The mutant bear from Annihilation is the movie's most nightmarish sequence, but where did it come from? Annihilation is based on the Southern Reach trilogy by author Jeff VanderMeer, which revolves around a zone dubbed Area X. A team of female scientists cross into this area, which features bizarre plant and animal mutations, and none of the past expeditions has made it back alive.
Alex Garland (Dredd) directed the movie adaptation of Annihilation, which is only loosely based on the novel. The basic premise is the same, with main character Lena (Natalie Portman), crossing into Area X after her husband (Oscar Isaac, Triple Frontier) comes back from an expedition in critical condition. The film is an engrossing mix of horror, sci-fi fantasy and existential drama, and was considered one of the best films of 2018.
While there were two further novels in the Southern Reach trilogy - Authority and Acceptance - Garland has ruled out returning for a sequel. Annihilation also featured one of the most terrifying scenes of 2018 in the form of the mutant bear attack. In this sequence, Lena and her surviving teammates have been tied to chairs by Gina Rodriguez's paramedic, who has been slowly driven insane by the Shimmer. That's when they hear a call for help by Cass (Tuva Novotny, Borg vs McEnroe), who was killed earlier in the story. It's soon discovered the cries are actually coming from a hideously mutated bear, which killed Cass and absorbed parts of her into itself.
Alongside the previously encountered mutant alligator - which was fused with shark DNA - Anniliation's bear is the best example of the freakish mutations happening inside the Shimmer. The Shimmer alters and refracts the DNA of all living things inside of it, including Lena and her team. The bear has a sickly, diseased look, and it's possible to see a human skull fused into the side of its head. The flesh has also been peeled away from the bear's head, and its mouth contains human teeth, suggesting anything it eats becomes part of it. The bear also appears to be in a state of constant suffering, accounting for its aggression.
The VFX supervisor of Annihilation previously worked on Paddington and decided to dub the mutant bear Homerton, after an East London station. The bear itself is an extremely unsettling design, from its exposed skull to the eerie shrieks of the dying Cass emanating from it. It's to the movie's credit that despite the creature being terrifying, there's still a level of sympathy, since its just an animal that's been warped beyond recognition by the effects of the Shimmer.