Customer Reviews

The Doom Generation

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(50)

 

 

Few films on have elicited anywhere near the disparity of comments that "The Doom Generation" has received, along with an extreme bi-model vote distribution on the IMDb. While I hate to prattle on about hidden meanings and messages that do not exist or that are not intended, Araki (unlike most film makers) is sophisticated enough to actually put such elements in his films. And he does not strike me as so full of himself that he would do this with no purpose other than mind games. Therefore, I will elaborate on my own interpretation of what he is trying to convey with this film.

McGowen's character, Amy Blue seems to be symbolic of the concept of pure beauty, which could be considered our closest relation to a world that exists outside ordinary life. An idea that psychologists like Jung (influenced by Eastern religion) have imagined as involving a sort of "collective unconscious" that persists through time while actual generations of human beings are born and die. Making beauty our proof while we live that there is "something higher" than ordinary existence. Like when a composer creates a melody and attributes it to a higher authority because they can't believe themselves capable of bringing something that perfect into the world.

Some do not recognize beauty when they see it and some are inspired when they see beauty, but most must possess beauty-or failing to gain possession destroy it rather than share it with others. Protecting beauty from those who would possess it or destroy it is the focus of this film. Although Amy is able to disguise herself from most people (and from most viewers) behind a façade of bad language and grim 'attitude', she is occasionally recognized by those who would possess or destroy-illustrated by the characters that go into violent rapture when they see her.

(SPOILERS AHEAD) My guess is that Jordan White is a too pure angel sent to protect Amy, and that Xavier Red is an evolving Jordan as his purity is replaced with protective survival skills. This is why the police agency can only find Amy's fingerprints on file. Like Charlie Kaufman and his twin brother Donald in 'Adaptation', death of one part of the dual identity is necessary for an integration of the two personalities. Akai likes to leave his involved audience members with the feeling that they were dreaming while riding a roller coaster.

There are a lot of God-Devil images in this film, with '666' presaging another attempt to destroy beauty or the evidence of 'something higher'.

Araki films are often about things not being what they appear to be; and they require the viewer to sort out complexity and revelation in what appear to be one-dimensional characters undergoing no real change. For example the sex scenes in this film, which initially seem crude and graphic, actually have a strange sort of innocence if you get past your own preconceptions.

This film is ambitious and amazing but not for everyone.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I have heard that in order to fully appreciate this film, one must see the unedited version, which restores at least ten minutes of footage. Unless those ten minutes somehow manage to provide character development, competent direction, literate dialogue, and appealing actors, no amount of "lost footage" could possibly save this tragic waste. Way, way overlong, even at 75 minutes, this film has no direction whatsoever unless one considers trendy nihilism and utter banality proper destinations for film. I must say that this is the most arrogant film ever made because it assumes that people are so desperate to be entertained that they would throw away a good hour and a half in order to be repelled, disgusted, offended, and humiliated. Any people who claim that this film peeks into the underbelly of society make one key mistake: they forget that film is, above all else, a tool of both education AND entertainment, two qualities this film avoids at every turn.

Greg Araki's second installment in his teen-angst slacker/nihilism trilogy, The Doom Generation, goes where many movies fear to tread. The movie consists mostly of sex, cussing and violence but after seeing it all the way through, it no longer seems gratuitous. The movie is filled with little statements here and there that actually hold philosophical potential but the characters never really get a chance to just stop for a moment and consider the possibilities. Rose MacGowan plays a bratty meth user who ends up in the middle of a love triangle, literally. James Duvall plays her burnt out boyfriend whose density doesn't suggest a lack of depth. He keeps on being victimized throughout the film, right until the very end. One of the best things about the movie are all of the suggestive signs in the background that only give possible excuses for the odd reality the Rose and James share. The movie strictly follows several themes which many people may overlook due to the shock value of many other components. This movie definitely has an acquired taste to it and is clearly meant for mature audiences.

"The Doom Generation" is an intense, violent and erotic [hetero and homo] movie about teenage angst and alienation. It doesn't work on many levels because the focus seems to be more on style than on substance. Writer/director Greg Araki, who created a sensation a few years back with his ultra-low budget film, "The Living End", is both talented and original. The problem is that, since "The Living End", he has yet to find a project that suits his talents. His themes are dark and nihilistic. These are well worth exploring artistically, but he needs to find scripts that come close to matching the power of his visuals.

Jordon [James Duval] and Amy [Rose McGowan] are a couple of spaced-out druggies in love. She's an extremely angry young woman who finds comfort in his sweet and passive nature. I'm not sure what he sees in her, for she is almost invariably unpleasant and often mean-spirited. Maybe he's so lost that any port in the storm will do. One night they meet the mad, charismatic and sexy Xavier [Jonathan Schaech], who leads them on a bizarre journey of sex, murder and mayhem. This trip is part horror, part dark comedy.

This movie has a following and a cult status. I can understand this, but, frankly, there are other movies about youth alienation I would recommend before I would this one. These include "Kalifornia", "Fight Club", and a delightful dark comedy from thirty years ago called "Harold and Maude". [NOTE: The thing that cost "The Doom Generation" the most points in my opinion was the ending. It's quite cruel and, if it has a message, I didn't get it. The fault my lie in me or it may be in the way it was edited.]

The Doom Generation (Gregg Araki, 1995)

There are two types of people who have seen The Doom Generation: those who loved it and those who hated it. (Interestingly, the two groups, according to IMDB, who rate it highest? Males under 18 and females 18-29. Figure that one out, armchair Freudians.) While I definitely come down on the "hated it" side of the line, I can at least understand what it was Araki was trying to do with this movie. I just can't tell whether he utterly failed to do what he set out to, whether he succeeded in such an incompetent way that it doesn't matter, or whether he succeeded so brilliantly that my reaction to the film was exactly what he was going for. To make matters even more confusing, I'm leaning towards the third possibility. Why? Hindsight.

While Araki isn't all that hot a director (cf. the failed, if valiant, attempt to adapt Mysterious Skin), the folks he plunked down in front of the screen are all that hot actors, as we have seen in the twelve-years-and-change since The Doom Generation was released; James Duval (basically discovered by Araki; his second film role was in Araki's first movie) has gone on to do some excellent work, Jonathon Schaech has gotten a decent amount of big-screen work in the past few years after an extensive television career, and, of courser, Rose McGowan went from being a Pauly Shore movie staple to an It Girl after Scream. Perhaps even more telling is the number of high-profile folks (actors and non-) who were drawn to Araki's script: Skinny Puppy, Perry Farrell, Amanda Bearse (of Married... with Children), Nicky Katt (soon to become famous on Boston Public), Parker Posey, Christopher Knight (yes, Peter Brady), even Heidi Fleiss. All pop up in minor roles. They had to have seen something to get involved.

The something, of course, is the whole alienation-angst thing that runs through the script. I mean, this is basically Ian Hunter's "The Outsider" brought to the big screen, with a really awful love story thrown into the mix and some really bad acting to propel it. But I don't think the acting was bad by accident. With these three actors? Oh, no, bub. I think Araki planned it that way. I think he told them to overact. Why? That's a bit more complicated. "To get the teen audience" is an easy, expendable, and probably oversimplified answer, though both Duval and McGowan certainly act like characters out of any number of awful teen goth poems I've read over the years. I think there's more to it-- the artificiality of the acting corresponding to the artificiality (or innocence, if you'd rather see it that way) of these characters; note that the two of them get better as the movie goes on (cf. Lindsay Crouse in Mamet's House of Games, who goes through the same transformation in much the same way). Similarly, the cheap special effects and set decoration. Simply covering a bar in tinfoil? Genius, if you want to go for a cheap look.

All that said, it doesn't diminish my visceral reaction to the film in any way. I still don't like it. If Araki didn't want me to like it, I can certainly respect that, and it's a valid enough reaction for a director to expect from a film; Hideshi Hino certainly isn't looking for legions of screaming fans when he directs movies. It just doesn't quite ring right, because man, if this film does have a target audience, I'm it. The cheap, dumb sets? I loved them in Carpenter's They Live. The bad acting? See my previous note on House of Games, which I think of as one of the hundred best movies ever made. And Skinny Puppy fans don't come much harder-core than me. Somehow, though, while I can appreciate the film on an intellectual level, I just don't feel it. Go figure. **

For all of the people who mock Gregg Araki's dialogue, his poor, home-video-esque directing and his sloppy editing, I have one thing to say: you're all correct. His dialogue is not realistic, it makes you cringe in embarassment at the poor actors who are forced to say these lines, and some would even say it was ineffective. However, we must realize that most every writer does EVERYTHING for a reason, and his motives are pure. The film is a mockery. It's not a mockery of youth, though. It mocks the way that society sees young people. So, effectively, Araki is spitting sarcastically in the faces of those who dislike his film . . . those who have contempt for the Doom Generation are the guinnea pigs for which the film was created. Although it may be (advertently) obvious, there is sarcasm and, believe it or not, a deeper meaning. See also NOWHERE, and reassess your thoughts on this modern noir masterpiece.

I first heard of Gregg Araki through the trailer for "Nowhere." I saw that movie and thought it one of the gutsiest films I'd seen in a long time. Then I heard that it was the third in a trilogy of teen angst apocalyptic anarchy, including "Totally F**ked Up," and this film. "The Doom Generation" is even more difficult to watch than "Nowhere" was. Araki's penchant for using obviously half-assed teen language that is so outdated it's beyond humorous...which is the best reason to laugh at it, is only amplified by the extensive cussing. Also extensive in this movie is the sex and violence, both of which are VERY abundant. From a quicki-mart owner's head getting blown off (sorry for the spoiler) to stabbings to getting beat up by gang members (played by the members of the late industrial band Skinny Puppy) to the shocking and saddening climax, this movie is a bloodfest that could rival the "Evil Dead" movies. The sex...well, in Rose McGowan's first starring role, this movie makes it clear that she has to be a screwed up person to begin with just to be involved in a movie like this (and to think...with this as her first movie, some people were surprised that she would become Mrs. Marilyn Manson). Her depravity as a person goes beyond being a slut, but even to a sense of self-denial and hypocrisy, a condition that is worsened by the fact that everybody else in the movie thinks that she's someone they once knew who left them...and in return they must kill her. Was she? Maybe. It's beside the point, and yes this movie DOES have a point. And it's a little more than conveying the idea that this world we live in is a literal hell, as is told by the 666 and Hell references that are so blatant and obvious, they also add to the humor. However, this movie has no laughs. Not that that's a bad thing, but it has almost no moments of light-heartedness. It grabs you by the head and gouges your eyes from beginning to end. The unrated director's cut is apparently a far superior version (I'm sorry to say I haven't seen it yet, but I hear that the climax is extended and the brutality of it is not only deafeningly saddening but also essential to the subtle point this film tries to make). A great soundtrack also adds to the gloom and eeriness of the movie. Not for the weak-stomached, and certainly not a movie for those who don't know how to think (you don't know who you are but I'll give you a hint...you liked Armageddon and thought it was the most beautiful and emotional film ever made...). Even for people who do like to think...this movie is painful. It will hurt. Physically, it will make you sick, but if you can deal with its over-the-top dialogue, it's bland acting, it's unnecessary but still compelling sex and gore, and the fact that it reveals an underside to this world that is blackened by our own demons, then you just enjoy that twisting sensation in your gut when you finally feel like you're ready to puke by the end of the film.

THE DOOM GENERATION is definitely not a film for all tastes. This edition on DVD is worth having for the Araki fan who saw the hacked version in theaters. Seeing the director's vision unaffected by over-zealous censors is a real bonus. It only confirms my opinion that Araki is a filmmaker for the new generation of young, disaffected Americans who don't find much originality in the usual garbage cranked out by Hollywood today.

THE DOOM GENERATION is perhaps Araki's best work to date, although not as inspired as some of his earlier films, this film is overall more consistent and coherent in tone. Still, this film is NOT easy to watch for the prudish or faint-of-heart.

Araki fans won't want to miss this classic version of the ultimate "road" movie.

First off, web reviews are innately biased, as the only people who vote are those who care enough to bother. They either love it, or hate it. It's the same for any product reviewed here. Going on to the movie, it's not intelligent. It's not witty, insightful, or over the top to prove it's greater point. It's over the top to be naughty, so much that the director and his defenders can claim that those who don't get the movie are either idiots, close minded, or sheep. I've seen this movie three times, and every time it got worse. I've now hated this movie on a visceral level, on an intellectual level, and on a pure level of how it was constructed. Basically, this is brainless pap, that oozes it's awfulness from every level I can think of. It's a movie so in love with it's edginess, that it becomes self mockery. And for those who say that's the point of the movie, I've tried to give Greg Arraki a chance. From what I've seen, he's not even intelligent enough to work one level of meaning into a movie, much less making a movie that's entirely satire.

Okay, let's get this straight... Gregg Araki is an absolute genius! This movie is so screwed up, it's not even funny (Well, actually in a lot of parts it is). It's so unrealistic, and yet somehow it's one of the most realistic movies I've ever seen. It's also one of the best.
The plot is a little hard to explain, but it's so creative, that I shouldn't say anything about it, and just let everyone see it for themselves.
The writing is superb. It's funny, because Gregg Araki makes these characters who kind of seem like dumb kids, but they know a lot of huge words ("You're repugnant!"). They cuss beyond belief, have way too much sex, and go to tons of mini mart stations where some odd things occur.
The cast is great. This is the movie that really made Rose McGowan. It's her second film (following her two scene role in Encino Man), and she does the best job she can, like always. A lot of her male fans are going to see this for all of her sex scenes, but personally, I didn't really care about that.
James Duval is a complete dork in his role. He actually kind of annoyed me in this movie, but James Duval is one of my favorite actors.
Johnathon Schaech was a great part of this movie. This movie made me like him.
Lots of great cameos by Margaret Cho, Parker Posey, Lauren Tewes, Nicky Katt, and Perry Farrell.

I'd reccomend it to people with a dark, twisted, and demented mind. I would REALLY not reccomend it to everyone, because it isn't for everyone, most indie movies aren't for everyone. Personally, it's going to be one of the best movies I will ever see in my whole life.