DOOMSDAY July 24, 2008
Posted by ghostof82 in : Film General , trackbackDOOMSDAY is, just simply, a blast. It is also a love letter to genre films of the 1980s, full of affectionate nods to cult faves such as ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, MAD MAX, EXCALIBUR, ALIENS… if, like me, you remember and love those films then you just can’t help falling for this great gory romp. If, on the other hand, you just don’t ‘get’ those old movies, then you are likely to take DOOMSDAY far too seriously than it deserves, or even demands, and actually find that you hate it. On its recent theatrical release, America, it seems, just didn’t know what to make of it.
Neil Marshall is fast becoming the new John Carpenter. Both his earlier films, DOG SOLDERS and THE DESCENT, are great, small horror films that hark back to the simpler days of films like HALLOWEEN, back before all this horror torture-porn that sullies the genre today. THE DESCENT, in particular, is one of the best horror films to emerge in the past twenty years. Tight, effective, with great characters and an edgy script with an uncompromising ending that reminds me of the ending of THE THING. The way Marshall’s first two films referenced the horror films he saw years ago informs how to approach DOOMSDAY.
DOOMSDAY is more of a pedal-to-the-floor action flick than an horror film, but it shares many of the sensibilities of Marshalls earlier fiilms. DOOMSDAY captures the very essence of a 1980s action film, back when stunts were done for real, without wires and CGI-doubles. It’s part disaster flick, part zombie flick, part MAD MAX, part EXCALIBUR, part GLADIATOR. It ought to be a confusing mess but it works, mostly because Marshall knows and loves so well the films he is referencing. They simply don’t make films like this anymore. Just look at INDIANA JONES AND THE CRYSTAL SKULL- no matter how much it tries to emulate the 80s-vibe of the original RAIDERS, it simply falls flat. Where Spielberg failed, Marshall actually delivers, mainly by filming in the old-school way, keeping it simple and pretty much dropping CGI completely. Ironically, its probably just how Lucas should have approached the STAR WARS prequels.
It’ll be interesting to see what Marshall does next- having completed two horror films and now an action film, with all three referencing the old films he loved, it is perhaps time for him to raise the bar and demonstrate more of his own voice without displaying his inspirations so obviously. That said, its refreshing to see a film-maker with such old-school sensilbilities making films that display his own voice rather than those of a committee of marketing people.
Comments»
You liked this movie more than I did, but I’ll agree that it is clearly a film born out of a love for 80’s action movies. The problem is that it not only inherits the good elements of that particular genre, but also the bad – namely a rather thoughtless attitude to story.
Still, it’s a bit of fun I suppose, just a long way from the inventiveness we saw in The Descent.