Editorials
The Screaming Bear Attack Scene from ‘Annihilation’ Was One of This Year’s Scariest Horror Moments
*Keep up with our ongoing end of the year coverage here*
When the opportunity to write about the best horror of the year came up, my thoughts immediately turned to Annihilation, which has occupied the top spot on my list of the year’s best films since its release back in February. Check out Bloody Disgusting’s original review here.
It doesn’t matter whether or not the film reads as a “traditional” horror film (for my money, there’s been far too much digital ink spilled this year on semantic discussions about “elevated” and “prestige” horror). Even if you consider Annihilation a work of science fiction, the film features what is undoubtedly one of the most terrifying horror set pieces of the year. I’m talking, of course, about the screaming bear sequence.
Annihilation is based (primarily) on the first book in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy. The book follows a quartet of unnamed female scientists as they explore the Shimmer, a strange environmental phenomenon that has physically altered a large geographical area and its residents in strange, alien ways. The women are the latest in a long line of expeditions; the others have either never returned or returned irrevocably different (and inevitably die).
The film adaptation by Alex Garland (Ex Machina) uses the book’s premise as a foundation, but aside from carrying over the characters, Garland radically alters the plot; this results in an adaptation that makes visually explicit some of open-to-interpretation horrific elements without compromising on the source material’s atmosphere of ominous and oppressive dread.
The best example of this occurs at roughly the 75-minute mark of the film. In the book, the women encounter an abstract, ill-defined monster called the Creeper in a submerged well that circles deep underground. Garland’s screenplay eliminates the well and literally visualizes the Creeper; in the film its stand-in is a massive bear whose snout is half skeleton and whose vocal mannerisms mimic the screams and voice of its victims. Nicknamed Homerton (after East London’s “rough-around-the-edges” train station) by visual effects supervisor Andrew Whitehurst, the sequence when the creature is finally revealed is a masterclass of tension, effects and horror.
Immediately before Homerton appears, Anya (Gina Rodriguez) ties up her colleagues and holds them at gunpoint. She’s distraught by the suggestion that since entering Area X, their DNA has been changing, as well as the revelation that Lena (Natalie Portman) lied that her husband was a member of a previous expedition. These realizations, as well as her mounting paranoia, prompt Anya to lash out. The threat of human violence is a bait and switch, however; before Anya can harm her colleagues, she is lured outside by the cries of Cass (Tuva Novotny) who was abducted and mauled to death the night before.
Like VanderMeer’s book, what (initially) occurs to Anya is left to the imagination offscreen. Garland wisely keeps the camera trained on Lena, Josie (Tessa Thompson) and Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh)’ faces as the soundtrack is the silence after Anya runs out before it is filled with the roars of something. As they struggle to free themselves from their bonds, the wheezing, screaming creeps closer, until a cut to a medium shot reveals the slow lumber of a massive, mutated bear towards them. Garland cuts back to the same shot as the deformed snout slowly pushes between Lena and Josie, in a shot that evokes countless Xenomorph encounters in the Alien franchise. Meanwhile, the soundtrack is filled with the anguished screams of a woman we know is dead coming from the mouth of a monstrous beast, which creates an uncanny disconnect between sight and sound.
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The slow, deliberate pace of the creature as it first pulls back, then circles around in front of the confined women is unbearable (pun intended). Garland masterfully delays, then delays further the impending attack, drawing out the tension for maximum effect. The fact that the entire scene is lit by a solitary flashlight in the far right corner of the frame, Garland’s judicious lack of editing and the decision to continually focus on close-ups of the women’s shaking, crying faces only serves to ratchet up the fear quotient. Then, following a close up (from Josie’s point of view) of Homerton’s gaping open mouth and a shot-reverse-shot of the bear clamping down on her left shoulder, Anya unexpectedly returns to open fire on the beast (narrowly avoiding her friends in the process).
At this point, the sequence becomes a full-blown action set piece. Homerton is repeatedly struck by gunfire before charging, knocking over Josie and crushing Anya against the wall as she attempts to retreat. At this point, the editing kicks in: there are a number of quick cuts as Lena and Josie try to free themselves, as well as long shots (framed half in shadow) of Anya being mauled. The camera cuts to a vantage point halfway up the stairs while Anya is grabbed by the legs, snapping one of the banisters clean off (a clear, efficient visual shorthand to demonstrate how forcefully Homerton pulls her). Then, in quick succession, she is pounced on and her throat is brutally ripped out.
The soundtrack is filled solely with Anya’s anguished screams (there is no extradiegetic music), which makes her death scene feel both louder and longer than it is (from Homerton’s charge to the quick overhead shot of her corpse, only 20 seconds has passed). In fact, it is only when lead protagonist Lena is attacked and nearly mauled that the more traditional action movie score kicks in. Shortly thereafter Josie manages to put the bear down with a barrage of gunfire at close range, closing out the roughly two-minute sequence.
As a film, Annihilation is thematically interested in how people evolve and change; the film has been alternately celebrated and criticized for its open-ended narrative and philosophical elements. Since its release, Annihilation has been discussed as a metaphor for the human condition, the uncanny, trauma, depression and cancer. The range and multitude of readings confirms how magnificently nuanced and rich Garland’s second directorial effort is.
The scene with Homerton is emblematic of the film’s many layers and complications. Anya’s initial actions are driven by the revelation that their bodies are literally turning against them, an unsettling notion that also exposes the lack of control she – a soldier struggling with depression – has over her surroundings. Her paranoia is externally manifested when she discovers that she has been lied to by Lena (representing a threat from within the community) before realizing that there is always the threat of outsiders – represented by Homerton. In this way, not only is the scene a stunningly effective piece of mood, tension and horror, it is a microcosm of the film’s many thematic concerns…all wrapped up in one beautifully rendered scare.
Soon after the New Hollywood generation took over the entertainment industry, they started having children. And more than any filmmakers that came before—they were terrified. Rosemary’s Baby (1968), The Exorcist (1973), The Omen (1976), Eraserhead (1977), The Brood (1979), The Shining (1980), Possession (1981), and many others all deal, at least in part, with the fears of becoming or being a parent. What if my child turns out to be a monster? is corrupted by some evil force? or turns out to be the fucking Antichrist? What if I screw them up somehow, or can’t help them, or even go insane and try to kill them? Horror has always been at its best when exploring relatable fears through extreme circumstances. A prime example of this is Larry Cohen’s 1974 monster-baby movie It’s Alive, which explores the not only the rollercoaster of emotions that any parent experiences when confronted with the difficulties of raising a child, but long-standing questions of who or what is at fault when something goes horribly wrong.
Cohen begins making his underlying points early in the film as Frank Davis (John P. Ryan) discusses the state of the world with a group of expectant fathers in a hospital waiting room. They discuss the “overabundance of lead” in foods and the environment, smog, and pesticides that only serve to produce roaches that are “bigger, stronger, and harder to kill.” Frank comments that this is “quite a world to bring a kid into.” This has long been a discussion point among people when trying to decide whether to have kids or not. I’ve had many conversations with friends who have said they feel it’s irresponsible to bring children into such a violent, broken, and dangerous world, and I certainly don’t begrudge them this. My wife and I did decide to have children but that doesn’t mean that it’s been easy.
Immediately following this scene comes It’s Alive’s most famous sequence in which Frank’s wife Lenore (Sharon Farrell) is the only person left alive in her delivery room, the doctors clawed and bitten to death by her mutant baby, which has escaped. “What does my baby look like!? What’s wrong with my baby!?” she screams as nurses wheel her frantically into a recovery room. The evening that had begun with such joy and excitement at the birth of their second child turned into a nightmare. This is tough for me to write, but on some level, I can relate to this whiplash of emotion. When my second child was born, they came about five weeks early. I’ll use the pronouns “they/them” for privacy reasons when referring to my kids. Our oldest was still very young and went to stay with my parents and we sped off to the hospital where my wife was taken into an operating room for an emergency c-section. I was able to carry our newborn into the NICU (natal intensive care unit) where I was assured that this was routine for all premature births. The nurses assured me there was nothing to worry about and the baby looked big and healthy. I headed to where my wife was taken to recover to grab a few winks assuming that everything was fine. Well, when I awoke, I headed back over to the NICU to find that my child was not where I left them. The nurse found me and told me that the baby’s lungs were underdeveloped, and they had to put them in a special room connected to oxygen tubes and wires to monitor their vitals.
It’s difficult to express the fear that overwhelmed me in those moments. Everything turned out okay, but it took a while and I’m convinced to this day that their anxiety struggles spring from these first weeks of life. As our children grew, we learned that two of the three were on the spectrum and that anxiety, depression, ADHD, and OCD were also playing a part in their lives. Parents, at least speaking for myself, can’t help but blame themselves for the struggles their children face. The “if only” questions creep in and easily overcome the voices that assure us that it really has nothing to do with us. In the film, Lenore says, “maybe it’s all the pills I’ve been taking that brought this on.” Frank muses aloud about how he used to think that Frankenstein was the monster, but when he got older realized he was the one that made the monster. The aptly named Frank is wondering if his baby’s mutation is his fault, if he created the monster that is terrorizing Los Angeles. I have made plenty of “if only” statements about myself over the years. “If only I hadn’t had to work so much, if only I had been around more when they were little.” Mothers may ask themselves, “did I have a drink, too much coffee, or a cigarette before I knew I was pregnant? Was I too stressed out during the pregnancy?” In other words, most parents can’t help but wonder if it’s all their fault.
At one point in the film, Frank goes to the elementary school where his baby has been sighted and is escorted through the halls by police. He overhears someone comment about “screwed up genes,” which brings about age-old questions of nature vs. nurture. Despite the voices around him from doctors and detectives that say, “we know this isn’t your fault,” Frank can’t help but think it is, and that the people who try to tell him it isn’t really think it’s his fault too. There is no doubt that there is a hereditary element to the kinds of mental illness struggles that my children and I deal with. But, and it’s a bit but, good parenting goes a long way in helping children deal with these struggles. Kids need to know they’re not alone, a good parent can provide that, perhaps especially parents that can relate to the same kinds of struggles. The question of nature vs. nurture will likely never be entirely answered but I think there’s more than a good chance that “both/and” is the case. Around the midpoint of the film, Frank agrees to disown the child and sign it over for medical experimentation if caught or killed. Lenore and the older son Chris (Daniel Holzman) seek to nurture and teach the baby, feeling that it is not a monster, but a member of the family.
It’s Alive takes these ideas to an even greater degree in the fact that the Davis Baby really is a monster, a mutant with claws and fangs that murders and eats people. The late ’60s and early ’70s also saw the rise in mass murderers and serial killers which heightened the nature vs. nurture debate. Obviously, these people were not literal monsters but human beings that came from human parents, but something had gone horribly wrong. Often the upbringing of these killers clearly led in part to their antisocial behavior, but this isn’t always the case. It’s Alive asks “what if a ‘monster’ comes from a good home?” In this case is it society, environmental factors, or is it the lead, smog, and pesticides? It is almost impossible to know, but the ending of the film underscores an uncomfortable truth—even monsters have parents.
As the film enters its third act, Frank joins the hunt for his child through the Los Angeles sewers and into the L.A. River. He is armed with a rifle and ready to kill on sight, having divorced himself from any relationship to the child. Then Frank finds his baby crying in the sewers and his fatherly instincts take over. With tears in his eyes, he speaks words of comfort and wraps his son in his coat. He holds him close, pats and rocks him, and whispers that everything is going to be okay. People often wonder how the parents of those who perform heinous acts can sit in court, shed tears, and defend them. I think it’s a complex issue. I’m sure that these parents know that their child has done something evil, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are still their baby. Your child is a piece of yourself formed into a whole new human being. Disowning them would be like cutting off a limb, no matter what they may have done. It doesn’t erase an evil act, far from it, but I can understand the pain of a parent in that situation. I think It’s Alive does an exceptional job placing its audience in that situation.
Despite the serious issues and ideas being examined in the film, It’s Alive is far from a dour affair. At heart, it is still a monster movie and filled with a sense of fun and a great deal of pitch-black humor. In one of its more memorable moments, a milkman is sucked into the rear compartment of his truck as red blood mingles with the white milk from smashed bottles leaking out the back of the truck and streaming down the street. Just after Frank agrees to join the hunt for his baby, the film cuts to the back of an ice cream truck with the words “STOP CHILDREN” emblazoned on it. It’s a movie filled with great kills, a mutant baby—created by make-up effects master Rick Baker early in his career, and plenty of action—and all in a PG rated movie! I’m telling you, the ’70s were wild. It just also happens to have some thoughtful ideas behind it as well.
Which was Larry Cohen’s specialty. Cohen made all kinds of movies, but his most enduring have been his horror films and all of them tackle the social issues and fears of the time they were made. God Told Me To (1976), Q: The Winged Serpent (1982), and The Stuff (1985) are all great examples of his socially aware, low-budget, exploitation filmmaking with a brain and It’s Alive certainly fits right in with that group. Cohen would go on to write and direct two sequels, It Lives Again (aka It’s Alive 2) in 1978 and It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive in 1987 and is credited as a co-writer on the 2008 remake. All these films explore the ideas of parental responsibility in light of the various concerns of the times they were made including abortion rights and AIDS.
Fifty years after It’s Alive was initially released, it has only become more relevant in the ensuing years. Fears surrounding parenthood have been with us since the beginning of time but as the years pass the reasons for these fears only seem to become more and more profound. In today’s world the conversation of the fathers in the waiting room could be expanded to hormones and genetic modifications in food, terrorism, climate change, school and other mass shootings, and other threats that were unknown or at least less of a concern fifty years ago. Perhaps the fearmongering conspiracy theories about chemtrails and vaccines would be mentioned as well, though in a more satirical fashion, as fears some expectant parents encounter while endlessly doomscrolling Facebook or Twitter. Speaking for myself, despite the struggles, the fears, and the sadness that sometimes comes with having children, it’s been worth it. The joys ultimately outweigh all of that, but I understand the terror too. Becoming a parent is no easy choice, nor should it be. But as I look back, I can say that I’m glad we made the choice we did.
I wonder if Frank and Lenore can say the same thing.
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