Doomsday Review

Doomsday
Dir. Neil Marshall
Starring Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Malcolm McDowell
Rated R(strong bloody violence, language, and some sexuality/nudity)
Score: ****

Do you like campy 70/80s action films like The Warriors, Escape from New York, the Mad Max series, and the original Terminator? Do you like the films of George Romero and John Carpenter? If you answered yes to both of these, then for the love of God watch Doomsday.

Doomsday is from director Neil Marshall, who brought us one of the most truly terrifying movies of the past few years in The Descent. I can't necessarily say this film is a step forward for him, but I'm sure it was really fun to make.

We follow Eden(Rhona Mitra), who as a young girl was rescued from Scotland after the deadly Reaper virus broke out. 30 years later, and now a police officer, she and her group of renegade cops must infiltrate the walled-off country to find the mysterious Kane(Malcolm McDowell), who supposedly has a cure, after the virus breaks out in England. Little does she know that inside the country is a civilization of cannibalistic punks waiting to claim some prey.

The movie plays out like 28 Days Later for the first 30 minutes, then turns Mad Max for about 30 more minutes, then turns midievel for a bit after the group finds Kane's fortress. This film should not be taken seriously at all. It has an irreverent charm about, and often goes completely over the top with its blood and gore content.

Not that I have a problem with that. In fact, I applaud it. This is exactly the kind of sci-fi/action/horror hybrid I expected it to be. We don't need a unique plot, just a serviceable one. We don't need supreme depth of characters or high-quality acting. In fact, all this movie needs is exactly what it has- blood, gore, explosions, car chases, hilariously over-the-top villains, and a kick-ass heroine who spits out constant one-liners.

This film is high on entertainment but low on logic. In fact, a 12-year-old could probably spot three or more plot holes. And it has a bunch of cliches(such as the evil goverment leader with no motivation whatsoever other than "power").

However, that is expected in a film like this. It's obviously referencial to all the movies I've listed, and it definitely has a John Carpenter feel about it. Marshall is the horror director of this generation. He's one ofr the few directors out there that can save horror from the torture porn/Japanese remake stage we're currently in. Horror is still alive, thank God! And I thank Marshall for this film. It's one great ride.