I’ve been wondering for a while why March wasn’t slated to host any action/adventure/fantasy movies, something that could capitalize on the kind of audience that 300 found last year, unaffected by the Spider-Man 3s and Shreks of the summer yet (this year, that would be Iron Man and WALL-E). Now it’s looking like someone is finally taking my advice: Doomsday, a futuristic action thriller, will be released on March 14.
This is a movie the hardcore action and fantasy buffs will already be well-aware of, since footage was shown at ComicCon back in July. It’s directed by Neil Marshall, who made 2006’s The Descent, and is described by both those who have seen it over at FirstShowing.net as a gritty, Mad Max-style action movie. It’s set in the future, decades after a virus called The Reaper nearly decimated a major country, resulting in it being completely quarantined (echoes of Children of Men here, don’t you think?) Suddenly the virus reappears in a major city, and a n elite group of specialists must return to the quarantined country to find a cure by whatever means necessary.
I know what you’re thinking, and no, this is not a zombie movie, as Marshall firmly states at FirstShowing: The mistake, and this seems to be based on contemporary cinema lore, which states that virus = zombies. With the likes of everything from 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead, Resident Evil, and most recently in I Am Legend, it seems that any film dealing with a virus automatically has to have some variation of the living dead running around devouring people. Well, our virus is back to basics. The real deal. It kills people. Pure and simple.”
To be fair, Marshall also goes on to say that the virus makes people look quite zombie-like before they kick the bucket, but it’s safe to say our heroes won’t be dealing with brain-eaters, just your average everyday people suffering from a disgusting illness. Thanks for clearing that up.
FirstShowing has all the information about Doomsday you could ever hope to know, so head over there and prepare yourself for the inevitable post-Cloverfield letdown by getting pumped for March 14.
