The ‘Annihilation’ Bear Scene is the Best Sci-Fi Horror Moment in Decades

Annihilation is a strange film that defies expectations. Part science fiction escapade, part balls-to-the-walls horror, Alex Garland‘s film takes us to the outer edges of reality to explore what makes us human. It’s a haunting film that gets under your skin, but one scene might be more disturbing than even that explosive finale. Of course, I’m talking about the “bear” scene, the scariest sci-fi horror moment this side of the original Alien trilogy.

Annihilation follows Natalie Portman‘s Lena as she leaves her academic career behind to join a top secret mission into a mysterious location known as “the Shimmer.” The team she joins is full of brilliant scientists and fellow former military officers, but what she hides from the group is that she is going in to find out what happened to her husband Kane (Oscar Isaac) on a prior mission. Once inside “the Shimmer,” the team — which includes Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Dr. Ventress, Gina Rodriguez’s Anya, Tessa Thompson’s Josie, and Tuva Novotny’s Cass — discovers that nothing within the confines of this ever expanding phenomenon makes sense. The Shimmer scrambles DNA, turning people into flowers and morphing natural predators like bears and alligators into diabolical monstrosities.

The “bear” scene happens a little after the halfway mark of the film. At this point, Cass has been killed, and Anya is beginning to show signs of mental breakdown. So it is that the scene starts with the unhinged Anya tying the rest of the survivors up and threatening them. In particular, she is mad at Lena for lying about Kane. Now, here’s what makes this extended sequence so brilliant: it begins with the internal tension eating away at the team. But all those fears melt away when the bear-like monster appears. 

The set-up is brilliant. Because of Anya’s actions, Ventress, Lena, and Josie are tied up and unable to escape the bear’s attack. They must stay perfectly still at all costs, even as the audience member watching might feel compelled to fidget and hide. The “bear” itself is a next-level horror creation that sticks in the maw of your nightmares. It’s not just that the bear creature has a grotesque appearance — its head alone looks like an unholy cross between a dinosaur and a rotted mammal’s skull — but that the animal captures the cries of its prey. 

When the “bear” growls or brays, the women hear the pained screams of their fallen comrade, Cass. In fact, it’s her voice that lures Anya into her destruction. And here’s where I think Alex Garland succeeds the most: he shows us the full gory carnage of what comes next. He doesn’t coyly let it happen off stage. Rather, he follows the action so we can see the charming Gina Rodriguez literally ripped apart by the abominations of this world. 

Annihilation is a lot of things, but it isn’t a film that pulls punches, and that bear scene is proof of that.

Where to stream Annihilation