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DOOMSDAY - Written and Directed by Neil Marshall.

Rating: HELLUVA RIDE!

Popcorn? YES!

DOOMSDAY - Written and Directed by Neil Marshall.

Let me be right up front: I'm a fan of Mr. Marshall's work. If you are not familiar with him, let me bring you up to speed. I first discovered his werewolf movie "Dog Soldiers" a few years back and was highly intrigued and very surprised at how good it was. Good acting, good story, good stuff. A tight thriller that found some original footing. Not easy to do when you’re tackling an old horror legend. "Descent" was his next release about a group of friends who descend into unknown caverns only to find they aren't alone. A taught thriller that messes you up on many levels. Again, good stuff. So when I saw the new film, "Doomsday," coming from Marshall I was ready to lay down my bucks and see it in the theatre. 

So here I am fresh from the film as I write this. Scotland has acquired a nasty little virus that won't give up. So what do they do? They board up the country and leave everyone inside. They showed them! They quarantined their asses. Fast forward twenty-five years later and guess what? The virus has shown up again.. outside the wall. So the British government sends in a band of modern day warriors to see if they can find a cure. Oh, why you ask? Isn’t everyone in Scotland gone on to “meet his maker?” Not so fast me buckos. Seems there are people still alive inside! But after years of savagery it’s more like the children of the Road Warrior movies have been left here within the wall. Which is where past films come into play within this film? I’ve only read one review of DOOMSDAY  and it referenced “Escape from New York” crossed with “The Road Warrior.” Those references were easy to spot in the trailer. But don’t let that sidetrack you. The heroine, if you want to call her that, (I like to think of her more like the ‘leader of the pack’ but you’ll have to see the movie to get my meaning), is sent in with her official group to see if she can find a cure. After much mayhem, death, cannibalism, beheadings, well.. you get my meaning… she finds Malcolm McDowell, the head of another group far away from the dead Scottish cities, and the scientist that may have the cure. McDowell and his people inhabit a castle and grounds. A real castle from medieval times, that eventually became a museum (notice the 'Gift Shop’ and ‘Emergency Exit’ signs!) only to be thrown back into medieval savagery since the virus hit. And McDowell takes his life as “King” very seriously. You can tell by the brute force in which he keeps his people in line. Kinda like the old days eh? I enjoyed the movie. It was nonstop from the get go and the music was effective, especially in the highway chase scene. This is an angry movie. Most of the characters portray a tough world. I wanted to like some of the characters more, but we weren’t given much to build on. I think if Marshall had been able to give this movie a little more “heart” it would have been much more than an action movie. And I think he tried, but it just didn’t take very well. I did enjoy Rhona Mitra’s work as the kick-ass heroine, who is very effective in this movie. Marshall delivered the fight scenes so well, that I believed she was able to beat a man 3 times her size and weight. All in all, I say this was a helluva movie which is one of my highest ratings. Maybe not Marshall’s best work, but definitely a HELLUVA RIDE! See it in the theatre if you can, the sound and music is effective, and the scenes look good on that big ole screen. Oh, and yes, this is definitely a movie you want to have popcorn at.

by Dave Hinchberger

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