Now Showing: DOOM

 

DOOM

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Horror

Director: James Wan

Writer: Joshua Collins

Based on the video game series

Cast: Alan Ritchson, Woody Harrelson, Tilda Swinton, Nathan Fillion, Asa Butterfield, Bokeem Woodbine (VOICE)

Plot: The film begins on Mars, the Union Aerospace Corporation(UAC) has established a research facility to experiment with dimensional energy and advanced technology and weaponry. Dr. Samuel Hayden (Woody Harrelson), is the UAC’s director, founded a project known as The Argent Energy Program, thought to be a solution to solve Earth’s energy crisis by harnessing energy extracted from another dimension, known as Hell. Though the idea of harnessing energy from Hell was met with reluctance, the project promised unlimited energy and scientific breakthroughs. He is in the UAC’s medical room, looking over a nasty wound one of his researchers suffered in the midst of a bad encounter with a creature brought in from Hell. The researcher is a woman by the name of Olivia Pierce (Tilda Swinton), She is awkward and not great with social cues, but generally harmless an adoring fan of Hayden, whose followed up on his previous researches. We learn that she has a personal vestment in the Argent Energy Program, a nephew back on earth in intensive care believing it could be used for good, curing fatal diseases. Hayden explains its why they’re harnessing energy from Hell: There’s no other power in the world that is stronger. He uses a dab of Argent medicine to heal Olivia’s wound.

Meanwhile on Earth, a military soldier (Alan Ritchson) -affectionately named DoomGuy by his peers: his tough stoic, no-nonsense demeanor spelled Doom for everyone who crossed him. The military has been deployed to deal with protesters, who are protesting the idea of harnessing Hell’s energy. When the protests seem to heat up and get rowdy, DoomGuy’s commanding officer (Nathan Fillion) orders DoomGuy and his men to fire on the civilians. DoomGuy sees the BS and calls it out, telling his own men to cease fire. When the CO is angry with DoomGuy for disobeying his orders and calling the shots, DoomGuy knocks the shit out of the CO. “That’s why we call him Doomguy,” one of the other officer says with a chuckle.

As punishment, Doomguy is demoted and sent to work as security at the UAC base on Mars. It’s a bit of a boring job, meant for the lowest disposable scraps in the military. While Doomguy roams the corridors of the UAC base, he gets curious and peers through a small window of a closed door and sees Hayden and Pierce in a room, they have a Baron of Hell chained to a wall that came through the portal before DoomGuy arrived, but was weakened in a fight, making it easier to capture. The Baron (voiced by Bokeem Woodbine) promises that the “rest” are coming, and they will kill everyone on the UAC base, then they will bring Hell to Earth. Hayden smirks, saying that “even these incompetent weak soldiers overtook him in a manner of moments. If that’s the best they can do, we have nothing to worry about.” The Baron laughs, saying “Hell is endless, and it hungers,” knowing full well that Dr. Hayden doesn’t know what the universe is in for. Doomguy asks himself ‘what the hell is that thing?! What are they doing here?!” But he sprints away when he sees Hayden walking toward the door. Pierce is about to follow, but the Baron raises its head and asks how her nephew is doing. “How did you know about him?” she asks. Baron says he knows more than she thinks, reveals the nephew’s name. He even says he knows this research will have no end in sight. “But they need you to keep hoping.”

DoomGuy is in a common room on the UAC, used as a break room for the guards. He is playing an old classic, Wolfenstein 3D on the computer. A fellow guard, Flynn (Asa Butterfield), comes in the room to talk with him, a chance for us to learn a bit about DoomGuy. Flynn shows a picture of his wife back home and explains she’s pregnant with his twins. He asks whose waiting for DoomGuy back at home.“Well, I guess there’s Daisy.” DoomGuy says. The other guard asks, “Wife? Daughter?” DoomGuy smirks, “Rabbit.” Flynn chuckles, “You alright man, the other guards say you’re a tight ass but you’re funny.”

While most of the facility is asleep except security, Olivia returns to the Baron’s room. Baron tells her that Hayden is a fraud, as someone who idolizes Hayden, she defends Hayden’s research, but Baron says “If he thought he could stop your nephew’s death sentence, he would have done it by now.” He offers her a devilish deal to help free him and hell.

When a UAC security soldier with the proper clearance patrols the area around the Argent Portal, Pierce stealth kills the soldier with a blade to the throat, taking his clearance and getting into the room with the Argent Portal. Pierce tampers with everything, triggering a catastrophic breach. Chaos seems to unfold: the lights flicker and power to the facility starts to shut down. Alarms sound. ‘Demonic Presence increasing, seek shelter immediately..” Hayden attempts to stop the breach, but can’t seem to do it. A flood of demons invade the base, killing everyone in their way. The weakened Baron manages to escape in the chaos.

DoomGuy, who was patrolling a different sector, sees Flynn walking toward him, but DoomGuy recognizes that something is wrong with the walking-dead look. Flynn reluctantly holds a shotgun up, “I...I can’t stop it,” with a bit of humanity he has left in him, points the gun at DoomGuy. DoomGuy raises his own gun. “Don’t let me become one of them. Kill me before I can kill….her.” DoomGuy hesitates, “We can stop it…” but Flynn’s voice barks with a more angry demonic tone, “DO IT!” DoomGuy sees Flynn’s finger on the trigger ready to pull, so DoomGuy fires, killing the one pal he made at the UAC. DoomGuy wastes no more time, armed with his shotgun and taking out more possessed soldiers, scientists and even Imps. DoomGuy is trying to find any survivors of the breach, and he happens to find Hayden.

“This is why we don’t fuck with hell!” DoomGuy shouts at him. Hayden still believes and argues that the demonic energy still has the greatest potential, even more than anything we can find on Earth. On the way to a security room, DoomGuy has a run-in with a Pinky Demon. DoomGuy helps cover for Hayden as he gets into the security room, DoomGuy following just as the Pinky runs into the door and knocks itself out. Hayden does some quick computer searches and finds that Olivia Pierce started the breach. “Should have known she was going to be trouble. Always so weirdly interested in what we were doing, more than any other scientist on the staff.”

Pierce is face to face with the Baron of Hell. “You’ve done well, Child of Hell,” the Baron says, “With your twisted ambitions, you could command legions in hell. You could become...a queen.” Pierce with a sadistic look in her own eyes, as if she too is possessed, nods and tampers with more Argent portals to bring even more demons from Hell.

DoomGuy leaves Hayden to the safety of the security room he’s in, on a mission to stop Pierce. He fits his way through more demons: possessed scientists and soldiers, imps, pinkys. The shotgun just isn’t fast enough, so he happens to grab a loose chaingun and takes out most of the demons. An Imp is just about to launch a fireball at DoomGuy, but is intercepted by a Cacodemon, who kills the Imp. DoomGuy says, “Thanks,” before blasting the Cacodemon.

DoomGuy sees Pierce walking towards a massive portal in her research lab. DoomGuy shouts out to her to get her to stop, but the look in her face seems to say she’s inviting him to try to stop her. Just as he’s about to run after her, a Hell Knight appears. He’s huge and angry. “Yeah, I’d be pissed too if I came outta my mama looking like you,” DoomGuy says. The Hell Knight melees DoomGuy around, putting up a good solid fight as DoomGuy tries to figure out how to take the big guy out. A moment where he takes cover, he happens to find a rocket launcher in a UAC box. As the Hell Knight is looking for DoomGuy, DoomGuy appears, shouts, “Hey Princess” before nuking the Hell Knight with the rocket launcher.

DoomGuy gets to Pierce, just as she activates the giant portal. A portal that could transfer someone into Hell. The portal allows the demonic energies to fully takeover, transforming her into a nightmarish creature, a Hell Priestess, who pledges her soul to Hell’s dark powers. DoomGuy follows, intent on preventing her from unleashing more power on Mars and ultimately, Earth.

Hell’s landscape is twisted and horrifying, a surreal realm of rivers of blood, massive structures made of bone, and endless pits of fire. Here, the demons are stronger and more relentless, each possessing abilities enhanced by the Argent energy that flows through Hell’s veins. The Doom Slayer encounters an onslaught of stronger demons: Mancubus, Revenants, and a few more Cacodemons, Pinkys and Imps. This part of the film is the most Doomiest of Doom, switching cameras to first-person view as DoomGuy takes on demons and weapon switches, we also get that oh so familiar “At Hells Gate”

As the onslaught is finished, DoomGuy gets a moment to rest and recover from the attack, but the Baron from earlier appears.“We could never break you, and that’s what they fear the most. I don’t fear you though. You’ll bend to my power..” The Baron gets blasted by DoomGuy with a plasma rifle, “shut the fuck up,” DoomGuy mutters.

In the heart of Hell is Hellforge. A colossal fortress built to harness Argent energy. Pierce has fully transformed into a demonic hybrid, guarding The Well, a massive reservoir that powers both Hell’s invasion and the portal connected to Mars. DoomGuy must destroy the well and sever the connection between Hell and Mars to stop the invasion.

Pierce says DoomGuy is a hair too late, that the Well can transport Hell on Earth. As a High Priestess, she’s able to summon and command The Cyberdemon, A massive demon/cyborg hybrid with a head like a minotaur. Prosthetic leg, and a rocket launcher for an arm. Pierce sends the Cyberdemon to start the invasion of Earth.

In a good epic bloody showdown with more demons and Pierce, DoomGuy takes them all out, and severs the connection to Earth to avoid more demons invading the Earth. He has one idea to ensure he can take the Cyberdemon out and returns to the UAC base on Mars. DoomGuy sees Hayden back at the lab. DoomGuy briefs Hayden on everything, and says he needs access to “The Big Guy” and tells Hayden that wherever the Cyberdemon is, to request immediate evacuation.

The Cyberdemon touches down on Earth. It destroys anything in its path as every branch of the military attempts to stop it. Their efforts are futile, as its able to nuke anyone with its size, power and rocket launcher.

DoomGuy makes it to a base that houses a giant BFG-9000. DoomGuy loads up, searching on Earth for the Cyberdemon. People on Earth evacuate as the military starts to stand down, realizing their efforts are costing more lives than saving. Hayden radios DoomGuy, telling him the coordinates of the Cyberdemon.

When DoomGuy sees the Cyberdemon, he pushes the button, “Say hi to Hell for me,” he says as the BFG fires upon the Cyberdemon, nuking him and anything in a huge radius.

Hayden is absolutely pleased at what happened as DoomGuy walks with sternness, “Sure you may have blown up Oakland, but really who cares..” DoomGuy punches the hell out of Hayden. “Don’t EVER do that again,” DoomGuy says.

DoomGuy is able to return to Earth and relax. He grabs a beer from the fridge(fans will appreciate a picture on the fridge of DoomGuy’s beloved pet rabbit, Daisy on the fridge door) and sets down to watch the news. They’re covering the invasion of the Cyberdemon and the destruction that followed. DoomGuy hears a suspicious noise from his garage. When he goes to investigate, he sees a rabbit cage destroyed and an Imp hissing at him. DoomGuy grins, grabs a nearby chainsaw and starts it up, as the chainsaw buzzes and DoomGuy’s expression changes to a sadistic grin, like he enjoys slaying demons, appears on his face.

Roll credits.