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Doomsday (R, 2008)

common sense media says

Violent action flick paints a grim, bloody future.

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this post-apocalyptic action-horror movie is brimming with bloody, splatty, graphic violence. Weapons include guns, swords, arrows, knives, and grenades, and brutal images include suicide by gun, decapitation, stabbing, torture, shooting, fighting, cannibalism, car chases, and crashes. A woman's naked breasts are visible during a shooting; other scenes feature pole dancing and cleavage-revealing outfits. Language includes lots of "f--k"s, plus other profanity. The heroine smokes cigarettes.

Positive messages: The main female character is surly but moralistic; the prime minister's assistant is power-hungry and cruel; punked-out tribe in Glasgow is furious and cannibalistic; one young soldier wants to protect a young woman.
Violence: Ongoing graphic, bloody violence. Armed military personnel with guns abuse panicking crowds. Injuries/deaths (including a graphic suicide) from gunshots, trampling, beating, and barbed wire. Many gory images: child's eye bloody from gunshot; smashed, mangled cow and person; decapitation (shown on screen, via grisly prosthetics); stabbing; shooting; cut throat (spurting blood). The infected appear covered in gooey skin and blisters. Combat scenes (in which streets are strewn with skulls and skeletons) feature vehicles crashing, guns, arrows, fighting, swords, and explosions from grenades. Torture scenes include hot poker branding, whipping, punching, and biting. Gladiator-style arena fight features kicking, hitting, knifing, an axe to a head. A cannibalism scene shows a man burned/charred alive; scenes in which the raging crowd gnaws at the meat are grotesque. A rabbit blows up on screen.
Sex: Various cleavage shots. A naked woman's breasts are visible when she's in the bathtub during a raid. Sol kisses his girlfriend lasciviously; he tries to kiss Eden, who bites his lip. Pole dancers wear fishnets, bikini tops, and bikini-style bottoms (their rears appear in close-ups). A masochist appears in black vinyl suit, begging to be hurt.
Language: Frequent use of "f--k" (sometimes with "mother-"), plus other language: "s--t," "bastard," "hell," "damn," "bollocks," "balls," "ass," "bitch."
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Repeated cigarette smoking main characters.
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More on Doomsday

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the kinds of things that post-apocalyptic movies often have in common. How does Hollywood tend to signal a civilization in decline? What other movies does this one remind you of? What sets it apart? Is it significant that the main character is a woman? How does Eden see the world differently from her male adversaries? How does her traumatic past shape her attitude toward authority and morality?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Like so many of its post-apocalyptic precursors, DOOMSDAY sets a reluctant hero against the world. In this case, she's DDS Major Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra), a tough chick with emotional baggage (she lost her mother) and bionic extras (a spy camera/recorder eyeball). Trained by chief Bill Nelson (Bob Hoskins), she's long used to adversity in a divided UK, where a wall partitions England and Scotland to quarantine a virus. In 2035, when the virus resurfaces, the prime minister's conniving assistant sends her to Glasgow to retrieve a man named Dr. Kane (Malcolm McDowell), who may have developed an antidote. Her mission: Resist the brutal tribal punks who now control the city, recover the doctor (or the antidote), and return to London.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Derivative by definition, the movie pits Eden against a series of enemies and challenges that showcase her courage and intelligence (a la Ripley in the Alien films) as well as her lethal expertise (shades of Resident Evil). The predictable, video game-like plot doesn't allow much in the way of character development, though Eden does admire team member Sergeant Norton (Adrian Lester), who displays a singular moral sensibility, and so, must suffer dire consequences.

Like Neil Marshall's other films (Dog Soldiers and The Descent), Doomsday is full of gore and fierce battles for survival. It also alludes to social/political issues like AIDS and the Katrina catastrophe. Still, such broader dimensions tend to be overshadowed by the harrowing, bloody action. While Eden draws obvious inspiration from her tough-chick role models (Linda Hamilton, Kate Beckinsale, even Buffy), she's also a vaguely new kind of mad girl. Anticipating the direst end, Eden chooses the cannibal punks, declaring herself for them, in terms they appreciate. It's a grim resolution, even in this post-apocalypse.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Rogue Pictures
Director: Neil Marshall
Cast: Adrian Lester, Bob Hoskins, Rhona Mitra
Genre: Horror
Run time: 105 minutes
Theatrical release: March 14, 2008
DVD release: July 28, 2008
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: strong bloody violence, language and some sexual content/nudity.
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This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
 
 

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What parents & educators say

15

Most useful reviews by all members

david02917
teen, 16 years old
 
This movie wasn't to great
This movie was bloody and had uncalled for nudity. They could have done better with the plot, but they didn't
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tbone37
adult
 
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JamesRobertson
parent of and 7 , 11 , 14 , 17 year old
17
 
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callofduty5
adult
16
 
NOT FOR YOUNGER TEENS, older may like it
This movie packs unrealistic but very gory violence, characters are good and the intro was excellent but this aint a zombie film more like "its the end of the world" movie. But still a good choice for older teens little kids might not like the cannibalism scene or other nasty picks of the movie. but still its rather funny than disturbing
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IronZombie75
teen, 16 years old
13
 
It really depends on the parents. Mostly good for 13 and up.
Absolutley AMAZING!!! I loved it! Warning: Contains constant extremely bloody violence and gore! More of an action movie.... A very gory action movie! Also has brief nudity, but not too explicit. Also has some language, but you don't really notice that much, with all of the gore splattered goodness! XD Great movie!
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npkollman
adult
 
not for little kids
this movie had lots of cussing and graphic violence. violence that made my girlfriend cringe and shut her eyes. several other people in the theatre did also
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tim44
adult
 
Neil Marshall's doomsday okay for mature teens
this movie was an enjoyable one. Neil Marshall directed the descent which i loved so i had to go see this movie that he directed. i gave this 4 stars, i thought it was a well made movie. some parts didn't make any sense, but overall it was fun to whatch. the violence and gore was throughout the movie, some scense were very intense in the gore. spoiler- the diseased burn a man alive and then eat him. the sexual content was that bad we only see a women's bare breast for 2 seconds. then there are some pole dancers that show close ups of thier butts. the language was pretty bad - around 44 f words. overall the movie was an enjoyable film.
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hondaMX king
adult
 
Amazing action for sick minded people
I was pumped and ready to see this movie, i have to say not as good as i wanted it to be, but still incredible. Not great for the little ones, because there is nudity, but brief, and intense gore/violence, and in one scene there is cannibalism where the punk rocker party cooks and eats one of the soldiers. the acting was ok, but not great, i enjoyed the music choice. The movie was great, but i would only recommend it to a handful of people.
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Adhesivebond007
adult
 
Unnecessary Violence and Gore
There was way too much gore/explosions/gunfire than necessary. The gratuitous killing and pyrotechnics are unnecessary. The entire plot had less depth than the average horror movie but it promised much more. Big let down in the "theme/message about the future, etc." section
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Plague
parent
13
 
Doomsday
Greaty movie for action lovers. Awesome, bloody violence and strong main characters that will do anything to survive this doomed world mankind has created.
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yummyyummy81694
adult
14
 
I actually really liked it alot
I liked this movie a lot. The sets were all really cool, and this is not your everyday zombie movie. Its actually insanely different from all the other ones. I also like Malcom McDowel as the evil Lord of the Rings king guy. Content wise it's not that bad. I'd say 14+
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Stanley
teen, 16 years old
 
I lost six brain cells watching this!
I must be blind, because walking into this movie, I definitely could not see the flashing signs that all said "CRAP!!!" This movie was truly awful; all I was expecting was a Resident Evil rip-off, but I got an even more sub-par film! The storyline was decent, but it was not expanded on enough so that it made the flick anything other than a flaming pile of bloody dog poop. Parents, the nudity is infrequent, but one scene shows strippers pole dancing, and only butts are shown, and another non-sexual scene shows a woman naked in a bathtub (breasts are briefly flashed.) But the violence is the worst part of this movie; it is just completely over-done. The beginning two or three scenes show hands getting crunched, heads getting blown off, and a rabbit exploding into a billion gory, bloody pieces. And it doesn't get any better any time soon; heads are chopped, arrows decapitate, cars go boom, axes grind, and so on and so forth. In summation, THIS MOVIE IS NOT NOT NOT OK FOR KIDS! Some teens will probably be disgusted too! Besides, parents, this movie isn't even worth the price of admission...just stare at a Rhona Mitra poster for an hour and a half, I'll guarantee it will be enough for you!
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