It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine. Well, not if you’re a Scotsman with the reaper virus you’ll care since the entire land has been quarantined from the rest of England and been left to die a horrible death. Now thirty years later a badass chick is sent into no-man’s land to see if there’s a cure.
In 2008, the deadly Reaper virus infects Scotland. To prevent the virus from spreading the British government seals the country off. Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra) was a small girl when Scotland was closed off and she was one of the last ones to get out of the country, but it cost her one eye.
The year is now 2033 and Eden is on the London police force and has a high-tech glass eye. The Reaper virus has reared its ugly head in London town. The Prime Minister (Alexander Siddig) reveals to Bill Nelson (Bob Hoskins), the police chief, that they’ve seen people on the streets of Glasgow with their satellites.
The PM wants to send a small team into Scotland to see if they can track down a cure for the virus and the first place they need to start is the hospital where Dr. Kane (Malcolm McDowell) was working on a cure. Nelson nominates Eden to lead the team, which includes Drs. Talbot (Sean Pertwee) and Sterling (Darren Morfitt) and Sgt. Norton (Adrian Lester).
They find that there are still people in Glasgow, but they’ve devolved into cannibalistic warriors under the leadership of Sol (Craig Conway). After barely escaping the city (some of the team end up as lunch for the cannibals) they make their way to the countryside to track down Dr. Kane, who has set himself up as a feudal lord in a Scottish castle, and find the cure as London starts to break down as the virus spreads.
Some films seem like they’re made out of their time. In my opinion, Doomsday is one of those films in that I could see it being a big hit if it graced theatres in 1979 or 1980. However, it comes out about thirty years too late.
Those wanting a blast from the past will be thrilled as the film channels Mad Max, Escape from New York, and a myriad of apocalyptic films. There are some nice touches and I was intrigued with McDowell setting up his own kingdom.
Mitra channels Snake Plissken, even down to only having one eye though hers is more high tech than Snake’s. The idea of an entire country being quarantined and left to rot isn’t new but making it Scotland is another interesting touch and leads to some nice scenery.
Director Neil Marshall deliberately brings to mind those films since he’s making a homage to them. The film starts off well, but seems to run out of steam towards the end and I think the final coda seems a bit out of place for Eden.
Since Marshall is channeling those earlier films, he lays on the gore heavily and unrelentingly (witness what happens to one of the docs in Glasgow – ouch) so gorehounds will also have something to enjoy. The unrated cut adds four more minutes of gore I assume.
It also feels like some of the plot points are to be answered in a sequel (that might never materialize considering the poor box office) and that is what might’ve led me to feel that it ended out of character for Eden.
Doomsday is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary on the unrated version of the film with director Neil Marshall and cast members Sean Pertwee, Darren Morfitt, Rick Warden, and Les Simpson.
Next is the 17-minute “Anatomy of a Catastrophe” which chronicles the making of the film. The 8-minute “Visual Effects of Doomsday” is about the visual effects – fancy that. The 20-minute “Devices of Death” is about the guns and vehicles used in the film.
Doomsday is a homage to those apocalyptic films of the 70s and 80s and fans of them will find something to love. The film does have some rousing action sequences as well as some inspired grue. The ending leaves a little to be desired, but I thought it was an enjoyable end of the world.
Doomsday (Unrated Edition) is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a Sept. 1st release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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