Horror Reporter: Reviews - Doomed

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Reviews

Doomed

Sub-Genre: Zombie, Action
U.S. Release Date: 2007 (Straight to DVD)
Running Length: ?
MPAA Classification: Unrated (some violence and language)
Cast: Drew Russell, Kara Schaaf, Mary Christina Brown, Aaron Gaffey, Edwin Villa, Ward Roberts, Steven Cryen
Director: Michael Su
Screenplay: Patrick McManus, Sean O'Bannon

Report Card: D

DoomedDoomed is a low-budget zombie film that takes place on the "Isola de Romero" (Cute reference, eh?). It is about a reality game show called "Survival Island 2020" where a group of criminals struggle to make it across the island alive. The group is divided into five, two-person teams. And the winning team is granted a pardon for their crimes, plus a cash prize of $50 million dollars. (Think of The Running Man, but with zombies)

The multitude of plot holes in this film are blatantly apparent from the start. There are supposedly remote cameras that follow the contestants around. Yet, throughout the entire movie, the cameras are never seen. Also, the story involves a "reality" tv show. It was evident that it was not the pilot episode because the game show host stated that the grand prize money accrued to $50 million over the previous weeks due to having no winners. And yet, the contestants are somehow surprised when they encounter the zombies. If the show was televised previously, the players surely would have been aware of the island's zombie infestation. And if there was an island full of zombies, surely the government would quarantine the island and prohibit its use for a game show.

I could give myself a headache making a full laundry list of plot holes and implausible scenarios. But plot holes are to be expected in a low-budget film, right? So how does the film measure up on other areas?

Bad.

The dialogue was horrible, the acting even worse. The fight scenes involved choreography that one would expect from a couple of kids horsing around in their backyard. And for each punch, kick, and slam, game points were displayed on the screen that became increasingly annoying as the movie progressed.

The zombie makeup was ok, but there is very little blood in the film, and no gore at all (even after a shotgun blast to the face). There are no scenes of gratuitous nudity, sex, or violence; only cheesy scene after cheesy scene.

These days, zombie films are a dime a dozen, and there's nothing particularly special about this one. It might be a good movie to watch on a Sunday morning when the video store hasn't opened yet and there's absolutely nothing else on tv. Otherwise, you'll probably not want to waste your time on this one.


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