The Doom Generation

“i’m gonna lop his… dick off… like a chicken head!” i’m not gonna lie, the whole reason why i watched this was rose mcgowan, considering she’s one of my favourite actors ever - with her amazing comedic delivery, unique charisma and original style of acting. scream, jawbreakers, even that one really terrible erotic thriller where she was the lead in, i’ll literally watch  anything with her in: and this was one of the most famous of her filmography on the letterboxd database, and i honestly had no idea what to expect, except for many people raving about ‘gregg araki’ (a director which i’ve always known the existence of, just never really delved into his work at all) and maybe this was a weird first choice for one of his movies? nonetheless this was a complete fever dream masterpiece, and one of my favourite films of all time (obviously, due to my high rating) and i’m trying to pinpoint one thing that sold this movie for me, but honestly at his completely hooked me ever since the opening scene: like fucking hell… heresy by nine inch nails in your film, and i know it’s gonna be perfect. that opening scene completely blew me away, having one of my favourite songs of all time and also the really gorgeous red tint visuals which is both haunting and aesthetically pleasing. i think the main reason why this may have resonated with me a lot, is the level of transgression this movie goes for, really pushing boundaries and uses over-the-top violence/gore, extremely explicit sexuality, and mass use of profanity and challenges the things able to be shown, it’s certainly not a crowd pleaser, but it’s necessary, plus being endlessly bold and daring which is something i am drawn to within cinema. it’s use of taboo ideas and ‘exploitation’ has a massive edge that allows it to be unique, and perfect for me. it uses extreme provocation to allure to ideas of consumerism, intolerance and conservatism in america. this is an amazing satire of american life in the 90s, with panic surrounding ‘demonic’ or ‘homosexual’ ideas becoming trendy, it uses its absurd subject matter to put that across in a really interesting way, using ‘666’ constantly throughout the course of the movie. i’m gonna remention rose mcgowan, because god this film is exactly why i love her so much. she’s such a versatile type of actress, and this is something i’ve never seen from her, mcgowan along witn the rest of the cast use a heavily over-the-top style of acting to heighten the complete campiness of the entirety (also that parker posey cameo gave me life). another thing i loved is the visual style!!! the use of surreal sets, blood/crimson neon red lighting and its fast pace have its that hyper-stylised, extreme dream like quality which is always something which significantly captures me. i’m sad to have never experienced the 90s, and this movie is why. the angst, the fashion, the nihilism… the soundtrack! honestly take me back. i adore independent cinema, as they always have something to say which mainstream companies would never mention. like many, this film is very much ‘love’ or ‘hate’, but the best types of movies are where everything’s quotable and everyone has an opinion on. the thing i’ll probably end on, is when the title card said ‘a heterosexual film by gregg araki’ i laughed way harder than i should’ve, and this is arguably the gayest film i’ve seen with a hetero relationship. the bisexual love triangle is boundary breaking, and araki manages to get a lot of queer themes within: just as ordinary violence. i have an urge to finish his entente filmography, but i won’t just yet.