Rarely has a sci-fi movie received as much critical acclaim as the new film Arrival . As of this writing, the film has a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 60 reviews; critics praised the film's philosophy, emotion, and star Amy Adams' performance. But even though it may be a prestige movie, at the end of the day it's still a movie about an alien invasion. So is arriving scary?
It probably depends on what you're afraid of. This movie is not a horror film by any means, but rather thought-provoking. Of course, the movie plays into the idea that a society of alien beings far more advanced than us suddenly appeared without any indication of what they wanted. It's certainly a scary thought, and since the movie depicts the scene in such a believable way, you might panic a little. And then there are the aliens themselves, ugly-looking, tentacled beasts that I would definitely rank among the scariest aliens in cinematic history. ET They're not, that's for sure.
Given the genres Arrival seems to juxtapose, the film can be a bit difficult to categorize. On the one hand, it's a deep, thoughtful science fiction film in the style of Interstellar or Contact , with themes of time and linguistics; on the other, it's a film about aliens around the world. An invasion movie where these creatures are invaded by tentacled creatures wouldn't seem out of place in Independence Day . So which one is it? Psychological sci-fi drama or massive alien spectacle?
The film definitely leans more toward a small, intellectual film than a blockbuster action movie. While the trailers emphasized the apocalyptic potential of the aliens' arrival, much of the film is more personal, centering around deciphering the impact of the aliens' complex bilingualism on Adams' wordsmith Louise. bank. The film is adapted from Ted Chiang's Nebula Award-winning novella The Story of Your Life , which isn't a horror story at all.
So is arriving scary? If the idea of aliens visiting Earth strikes you as unbelievable, then yes, I think you'll be horrified by Arrival . But the movie is certainly not meant to scare people, its main purpose is to make you think. Whether the thoughts it evokes scare you is ultimately up to you.
Image: Paramount Pictures
