The Doom Generation ***½ (1995, James Duval, Rose McGowan, Johnathon Schaech) – Classic Movie Review 1,040

Gay Asian American cult director Gregg Araki’s 1995 black comedy road movie The Doom Generation is gleefully gross, violent and ultra-provocative.

Gay Asian American cult director Gregg Araki’s 1995 black comedy road movie The Doom Generation is gleefully gross, violent and ultra-provocative.

It stars Rose McGowan and James Duval as two troubled teenage lovers, Amy Blue and Jordan White, who link up with a handsome adolescent drifter, Xavier Red (Johnathon Schaech), and go on the run after a shooting. They set off on a sex-charged and trouble-filled journey through an America of psychos, experiencing a series of bizarre and violent adventures.

The controversial film motors on Araki’s hard and harsh screenplay and his imaginative direction, and on the high-octane performances from the cast of expert up-and-comers.

The Doom Generation is challenging and very much to taste, and you will need a strong stomach to appreciate it. But it is definitely clever and intelligent, stylish and innovative. Many critics walked out during its original press show in the US and Roger Ebert rated the film zero stars.

It is the second film in Araki’s Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy that starts with Totally F***ed Up (1994) and concludes with Nowhere (1997).

Shooting took place mainly at night in undeveloped urban sprawl areas for that apocalyptic feel during January 1994 in Los Angeles on a budget of $800,000.

Rose McGowan and James Duval’s characters of Amy Blue and Jordan White are based on the Mark Beyer comic strip Amy and Jordan.

In 2010, Araki’s film Kaboom was named the first ever winner of the Cannes Film Festival Queer Palm.

Araki self-identified as ‘a gay Asian American’ in 1996, but in 2014 he said: ‘I don’t really identify as anything. I’d probably identify as gay at this point, but I have been with women.’

The cast are Rose McGowan as Amy Blue, James Duval as Jordan White, Johnathon Schaech as Xavier “X” Red, Dustin Nguyen as convenience store clerk Nguyen Coc Suc, Margaret Cho as Nguyen’s wife, Parker Posey as Brandi, Lauren Tewes as TV anchorperson, and Christopher Knight as TV anchorperson, Nicky Katt as Carnoburger cashier Bartholomew, Amanda Bearse as Barmaid, Cress Williams as Peanut, Skinny Puppy as Gang of goons, Perry Farrell as Stop ‘n’ Go clerk, Heidi Fleiss as Liquor store clerk, and Khristofor Rossianov as Don.

On release by Trimark Pictures no October 27, 1995, several scenes were cut from the original version shown at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 1995. But the film was restored in 4K with 5.1 surround sound, with the restoration supervised by Araki, and it was shown at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Araki said: ‘There was an R-rated cut of Doom Generation that was made without my approval, and it’s terrible. It’s been butchered beyond recognition, and I’d prefer that people don’t watch it at all than watch that copy of it.’

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Film Review 1,040 derekwinnert.com

The Doom Generation (1995, Johnathon Schaech).

The Doom Generation (1995, James Duval).