First Online Taste of Neil Marshall's 'Doomsday'

You'll think I'm shamelessly name-dropping but it's a relevant (and amusing) story, so here goes: I once got to sit down with director Neil Marshall during a one-on-one interview at the Sundance Film Festival. (I agreed to the interview because I'd seen both of the guy's movies and was very enthusiastic about both. Ask Kim or James how often I do interviews. I can't stand 'em.) Anyway, more than eight months later I was in London to visit the 28 Weeks Later set, and one night a bunch of us horror nerds went out drinking. "My friend Neil is going to meet us here," said the lovely Axelle Caroyln of Fangoria Magazine. So imagine my surprise when "Neil" turned out to be not only Neil Marshall -- but also that the guy actually remembered dorky ol' me from that Sundance sit-down!

So yeah, the director of Dog Soldiers and The Descent is every bit the low-key, good-natured, horror-addicted movie freak you might suspect, and the whole bunch of us spent about three hours in a dingy pub discussing the guy's next movie. The script was called Doomsday, the conversation was off the record, and (needless to say) the night was a drunken hoot.

So now that Mr. Marshall's Doomsday is finished production in London, Scotland and South Africa, and marching firmly into the realm of internet marketing, I thought it was time to take a closer look at a project I know only from one lengthy and beer-filled conversation. (See? I told you that anecdote was relevant!) So far we know that Doomsday will be a gritty futuristic action thriller that stars Rhona Mitra, Malcolm McDowell, Bob Hoskins and the awesome Sean Pertwee. So far so good. The story deals with a Britain that's been walled up and infected for three full decades -- until someone has to re-enter the danger zone for a very important reason. (Yes, I'm still trying to remain relatively spoiler-free.)

We also know that Marshall wrote and directed the flick for Universal's Rogue division, that it promises to be something firmly in the Road Warrior / Escape from New York vein -- and that if it's a good flick then Marshall won't be known as "just" a horror guy anymore. Although I bet he goes back to the creepy stuff some time soon. Anyway, Jessica shared the casting news, Erik delivered the first pics, and Chris got a great Doomsday report from the San Diego Comic Con...

Which leaves me to report on the arrival of the official Doomsday site. So here it is. So far all you'll find is a fairly nifty production diary from Neil Marshall, but when the first trailer hits the scene -- it'll probably be here. It looks like the UK will experience Doomsday a little earlier than the North Americans (lucky buggers), but Rogue seems ready to unleash the flick either late this year or early next. And while I'll always root for a young filmmaker to go 3-for-3 out of the gate, I'll be pulling extra hard for Doomsday. Not just because Marshall's a swell guy who actually remembered my name, but mainly because of the obvious reason: Dog Soldiers kicks ass and The Descent is five times better.