This flick doesn’t seem to be adding much at all in the way of creativity to its genre. It has the feel of a video game or a lame straight-to-video release much more than it does something that will soon be playing in theatres.

The editors behind this preview would have been smart to take a few notes from the trailer campaigns for the similarly themed I Am Legend or even Cloverfield, which could at least be considered a distant cousin. The trailers for both Legend and Cloverfield used subtlety to bolster curiosity. Neither was too revealing and it paid off big time. Legend brought in $77 million in its opening weekend, and without the benefit of major stars Cloverfield boasted an impressive $41 million take during its opening frame.

With that said, a lot of adjectives could be used describe the trailer for Doomsday and subtle is not one of them. It opens with the obnoxiously expository line, “This is the end of the world!” - apparently the folks behind this aren’t believers in showing instead of telling - and it’s all downhill from there.

Putting the relatively inexperienced Rhona Mitra in the lead-role doesn’t help Doomsday’s case either. It may be the fact that this material would be hard for a more commanding actress to breathe life into, or it may be that Mitra is just not able to handle a lead role in an action flick. Looking just as uncomfortable in the preview are Bob Hoskins and Malcolm McDowell. Watching these two talented actors sleepwalk their way to a paycheck is painful.

The Doomsday preview manages to roll out every end-of-the-world movie cliché in the book: the virus that breaks out and kills everyone, survivors dressed in obnoxious Gothic clothing, etc. And if all that isn’t enough to turn you off, the whole affair becomes a glorified car commercial as it draws to a close.

A brief side note from the world of TV spots: I can’t let this week’s column pass by without dishing out some praise for the excellent There Will Be Blood spots that have been running on TV recently. The promotional team behind this film has done a bang-up job so far of helping this wholly deserving work find its audience.

The original theatrical trailers worked perfectly and they brought film buffs out in droves when Blood opened in limited release. As the film expands to more theatres, I’m hoping that these TV spots are just as effective in enticing mainstream audiences. They are every bit as atmospheric and well edited as their theatrical counterparts. See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k2p4iJOSck

Doomsday
Release Date: March 14th, 2008
Directed By: Neil Marshall
Starring: Rhona Mitra, Malcolm McDowell, Bob Hoskins