365 Movies Day #76 "Doomsday"

One of the greatest thing about doing this blog is the treasures I get to discover when searching for more films. Awhile back, I had seen "Dog Soldiers" and liked it, but re-watched it for this blog and liked it even more. So, I started searching out Neil Marshall's other films and I think I've found another favorite director. We've also talked about his film "Centurion", and now, "Doomsday".

Marshall is a film geek's director and "Doomsday" is an all you can eat buffet of genres and classic Sci Fi. It has elements of fantasy, Road Warrior, zombies, ALIENS, Escape from New York and so many other great films. Marshall once again uses strong female characters who dress practically and kick butt. Rhona Mitra kicks ass in a way that puts Beckinsale, Jolie and Jovovich to shame.

In addition, fans of Marshall's other films will recognize some returnees. Darren Morfitt, Sean Pertwee and Chris Robson all show up from "Dog Soldiers". You'll remember me going on about Morfitt's final scene in the werewolf flick. Also from "Dog Soldiers", though he was in a cameo role in that one as a camper early in the film is Craig Conway who plays one of the main villains in this film as Sol. The film also features the talents of Bob Hoskins and David O'Hara (who was one of the best things about "Darfur") and Malcolm McDowell.

The premise of the film is that a virus runs rampant in Scotland to such an extent that the whole country is quarantined behind massive walls and mined seas. The inhabitants are left to die. Flash forward 30 years and the disease (The Reaper Virus) has reared it's ugly head again and is threatening to wipe out Britain. A team is put together to go into the no man's land to find recently discovered survivors and bring back a cure. However, the inhabitants have degenerated into something out of a Mad Max film...and they eat people.

There are some clever hooks in the film and a series of some of the coolest action sequences around. I love the tributes in this film to some of the greatest films ever. I love Marshall's style. I can't wait to see him do more work!

DOOMSDAY ON IMDB