The Cutting Room Floor: Doomsday
Neil Marshall Writer/Director of the Descent and Dog Soldiers returns to the big screen with Doomsday. In 2008 the Reaper virus lays siege to Scotland, killing people by the thousands. In response the British government puts up a 30 foot wall around Scotland, separating it from the rest of the world and trapping those infected within. Anarchy ensues as people rape, loot and kill in a lawless land while the rest of the world looks on.
Fast forward thirty years. The rest of the world has turned their back on England, London has become a third world haven for the downtrodden who live on the streets because they can’t afford to live anywhere else. It is among the masses that victims of the returning Reaper Virus are found. Martial Law is declared by Prime Minister Hatcher (Alexander Siddig a.k.a Dr. Bashir from Star Trek:Deep Space 9) and a plan is drawn up to find out why some people survived within the quarantine zone of Scotland and to find the cure for the Reaper virus.
Eden Sinclair played by Rhona Mitra ( Shooter, The Number 23, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans ) is chosen to lead a team back into the wasteland to find a survivor and the cure. The team, of course, is filled with throw away good guys who’s only job is to get slaughtered and make Eden look all the more bad ass.
The one exception to the team (and the one with the coolest death scene) was Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers, Event Horizon ) one of the scientists sent to find the cure. Everyone else was fodder.
Once across the wall the movie really picks up and becomes a cross between The Road Warrior and Excalibur. Action, gore and an amazing chase scene featuring a Bentley right out of a James Bond movie all add to the film and give it that over the top action feel.
The fact that the movie is filled with borrowed plot ideas really doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the film. Malcom McDowell (Halloween (2007), Star Trek Generations, A Clockwork Orange) and Bob Hoskins (Unleashed, Who Framed Roger Rabbit) appear in prominent roles within the movie and makes it all the more enjoyable.
If you enjoy a good end of the world story or appreciate the writing and directing of Neil Marshall then Doomsday is well worth the price of admission.
Below: The trailer for Doomsday.
Richard Carroll is an avid movie viewer and all around fanboy. You can probably find him at his computer playing Guild Wars when not watching,writing, reading or roleplaying something (Oh and then there’s the real world and work). Check out some of his written works at www.ficofthedead.com. A website in need of a webmaster to ensure it gets updated. (Any takers? Anyone? *grins*)