For his Hollywood studio debut, writer-director Neil Marshall has taken his love for Mad Max, Escape From New York, and the Knights of the Round Table and blended it into a tasty post-apocalyptic, cannibal infested stew. It’s the kind of loving homage you just don’t see much of these days and is the perfect follow-up to his, oftentimes grim, last effort, The Descent. This is the kind of movie those of us who love exploitation and horror/sci-fi cinema can sit back and proclaim “F*ck yeah!” as we’re treated to bloodshed, explosion filled action, and Rhona Mitra as one of the most kick-ass heroines this side of Sarah Connor in Terminator 2.

It’s 2008 in Glagow, Scotland and a new strain of virus, dubbed the “Reaper Virus”, is wiping people out. Unable to deal with such a deadly outbreak, and one that’s come on so quickly, the government declares martial law and seals the city, and everyone in it, behind a giant containment wall they’ve welded shut and armed with guards.

Fast forward to 2035. The virus has apparently fizzled out and, as far as anyone knows, everyone in Glasgow is dead. Enter Department of Domestic Security officer, Eden Sinclair (Mitra), who we first meet breaking-up a drug deal on a docked ship - which also gives us a taste of some high-calibre action, shows us her funky mechanical false eye, and ends with a pretty brutal head explosion. She’s the best at what she does and soon finds herself being recruited for a mission nobody ever thought would have to happen.

The Reaper Virus hasn’t gone away, in fact, it’s storming back. They’ve also found evidence on satellite pictures that there is still life in Glasgow. It’s up to Sinclair and a squad of highly trained soldiers to enter into the containment zone to hunt down scientist Kane (Malcolm McDowell) and bring him back to deliver a cure. Along the way they have to deal with Mad Max-like punkers that’ve gone feral and like the taste of human flesh and Kane and his bizarre new life of living in a castle playing medieval fantasy on their way to escaping.

To say Doomsday delivers in spades would be an understatement. Even though Marshall has taken obvious influences and pinned them, quite clearly, on his sleeve, he’s also delivered enough new things and adrenalin filled action sequences for us to forget that. This is a movie intended for fans of this type of flick, and they’re the ones who are going to get the absolute most enjoyment out of it. I’m of the belief that this didn’t do well at the box-office because the average filmgoer wouldn’t have the connection to it people who grew up watching the films that influenced Marshall’s script do. This isn’t the glammed up; CGI effects filled Hollywood action movie people flock to. And that’s why I respect Rogue Pictures for putting it out. In fact, this “major mini” studio continues delivering movies that sate genre/cult fans appetites – with this and The Strangers they’ve unleashed two extremely satisfying movies this year alone.

There are more than enough fisticuffs, gun battles, hand-to-hand combat, and things going “boom!” here to keep you entertained and Marshall wisely blends in some witty, “winking” humour amongst everything – this is quite evident in the car chase goodness of the finale where he’s peppered in lots of subtle jokes fans of this type of thing will appreciate. They’ve set out to make a straightforward apocalypse action flick and succeeded. I will admit that the direction Marshall spins the movie when we’re on Kane’s territory is a bit off-putting at first but it actually helps balance things out – rather than just spinning its wheels playing The Road Warrior, the tone shift makes it feel like a different movie.

As mentioned above, Mitra does on heck of a job playing the “macho woman” lead but she’s thankfully backed-up by a solid cast of co-stars. Craig Conway delivers a deliciously insane performance as Sol, leader of the punkers, and McDowell also seems to be enjoying his turn as the film’s second baddie. Bob Hoskins brings his veteran skills playing the film’s straight-man as Sinclair’s boss and Adrian Lester is also solid as one of the few squad members who lives through the first assault by Sol and his thugs.

Hopefully by the time you’ve gotten this far in the review, you’ve decided that this is the movie for you – if that’s the case, by all means, rush and get Doomsday now. If you’re a fan of Marshall’s past films (Dog Soldiers, The Descent) don’t hesitate doing the same. You’re unlikely to find a more entertaining throw-back to movies you grew up loving in the early 1980’s than what’s on display here. Let’s work at giving this success on DVD it couldn’t attain in theatres, it deserves it.

Review based on unrated version. (Chris Hartley, 7/29/08)

Directed By: Neil Marshall.
Written By: Neil Marshall.

Starring: Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Adrian Lester, Alexander Siddig.

Picture Ratio: 2.40:1 Widescreen.

Picture Quality: The film's washed-out colours and bleak production design comes across extremely well in the transfer here. The picture actually manages to be pretty sharp and there's no evident dirt or grain. For a movie that's supposed to look grimy, it still looks good on disc.

Extras: They've included the unrated and theatrical cuts of the film on the disc as well as offering a decent handful of features as well.

There's a watchable behind-the-scenes featurette that runs seventeen-minutes and gives a condensed view of the backstory/production, a quick look at the visual effects, and a (mostly passable) look at the film's vehicles and weaponry. These three mini-documentaries aren't stellar, but they offer just enough information for fans to not be completely throwaway either.

There's also a commentary track featuring Marshall and actors Sean Pertwee, Darren Morfitt, Rick Warden, and Les Simpson. It's a breezy track where everyone seems to get along well and are having fun talking about the movie. Marshall offers up enough background on the movie to please us and the entire track is generally quite listenable.