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Why Neil Marshall’s ‘Doomsday’ is the Perfect Slice of ’80s Nostalgia

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Over the last fifteen years or so, horror and science fiction films, as well as television shows, have been cashing in on the nostalgia people have for the pop culture of the 1980s. It’s a lucrative marketing tactic, one that works beyond the audience of childhood VHS junkies (just go look at the eBay prices of those NES classic systems from last year).

Luckily, it’s also a tactic that has generated some fantastic works of art.

From cerebral arthouse films like Beyond the Black Rainbow and less-than-subtle satires like Dude Bro Party Massacre 3 to the Spielberg/King inspired Netflix series “Stranger Things,” the influence of ‘80s pop culture has wormed its way back into the cultural zeitgeist and helped shape a generation of filmmakers and their fans.

This obsession with the ‘80s has become so omnipresent that it’s almost impossible to go to the theater without being subjected to trailers replete with neon logos and creepier versions of already creepy Police songs… and I love it.

I’m a sucker for so much of it.

I’ve found myself obsessing over just about every iota of ‘80s film pastiche that gets shoved in my face. And while I could spend the rest of this article beaming over The Void (no, but seriously, check that flick out if you haven’t already) or speculating as to what will happen in the next season of “Stranger Things” (so many Lovecraftian monsters), I’m going to instead champion Neil Marshall’s criminally overlooked and underappreciated 2008 film Doomsday.

Why? It pretty much nailed everything that was great about the horror and science fiction films we loved from the ‘80s.

Okay, full disclosure…

I am a big Neil Marshall fan. I believe The Descent is a masterpiece of modern horror in both the creature feature and claustrophobic thriller genres; Dog Soldiers is a damn near perfect werewolf movie, and he’s directed some of the most badass episodes of “Game of Thrones” to date. The guy is brilliant and knows how to shoot visceral, blood-soaked action like nobody’s business.

And those skills do not go to waste in Doomsday. The film embodies what made ‘80s classics like The Road Warrior, Escape from New York, Knightriders, and Day of the Dead stand the test of time, which is the genre-spicing ethos of “hey, let’s throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.”

And boy does it stick…

Doomsday takes pride in the batshit amalgam that it is. The film shifts gears between Romero horror to Carpenter sci-fi to medieval insanity in the span of an hour and does so pretty much effortlessly. It feels like walking through a museum of the great films from your childhood that you were never allowed to watch but totally did when your parents weren’t home, only presented with some better special effects and more technical proficiency.

It’s kind of like an HD remake of a video game you loved as a kid.

We see the insane car design from Road Warrior and the straightforward Arthurian translation presented by films like Excalibur or the made-for-TV movie King Arthur (which also stars Malcolm McDowell) bleed into the gore hound-pleasing splatter of [literally any ‘80s horror director] with ease – and damn does it make me feel right at home.

But the devil is in the details when it comes to Doomsday. There are countless nods to great ‘80s films and filmmakers. Some are about as subtle as a dropkick to the face (like characters named Miller and Carpenter or Rhona Mitra’s sweet Snake Plissken eyepatch for instance), but others seem to simply pay homage to the aesthetics. Marshall borrows (if not outright robs) visual style and tone from the aforementioned filmmakers to essentially create a greatest hits movie.

While a lot of ‘80s horror and sci-fi throwbacks being made these days lovingly poke fun of the films to which they pay homage, Doomsday remembers the good times. It wants you to reminisce over how cool it was the first time you saw Master Blaster in Beyond Thunderdome. It wants you to taste that pepperoni pizza-flavored, bile-ridden burp that bubbled up in your throat at the sleepover where you first watched Captain Rhodes be torn apart by an undead horde in Day of the Dead. This is a movie filled with reminders of great moments imprinted in your film buff psyche.

It’s unfortunate Doomsday never found its audience. Perhaps the fact that the film couldn’t decide on one movie to ape is why so many fans and critics didn’t enjoy it. But to me, that’s its charm. It’s not committing to one particular genre like Adam Wingard’s The Guest (a fine film in its own right), which leans heavily on ‘80s horror-thrillers like The Stepfather. Nor does it soak up 16mm film stock like The House of the Devil (another stellar retro film) to emulate that VHS look.

It’s odd, because in our current 140 character, binge-watching entertainment climate (damn, did that make me sound like an old man), a film with such a fantastic mash-up of genres, tones, and themes that keep its narrative propelling feels like it should be a smash hit, but alas…

I know we’ve talked about what a wonderful, forgotten gem Doomsday is on this site before, but I don’t think it can be put on a pedestal enough.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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