majority of audiences also loved the film. Although its Rotten Tomatoes audience score is slightly more divisive, sitting at 67%. But those who loved Annihilation really loved it. “Great movie with a lot of crazy moments,” wrote one user, while another simply called it “unforgettable.”