Welcome to another installment of Bloody-Disgusting’s “In Defense Of” series! Since Mad Mad: Fury Road (Review #1, Review #2) came out this weekend, we thought we’d take a look at Neil Marshall’s little-seen post-apocalyptic film Doomsday. Released in 2008, Doomsday earned a mere $22.2 million worldwide on a reported $20 million budget, making it a commercial failure. Critically, the film didn’t fare much better.With a 50% on the TomatoMeter (based on 68 reviews) and a 51 MetaScore (based on 14 reviews), it certainly divided people. It’s actually quite a fun movie if you give it a chance, and we’re here to tell you why!
The plot is fairly straightforward: in 2008, a virus (nicknamed the Reaper Virus) infects the majority of Scotland’s population. To prevent it from spreading outside of the country, the UK government quarantines the entire area by building a wall around it and destroying all airports, bridges and docks. Flash forward to 2035 and the virus has reappeared in London. The British Prime Minister sends a team back into Scotland to find Dr. Kane (Malcolm McDowell), who was trying to find a cure back in 2008. The team is led by Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra), a one-eyed survivor of the Scotland incident.
The biggest gripe people seem to have with Doomsday is that it is clearly a blatant ripoff of several (better) films. Marshall himself has stated that he intended to be an homage to the following films: The original Mad Max Trilogy, Escape From New York, Excalibur, The Warriors, No Blade of Grass, The Omega Man, A Boy and His Dog, Waterworld and Gladiator. That….is a lot.
It’s understandable that that would be a lot to take in for some people, and for the younger crowd who has never seen any of those movies (I myself have only seen about half of them), Doomsday might actually seem like a completely original film. Unfortunately it’s not, but Marshall’s intent was to homage all of the previously listed film. That being said, homaging so many different films mean that Doomsday doesn’t really have its own identity.
It does have a fantastic sense of weirdness to it, though. Just look at this scene:
That is fucking weird, but I’m kind of in love with it. Doomsday prides itself on being weird. It morphs from a viral outbreak movie to a military ops film to a medieval war film to a Mad Max sequel. It’s bonkers in the best way, but I’m fully aware I’m in the minority with that sentiment.
In terms of the acting, everyone on screen does their part. Rhona Mitra is the only standout, and while Bob Hoskins and Malcolm McDowell are in the film, they don’t really register with their limited amount of screen time. Apparently Marshall had wanted Mitra to become an action star, but unfortunately that did not transpire. I’ve always really liked her and feel bummed that her acting career never really took off. Not that she hasn’t had steady work, but she’s not exactly what I would call “famous,” unless you watch The Last Ship.
The gore in the film is top notch as well. There are beheadings, burnings, heads exploding, a grotesque scene of cannibalism and so much more. Apparently, Marshall saw Children of Men while he was filming Doomsday and, since the films are a bit similar in plot, he decided he wanted to make his film more bloody and more fun. Now Children of Men is clearly a better film, but Marshall definitely succeeded in making Doomsday bloody and fun. Is it good? Maybe, maybe not. but it accomplishes what it sets out to do.
While Doomsday is far from perfect (or even great), there are certainly worse ways to spend a Friday night. Sure, it’s a jumbled mishmash of genres and tones. It doesn’t always work, but when it does it really does. Give this one a second (or first) chance. You might find yourself actually enjoying it!