In a secret base on Mars's larger moon, Phobos, scientists are conducting investigations into teleportation technology. Technology with a decidedly unsettling "glowing red runes on black stone" kind of aesthetic to it. But looks aren't everything, right, so I am sure it will all be fine!
... or not, as the lights go out and the screaming starts.
Walking into whatever just happened (spoiler: bad things) is a small group of marines, who at least initially are rather more concerned with their own interpersonal issues than any thought of battling for their lives against a demonic alien enemy.
I am a huge fan of the 1993 video game Doom and its sequel, and an active part of the game's fan community (to the point where I have my very own entry on doomwiki.org). I dutifully went along to see the 2005 Doom movie (it's not terribly good), and was quite pleased to hear that this low budget offering was in the works.
That was not at all the universal reaction. Violent outrage seethed in many festering corners of the internet, mostly because the film had the audacity to cast a female lead. Some people tried to claim they were upset because the story was rubbish, but I call foul on those claims given (a) the film wasn't actually out at that time and (b) the video's game plot is literally "kill the monsters with the guns" - not exactly nuanced.
Anyway, how is the movie? Well, it's cheap and cheesy space zombie action basically. Like a lower-budget Resident Evil. I had a good time with it. There's nothing ground-breaking here, and the momentum flags a bit in the second half, but I didn't sign up for Doom: Annihilation for avant garde film-making. I signed up for a popcorn sci-fi action/horror film, and on that front, I thought it delivered.
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