ROTTEN TOMATOES: Neil Marshall's 10 Post-Apocalyptic Picks

Neil Marshall's 10 Post-Apocalyptic Picks

by Rich Cline | May 06, 2008

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Just a few scenes into Doomsday and we know we're watching the work of someone who adores post-apocalyptic films, with every scene littered with references to end-of-the-world classics from the 70s and 80s. And writer-director Neil Marshall readily admits that's exactly what he was going for.

"Right from the start, I wanted my film to be an homage to these sorts of movies, and deliberately so," he says. "I wanted to make a movie for a new generation of audience that hadn't seen those movies in the cinema - hadn't seen them at all maybe - and to give them the same thrill that I got from watching them. But kind of contemporise it, pump up the action and the blood and guts."

This is a rather surprising shift for the filmmaker behind Dog Soldiers and The Descent, two claustrophobic thrillers that got deep into their characters' heads. But Doomsday is a big, loud action movie, and Marshall reveals to RT readers the films that inspired him most...

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(1-20 of 22 posts) | Reply

John Z. Delorean writes:
on May 06 2008 08:12 AM

They definitely inspired him because Doomsday is just a mashup of all these movies. Loved The Descent though so I'll let him breathe.

(Reply to this)

jokerboy1991 writes:
on May 06 2008 09:05 AM

Cool. I thought DOOMSDAY and THE DESCENT were pretty cool.

(Reply to this)

RedTuna writes:
on May 06 2008 09:07 AM

I'm sure I will watch Doomsday when it comes out on dvd, but I'm not expecting anything original or amazing.

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Darth Pepsi writes:
on May 06 2008 09:08 AM

Why don't you just call this list ten movies that I randomly like......because some of those movies have nothing to do with a post apocalyptic world.

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iankusc writes:
on May 06 2008 09:11 AM

Doomsday was an homage film. Any criticism is pointless- it aspired to nothing more than paying respects to Marshall's inspirations. I looked at it like a greatest hits collection. Sure, there weren't any surprises, you already know every part, but sometimes its EXACTLY what you want.

(Reply to this)

reavus4983 writes:
on May 06 2008 09:39 AM

Gladiator and Excalibur? All I can say is: WHAT?!

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dahluzz writes:
on May 06 2008 09:57 AM

i was pretty surprised when i saw this was his follow-up to 'the descent,' which i found terrifying. The original UK ending was, or course, WAY better than the American one, but what can ya do?

i kind of like that marshall isn't taking himself too seriously, while still sounding like he had a pretty specific vision for the film. i haven't seen it, but i think i'll give him the benefit of the doubt and netflix this.

good article, even if his selections and their subsequent justifications are a little bizarre in spots (someone was inspired by 'waterworld'? what?)

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quietus28 writes:
on May 06 2008 10:15 AM

dahluzz:
which movie has the alternate ending, The Descent or Doomsday? What is the difference between the US and UK versions? I'm curious, was a big fan of Descent, but haven't seen Doomsday yet.

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Joe Utichi writes:
on May 06 2008 11:08 AM

The Descent has an alternate ending. Pulled straight from IMDb, because I'm far too lazy to put it in my own words:

SPOILER: The endings of the US and UK versions differ. In the end, Sarah wakes up at the bottom of the cave, crawls out, and makes her way back to the car. When she is driving away, she pulls over and vomits, and when she leans back into the car, she is startled by the ghost of Juno sitting in the passenger seat. The US version cuts to the credits here. In the UK version, this apparition causes Sarah to wake up for real at the bottom of the cave, revealing her escape to be just a dream. She then has a vision of her daughter's birthday cake, which we see is just her torch. The camera backs out, and the movie ends. This ending was considered "too dark" for US audiences.

(Reply to this)

Cadrian writes:
on May 06 2008 11:20 AM

WTF kind of list is this.... Like someone else said, this list is totally random and nothing else. Gladiator? Where did that come from?

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John Z. Delorean writes:
on May 06 2008 01:54 PM

Watch Doomsday and you'll understand the list, he definitely took his inspirations to heart while making the movie including Gladiator.

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richcline writes:
on May 06 2008 02:15 PM

Well, I'm the guy who sat and talked with Neil the other day (and wrote it up here), and I was also surprised when he named Gladiator and The Warriors as movies he had in mind before he made Doomsday.

He also referred at various times to things like Woody Allen's Sleeper and Logan's Run, which he admitted blurred the line between post-apocalyptic and sci-fi. And also 12 Monkeys and The Terminator - but the only thing he liked from those was the bleak, desolated future landscape. Actually, meeting him made me appreciate Doomsday a lot more!

(For the record, I originally titled this piece "Neil Marshall's 10 Films for the Post-Apocalypse", which is slightly but significantly different.)

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FireflyFan4evr writes:
on May 06 2008 03:51 PM

Children of Men had a budget of $130 million? Hahaha... try half that.

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Some guy you dont know writes:
on May 06 2008 03:55 PM

Neil Marshall kicks epic ***.

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Mishmerized writes:
on May 06 2008 08:53 PM

I bet we're going to see a lot more of him and this genre...cant wait! I reckon maybe he should have helmed I AM LEGEND

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IndianaSchwartz writes:
on May 06 2008 11:06 PM

he forgot RUNNING MAN!!!

(Reply to this)

Ashron writes:
on May 07 2008 08:37 AM

In reply to this comment (#1722781)
He may have had the number wrong but I think his point was that Children of Men had a significantly higher budget than his film did.

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Sickb0y writes:
on May 10 2008 02:55 PM

Neil Marshall is just what the UK movie goers needed, when dog soldiers came out, I snubbed it, then I started hearing things about it and watched it, that movie was simply superb. Then came descent, descent turned out to be one of the small list of movies that really got me in the fear department (which by the way is rare now-a-days in movies) the ending was genius and it will be talked about for many years to come.

Doomsday was a movie I was really looking forward to and not only because I love the whole concept, but because its Mr Marshall%u2019s new child. I thought it was fantastic. It did not take itself too seriously, but was brutal in its execution and the vastness of the open countryside (just like in the mad max or waterworld movies) was done to perfection for me (and many of my peers)

I can%u2019t wait to even find out what he has planned in the future, as his ideas scream originality and daring, daring to go where most big Hollywood movie won%u2019t and this is pure class.

(Reply to this)

StonetheCrow writes:
on May 20 2008 07:25 AM

In reply to this comment (#1722412)
Man. These people. Hate their whole damn Middle American Humble Pie Family Disney Horse****.

(Reply to this)

StonetheCrow writes:
on May 20 2008 07:26 AM

In reply to this comment (#1722412)
Man. These people. Hate their whole damn Middle American Humble Pie Family Disney Horse****.

(Reply to this)

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