Annihilation: The Screenplay

by Alex Garland

The new science fantasy action horror film written for the screen and directed by Alex Garland based on the book of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer and starring Natalie Portman.

A group of soldiers enters an environmental disaster zone and only one comes back out alive, though he is grievously injured. In an attempt to save his life, his wife Lena, a biologist, volunteers for a second expedition into the zone to figure out what happened to him.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

Published May 15, 2018

About the author

Alex Garland (born 1970) is a British novelist, screenwriter, and director.

Garland is the son of political cartoonist Nick (Nicholas) Garland. He attended the independent University College School, in Hampstead, London, and the University of Manchester, where he studied art history.

His first novel, The Beach, was published in 1996 and drew on his experiences as a backpacker. The novel quickly became a cult classic and was made into a film by Danny Boyle, with Leonardo DiCaprio.

The Tesseract, Garland's second novel, was published in 1998. This was also made into a film, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers. In 2003, he wrote the screenplay for Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, starring Cillian Murphy. His third novel, The Coma, was published in 2004 and was illustrated with woodcuts by his father.

In 2007 he wrote the screenplay for the film Sunshine—his second screenplay to be directed by Danny Boyle and star Cillian Murphy as lead. Garland also served as an executive producer on 28 Weeks Later, the sequel to 28 Days Later.

Garland also wrote the first screenplay for Halo, the film adaptation of the successful video game franchise by Bungie Studios.

He made his directorial debut with Ex Machina, a 2014 feature film based on his own story and screenplay.

His partner is actress/director Paloma Baeza.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was… fine, I guess? It’s one of those where you read it and you’re done. There’s nothing astounding or profound about it. The writing style is good, but I’ll forget what the story is even about after a week.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read v10 of the screenplay, i'm not sure if that's the same screenplay available on amazon because honestly i just googled for a PDF! really interesting, especially seeing what was changed between version 10 and the final film, noticing what themes were pushed to the foreground vs which are pushed back. always feels good to read something written by an experienced screenwriter. clean, good writing. 127 pages go by so fast.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting book that like much great science-fiction is a descent into the psyche and it’s interaction with our problem times. The book troubles borders between normality and anomaly, the human and non-human, the inner and outer worlds. If anything, it gives comfort to the fact that what we most fear might lead to unplanned solutions. Interestingly, the book also offers a rather poignant account of a relationship in dissolution through a very introspective account. The grace of the plot is the way it balances concerns over environmental reckoning with a very intimate account of a troubled couple’s life. The film is good. The book, however, delves even deeper into the fantastic recesses that make this book difficult to put down as the contagion within it stretches into your mind and grips you not unlike Area X.

[Wiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the movie that came from this screenplay. I love the book that this screenplay was adapted from. The screenplay itself is good. It gives some insight into the characters of the film, which may not have been clear on screen and differs from the book. It also seems to include scenes or beats that were either deleted from the final film or were dropped before filming even began. Some of these bits are unnecessary and for some reason distracted me from the screenplay itself. Ok, that's it.

[Billy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enthralling screenplay that does not disappoint, it succeeded in capturing the ethereal terror of its movie and gave an extra insight into the world of Annihilation.

[Gordondad2nine · Rating 4 out of 5]

nothing like the movie!

[Hannah Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

-some scenes that didn't make it into the film
-bts photos!

[Nichole Bruno · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not horrible, just not for me.

[Aleksander Prus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor character development and a lot different than the book

[Nicola Lodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love

[Atanas · Rating 5 out of 5]

+ Creepy
+ Cool to see scenes that were cut from the final version of the film

[Zen · Rating 3 out of 5]

More interesting than the book it's based on...

[Justin M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those situations where no one is blame. I ordered the book and NOT the screenplay from the public library but when you’re under appreciated and underpaid, often the mantra of “close enough” moves the spirit to act in such a manner. I thank the public library for lending me the screenplay as I now have numerous notes that I’d like to share with the writer of the screenplay.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting differences between this and the actual film. Would love to read a finished version of the shooting script because this essentially had a complete different structure and ending. Made me appreciate the film a good bit more though because I really did miss the changes that they made in the film that were left out in this version of the script. Still such a cool story though.

[Agne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great adaptation.