Doomsday(2008) Review

Coming after two great films- Dog Soldiers and The Descent, and with an elevated budget and name cast, Doomsday, Neil Marshall’s third film had the weight of expectation on its shoulders. Unfortunately it flopped badly not only here, but in England. To be honest, although personally I really enjoyed it, I can see why. Firstly, although purposely a homage to the movies Marshall loved growing up- Escape from New York, Mad Max, Aliens, it is still derivative to the point where even if it is well done, we’ve already seen it done before, and often better. Secondly, it’s also a bit of a mess structure wise. After a strong opening, it gets bogged down in a flabby middle section visiting Malcolm McDowell for no real reason other than for the running time, before seemingly remembering what it’s doing at the end. Escape from New York by contrast was a lesson in narrative economy which never lost focus. Rhona Mitra makes a good heroine and has just about enough personality to keep you interested(she obviously looks gorgeous), but the most memorable parts are by old pros Hoskins, McDowell, and Craig Conway as Sol, probably an Englishman’s worst nightmare. The greatest fun comes from Marshall’s slightly off the wall sense of humour- the stained glass and curtains in McDowell’s castle decorated with Bio-Hazard signs, Sol dancing to The Fine Young Cannibals(apt), Adam Ant, and Bad Manners before cooking and carving up Sean Pertwee in the film’s most stomach churning scene. A rabbit being blown away by smart guns, and a Mad Max 2 vehicle standoff to Two Tribes by Frankie goes to Hollywood. Marshall has to be applauded for creating a genuinely British blockbuster, which can match anything in Hollywood for style and action. There are great little moments of gore and nods to his horror past, like someone having their hand crushed in a door, the infected themselves, and some wonderful genre splicing moments with Medieval Knights chasing a Bently, that is almost Gilliam like and reminded me of Time Bandits. Infact, Marshall has an eye every bit as good as Gilliam, but like that director, needs to be careful not to fall prey to his own excesses. Is it coincidence that Gilliam works best under the studio system he hates so much. Also with talent this big, I want original Neil Marshall ideas. I want his zombie movie set on an oil rig, not pastiches, however well done, to other filmmakers. He’s better than that, and deserves to be copied himself. 8/10