Monday, June 01, 2015

Ask JKM a Question: Neil Marshall's Doomsday (2008)?


A regular reader, Sean, writes:

Hello sir!

Long time reader, and avid fan of your writing, sir. I am still reeling from a second trip to the local cinema to watch the glorious Mad Max: Fury Road, a film I'm sure to cherish for years to come. Your post-apocalyptic week was a godsend for me as you ran over several of my favorite classics and unearthed a couple of gems I missed.

This led me to ask have you ever seen or reviewed Doomsday? It’s a little 2008 film by Neil Marshall, director of another little gem by the name of The Descent, and fits quite well in the Mad Max-style of cinema. 

I'll admit it’s not up to Fury Road's excellent new standard, but back in 2008, I was just happy to see a movie that did away with several movie conventions, (while sadly reinforcing others) and gave way to some excellent action sequences, and an interesting take on an "isolated apocalypse."

I'd greatly appreciate your thoughts on this film, it gets a lot right, with some childish missteps in my opinion, but it’s great for an R-rated good time while we wait for Mad Max: Wasteland.”


That’s a great question, Sean. 

I love it when readers introduce me to films and TV series I haven’t seen or read about, and that’s just what you’ve done here.  

I’m really curious about this movie!  I felt The Descent was one of the best horror films of the 2000s, so I’m intensely curious to see how Neil Marshall handles the post-apocalyptic venue.

Like you, I’m already waiting for Wasteland (and feel that Fury Road is the film of the summer of 2015, frankly…), so another post-apocalyptic effort is just what the doctor ordered at this juncture.

I’ll review Doomsday Thursday at 6:00 am, so stay tuned, and I’ll let you know what I think!

Don’t forget to ask me your questions at Muirbusiness@yahoo.com

2 comments:

  1. I've seen it. It's pretty decent really. Doesn't bring a whole lot new to the genre but generally well done. It was weird seeing my favorite Doctor's son play a doomed character in a film as I didn't know Sean Pertwee was an actor until I saw this movie. Somehow I missed seeing his name in the credits of earlier films he had done. It also made me long for the presence of Nicholas Courtney as a soldier.

    I have to differ with you slightly on Fury Road being the film of the summer of 2015. It's the film of 2015 at the very least! After re-watching the earlier Mad Max films I find myself, much to my surprise, thinking that it's probably my favorite of them all. Considering how retro-grouchy I can be I find this remarkable.

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  2. Anonymous3:28 PM

    I'm of the opposite opinion. It's pretty awful. And the ads were very misleading, full of swords and cars that only feature in the movie for about the length of an ad.

    Still, it will be interesting to see what meaning you can wring from it.

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