The Doom Generation

Plot synopsis:
Teenage lovers Jordan White and Amy Blue pick up a handsome drifter named Xavier Red while driving home from a club. Jordan gives Xavier the nickname "X". A late-night stop at a convenience store leaves the three on the run when X accidentally kills the store's owner, forcing the trio to hide in a motel to avoid arrest. While Jordan and Amy have sex in the bathtub, X learns from the local television news program that the store owner's wife disemboweled her children with a machete before committing suicide, thus, he concludes, removing any possibility of the trio being caught by the police.
Later that evening, Amy has sex with X, even though they do not get along. Eventually Jordan finds out, and things become tense as the two men develop a lingering sexual attraction for one another. As the trio journeys around the city of Los Angeles, they continue to get into violent situations due to people either claiming to be Amy's previous lovers or mistaking her for such. The FBI has a meeting and declares it will find Amy and kill her (exactly the same sentiment is voiced by several other parties in the film). She is mistakenly identified by a fast food window clerk as "Sunshine" and later by a character played by Parker Posey as "Kitten".
Jordan, Amy and X spend the night in an abandoned warehouse, where they engage in a threesome. While Amy goes to urinate, Jordan and X are attacked by a trio of neo-Nazis, one of whom had previously mistaken Amy for his ex-girlfriend "Bambi". The gang proceeds to beat up X and then hold Jordan down as the aforementioned neo-Nazi ties up and rapes Amy on top of an American flag. The group finally severs Jordan's penis with pruning shears and forces it into his mouth. After Amy breaks free, she kills the neo-Nazis with the shears and escapes with X, leaving Jordan for dead. The film ends with Amy and X driving aimlessly on the road with no communication as the film fades.

Tags: comedy, murder, cult, violence, psychedelic, satire, romantic, storytelling

Review:
There was a sadistic violence, a bunch of sex scenes, vulgarity, more graphic violence, more sex, a three way, and an incredibly sad, tragic ending.If you are able to look past all this (many people cannot, mind you), than you will see a good movie about three teenage tortured souls cruising along the urban pits of Los Angeles, who run into a crazy clerk with a shotgun, a crazy drive thru attendant with a shotgun, a nasty blonde with a sword, and some really scary Neo Nazis, who all think Amy Blue is someone else.
Rose McGowen is Amy Blue, the sexy, angry, speed taking, tough as nails lead character, James Duval is Amy's naive, stoner boyfriend Jordan White, and Johnathon Schaech was Xavier Red, the crazy, dangerous, kinky, and violent source of trouble.
Gregg Araki's THE DOOM GENERATION is reminiscent of everything from MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO to THE RIVER'S EDGE to TRUE ROMANCE to the experimental films of Pasolini, of Warhol (Morrisey), as well as of Richard Kern.
The film reveals its thematic message when the most innocent and selfless of its three main characters asks the other, more self-centered, two if they ever think about the meaning of existence.
Dismissing the very question, they reveal to the questioner an answer of sorts, one which suggests that we each create a meaning for ourselves, and are all existentially alone as we do so.While offering us a rather slight story of a pair of teen lovers on the road who encounter a slightly older bisexual who becomes their nemesis, companion, lover and protector, THE DOOM GENERATION offers a great deal of visual style and wit, and some genuine moments of suspense.
In fact, the film's gory and discomforting climactic scene is perhaps the artistic highlight and suggests some real filmaking talent by writer/director Gregg Araki.
Many people don't seem to think so (just check the other comments around here) but his film is extremely stylish and a perfect portrayal of a pop culture generation.
The Doom Generation is an art film trying to please the audience that its making fun of.
But your not even sure if it feels good because towards the end when the climax of violence is happening nobody seems overly upset that the sex has taken such a bad turn.
Any way I could ramble on maybe I'm so brimming with insight because the first time I saw it I was high and then on finally re-watching it I was truly frightened by how many friends I have fit the film's stereotypes.
Gregg Araki's Doom Generation is a satirical look at a generation that has been played out in cookie cutter versions of Gen X films.
Don't get me wrong, Doom Generation is a little more "visual" than let's say, "Reality Bites," but then so is "Nowhere."  The graphic nature of the violence and language play into Araki's satire and even the subliminal messages throughout the film play into the hands of those who look upon the "Gen-X" films as hip because we all go to a coffee house.
being an eastern European guy, I think I can say that this movie requires the watcher to step out of his usual westernized filters he's watching films through, and try to be as objective a listener as possible.
I must disagree with the opinion that this movie has to be taken seriously - this is a weird kind of entertainment, weird in a positive way like those C-trash horrors that are so bad you start to collect them on your shelf.
araki may not be the brightest star in independent film-making, but he's reasonably strong and original.I recommend this to mature people who don't think that knowing high arts requires them to deny their childhood classics or spider-man.
Chances are you'll be  bored watching this movie, even with a slew of sex scenes and a decapitation.James Duval's confused looks and line delivery invite comparison to Keanu Reeves.
I could watch her all day, but it is the sexual tension between Xavier and Jordan that is perhaps even more interesting.It's basically a tale of Cali surf punks hitting the road, and the dialogue is wonderful: A constant stream of brilliant filth comes out of McGowans mouth.
If you can accept that statement, you should watch this movie.By the way, the opening credit "A heterosexual movie by Gregg Araki" is a bit of a flipped bird to reviewers who pigeonholed his last movie with the tag "gay film." "Doom Generation" does have a gay subtext throughout; a very interesting one, too..
But the egregious Gregg Araki has succeeded in making a film about sex and death that is excruciatingly boring.Two of the aforementioned pinheads, played by James Duval and Rose McGowan, pick up a third pinhead on the side of the road.
The violence fails to every really shock the audience, which is a shame, since they could probably use a good jolt to keep them from nodding off.I can forgive a film for having no plot.
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.
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.
One of my personal favorite films is this tale of a road adventure between a teenage couple and a guy they pick up, leading to lots of sex, gory violence and bizarre events.
This one is quite a dark movie, with lots of death and tragedy, but at the same time a brilliant look at the whacked-out characters involved in these harrowing situations.
it's easy to watch this film and call it out for having b-movie acting, but that would miss the point that it's the characters (not the actors) who are detached.too bad gregg araki had to grow up and start making cinema.
What makes this scene funny is the fact that they have already murdered several people throughout the course of the film, and yet when they hit the dog, they show more genuine emotion for hitting this animal than for murdering another human being.
Obviously, it is scenes like the one with the dog that drive the message of the film home.Now, the main problem with the film is how director Greg Araki(Mysterious Skin, Totally F*ckd Up) has to add a little zing to the carnage scenes.
I know that it is just a thing that these characters do, and i know that they don't care who loves who or what they want to do with each other, but they could have at least had an orgy and not just a series of weird encounters.Having said that, i do find the film interesting in its own trashy way.
From sets to the writing of the characters, I think this movie should be watched by anyone who has an open mind to film and life.
It's obvious so much time and energy was spent perfecting the crazy/sexy/cool look and feel of the movie, that the story, acting and the (cringe-inducing)dialog were duly sacrificed to achieve some kind of pop culture statement.
That kind of gimmickry might accentuate a good film, but it also makes a bad film worse, because it comes across as pretentious and self-serving.As a film about the generation of which I'm a member (I was nineteen when this came out), I don't know if I should feel insulted or embarrassed for Araki.
So, I hadn't planned on watching "The Doom Generation" but I stumbled across it late at night and found myself mesmerized...wondering how far he'd go.He went pretty far.This movie is neither as funny nor as deep as it seems to think that it is...
That may have been Araki's point, but that doesn't mean I LIKED it...and I'm not going to complement him on his lack of subtlety...Now, there's something to be said about a movie that puts a Keanu Reeves look-a-like into a three-way sexual sandwich--although, I'm not certain what that "something" would be...
And, I'd be less than honest if one of major motivations for watching the movie all the way through wasn't Rose MacGowan--and for the reviewer who thought she was ugly...errrr...no...(although the less said about Marilyn Manson the better...)If you want a bizarre, mildly funny movie that reminds you of a low budget Natural Born Killers with a pan-sexual twist...and don't mind a little childish nihilistic pandering to the very people he's making fun of (what's the expected reaction--"Ha ha...we're so lame"????)--then go ahead and give this a shot.Warning--don't bother with the "R" rated edit.
It's a hack job--and if you're concerned about extreme sex and violence...what the heck are you thinking about watching this movie for???
I stand by this statement very strongly, for this is the third film I have watched by "director" Greg Araki - "The Living End" and "Nowhere" being the others.
Araki has made an  offensive, horrendously written (dialogue example: "Shut up hamburger face!"), poorly directed film in "The Doom Generation."  It's one of those pictures that knows it's trying to be cool and wants the younger, angst-ridden generation it attempts to portray to buy into such low-rate shock value(Example: Each time the characters enter a convenience store, someone is killed.).
This is Araki's only mission in "The Doom Generation."  It can be seen just as clear in the aforementioned "The Living End" and "Nowhere."  The film is a mess from start to finish, a total hack job.
If you like "Doom Generation" you also going to enjoy "Nowhere" which I consider the best of Araki..
Playing out like the fever dream of a psychotic inmate on death row, this movie attempts to cleverly and darkly walk the edge of the modern teenager's condition, speaking to the heart of the confused and pimply masses across the nation with it's total lack of coherent sense and its indulgence on pointless sex and excessive violence.
Someone wasn't playing their cards right, because if they were, this script would have been buried alongside the dangerous man who wrote it.Many people might like this movie for its reckless attitude towards such things as "decency" and "common sense" and "a plot."  Such people might find the violence humourous in its cartoonish excessiveness, or might see the inane dialogue as funny on the basis of its stupidity.
Watching this film is like locking tongues with Loci, evil god of strife and discord on the seventh platform of hell.My only concern is that some of you might want to rent this movie just so you can see how horrible it is.
this is one of those movies targeted towards pseudo-goth teenieboppers who think they know about film...and it gives them their own little cult flick so they can say anyone who doesn't like this movie "doesn't get it." i got it, and it sucked.
It seems like they were trying really hard to be shocking, but instead it just came off as gory and gross.Check this film out if you wanna see some cheap special effects and homoerotic sex scenes..
Almost nothing in this movie makes sense, not even the gratuitous sex with Rose McGowan (who by the way in 1995 doesn't look even close to as hot as her later 90's self).
If you have nothing worth living for, or feel like throwing your life away, watch this movie.
The last scene and dreary ending song, has always stayed with me, prefore a experimental film of madness, which Araki shows you again, how the gay are wronged, and the independence of their characters living in a world of angst.
All this is demonstrated when Amy engages in sexual intercourse with Xavier, thus creating a specular moment, an instance which reflects a previous one, in which Jordan masturbates while he sees his girlfriend and his new friend copulating (dynamics that bear some similitude to Cristopher Munch's Harry + Max, so it's not surprising to see this filmmaker credited at the end).Nonetheless, one of the most fascinating aspects of the film is the feeling of impending doom that permeates reality over and over again.
Totally brilliant psychedelic film by the director of Mysterious skin and Nowhere, Gregg Araki(one of my favourite directors).He managed to create another brilliant sexual film with that bit of weirdness that I love in films, with brilliant acting by the cast (especially James Duval), with brilliant shots that could only come from a brilliant director like himself.I don't understand why the overall rating is so low, maybe this film is just too far for most peoples stretch, a bit to arty and deranged, a bit to creative.To be seen to be believedA clear 8 out of ten..
Amy doesn't mind Xavier's insults, Jordan doesn't mind that the man is sleeping with his girlfriend, and no one seems to be all that bothered by the fact that X kills someone every time they stop somewhere.The Doom Generation is harsh, and mean-spirited, and can be ugly, at times, just a swell movie, probably Araki's best.
For a "heterosexual" movie, as Araki labeled it (with some irony, I have to think), with plenty of sex between the girl and both guys, the most powerfully erotic scenes are between the two men alone.
Our main plot is centered around Amy- a hot goth-looking chick who is generally annoyed at the world and out of place- her two sidekicks are a sweet but pathetic boyfriend and a new dangerous man Xavier who is rude but knows the ropes better than his two unlikely partners.Something pulp fictionish happens at a store and the trio hit the road and continually encounter people that have a strange desire to be very close to Amy. Everything they buy costs the same amount- it's quite dreamlike at points.This nudges some gay sexual boundaries here and there but it's usually tastefully shot scenes so we don't have to see explicit details- but you still get that potentially uncomfortable idea thrown at you since they are continually co-habitating as a trio.
If you have a lot of gay rage you are going to be annoyed and probably would make a good drinking buddy of the guys showcased at the end of the flick.All in all this is like a teenagers Dali painting on film with a gloomy kinda goth vibe to our lead character.
Does he then become guilty of the same sins he is (literally!) fleshing out on screen?People who love this movie solely because it bravely (or pathetically, depending on your point of view) dares show graphic acts of a disturbing nature are probably not too far off from resembling some of the characters in this movie themselves.
People who hate this movie because it seemed like a pointless, plotless, and tasteless sorry excuse for depicting some of the most gross acts of sex and violence allowable on film are probably missing the whole point that Araki is trying to make.
The title, DOOM GENERATION, gives us a clue of what this film is about, doesn't it?Secondly, it's a road movie.
The guy at the video store recommended this film to me and I must say that this was without a doubt the worst movie I have ever seen.
Gregg Araki is an excellent director, the film is packed with talented actors, and although it is obviously low-budget and the more technical things, like the sound, are often less than perfect, the movie has no problem distributing the blows when it needs to, and delivers a climax that sticks with you for weeks.
Only because I am extremely interested in the industry do I watch it (and would only recommend it to people who are the same), and that's only to find out exactly the kind of movie that I DO NOT want to make.
First of all,  I'm sure Greg Araki is convinced all of the people who hated his 1995 film "The Doom Generation" must have either been offended by it or just didn't understand his "brilliance".
I saw this movie because it was the predecessor to Gregg Araki's "Nowhere," which was one of my favorite films.
Rose McGowan and Jonathan Schaech were both wonderful as the other two main characters, but they've both been better (i.e. she in "Jawbreaker" or "Scream," and he in "Splendor," another Araki movie).
Her scene was by far the best scene in the movie (and she's my favorite actress).As for the rest of the film, I was bored by a lot of it - except for the ending.
This has got to be one of the goriest, raunchiest and darkest teen film I have ever seen, it makes "Heathers" look like a John Hughes movie.
Besides, I don't think it could have been anywhere near as violent as the Doom Generation scene, because Kevin Smith isn't a twisted maniac like Gregg Araki!.
In fact, I think I can only recommend this movie to people who are fans of the stars--it features a pre-Donnie Darko James Duvall and a pre-fame Rose McGowan (both actors are featured in pretty hot sex scenes, for those of you wondering).
Araki wants to shock and disturb but the violence in the film is so empty and meaningless that it doesn't make you feel anything other than apathy.
Not because we feel bad for the characters, mind you, but because Gregg Araki thinks he can make a meaningful ending out of the most senseless violence you could possibly imagine.If you're as mindless as the characters in this movie, then I'm sure you'll love it.