Doomsday

Doomsday is another movie in the virus-is-ending-the-world genre. It borrows liberally from I am Legend, Escape from New York, Clockwork Orange, Resident Evil, 28 days later, Mad Max, Gladiator and yes, Pulp Fiction even. It is from the director of The Descent and while it is a very different film he manages to incorporate the same style of blood and guts as that film. Also, this movie features more human beheadings than The Descent. I will leave that up to you whether that is good or bad.

In 2008 a virus is mysteriously unleashed on Scotland and the country is essentially boarded up and forgotten about. The movie in time to about 25 years in the future where we are introduced to a sexy, snarling, one-line spouting bad ass chick, Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra) with a detachable eye that gives her vision around corners and what not. She belongs to some sort of national police team (think about V for Vendetta) and when there is a small outbreak of the virus again, shit hits the fan. It turns out that there have been survivors in Scotland as shown by satellite footage and Sinclair will be leading a team into the seemingly abandoned country in hopes of discovering maybe an antidote for the virus. The team is comprised of 4 soldiers, 2 scientists and 2 drivers. As they reach the hospital inside Scotland, they are met with a whole crazy troop of 1980's punk rejects with make shift weapons and Molotov cocktails. The death toll really gets off to a nice start with bloody limbs flying every where and even our group of 8 heroes is very quickly whittled down. This is not the kind of movie where the small group slowly gets smaller, no sir, we lose half of the team right away, and they do not get heroic deaths- throats are cut, brains bashed in and one is just brutally beaten to death. Sinclair is captured by these ruffians who are led by a Clockwork wannabe named Sol. We figure out quickly that they survived by eating dead people. They cook and eat one of the hero squad in a pretty vile scene. Sinclair escapes and helps someone else escape who can help Sinclair find the Scientist who may have the antidote.

Here is where the movie really gets absurd. After traveling through a secret tunnel, Sinclair, the girl she saved, that girl's boyfriend and the last 2 remaining hero squad members somehow go from this weird post apocalyptic city to 1800 Scotland and in doing so are met by archers, a crazy big villain on a horse and yes, a giant Castle! Sinclair must fight the giant villain guy Gladiator style in a very stylized cool fight with pretty gruesome results and Sinclair finds out there is no antidote, just immunities to the virus. The Scientist played by Malcolm McDowell, gives a very Darwinian speech about survival of the fittest and how the virus was God's work to show the people what was truly important, which is apparently dressing like 18th century people and living in a castle that has a gift shop.

Now, it may seem as if I hated this movie and perhaps I should have hated it, but I really didn't. I was thoroughly entertained. From the cannibalism, the be-headings, the bad one-liners, even the fully rubber dressed gimp, I was laughing and cheering up a storm. Sure it is not a very good movie, but it entertained and the sheer audacity of it to rub our faces in how absurd it was really earned it points in my mind. Yes, it is pure B-movie schlock, but it is incredibly entertaining B-movie schlock. There is a very amusing car chase that features some very innovative stunts, funny moments, crashes, burning bodies and a sick ass Bentley and with all of that how bad can a movie really be?

I will not be recommending this movie to anyone really because it is ridiculous. However, if you can check your brain at the door and just go along for the very impossible ride, I think you will find yourself laughing and enjoying the movie immensely. I am sure maybe the director was hoping for a little more out of and maybe he was trying to have some social commentary about Government. cover ups, fearing God and all that stuff, but when you show a bunny being ripped apart by an automated machine gun you kind of lose the right to make a deeply serious point. As a throwback or homage to those 80s post-apocalyptic movies this really hits the nail on the head and I think John Carpenter and George Miller would approve.

Final Grade: B-