Greg Araki is a tough filmmaker for some people to handle. To describe his movies as brash or in your face is likely an understatement, as he seems to have no issue with putting stuff on screen that gives the ratings board absolute fits. He doesn’t shy away from shooting sex, violence, and of course, drugs and rock and roll, and in most instances, makes them the centerpieces of his work. He’s considered by many to be at the forefront of the “new queer cinema” a term that was coined in the early 90’s, so it might seem a bit weird that I chose his self-described “heterosexual movie” as my choice of review.
The Doom Generation was the film that introduced me to Greg Araki a year or so after it’s release in 1995. While I had no idea who he was, I was certainly aware of the bands he chose to place on the soundtrack, which included works by Nine Inch Nails, Love and Rockets, and Porno for Pyros. Heck, even PFP frontman Perry Farrell makes a brief appearance as a convenience store clerk. And of course, once I saw the trailer I just knew I had to watch it.
Like many self-appointed disaffected teens in the mid-90s, I was angsty, angry, and felt the need to lash out at those who just didn’t understand me. So when a film comes along starring the people I absolutely wanted to be, I had to watch it. Starring Rose McGowan as Amy Blue, James Duval as her boyfriend Jordan White, and Johnathon Schaech as their boyfriend/stranger/troublemaker Xavier Red, Doom Generation charts their chaos-filled days as they stumble into problems and constantly make them worse. Soon they are wanted by the law and go on the run, but that doesn’t stop them from fucking and fighting.
It’s a familiar story, especially so soon after True Romance, Natural Born Killers, Kalifornia, and Love and a .45, but what makes Araki’s film unique, aside from the overt queer themes, is that he is fully aware of the ridiculousness of both his characters, their situation, and even the words they speak. On first viewing I didn’t know what to make of the movie because it seemed laughably acted and insane for insanities sake.
But the more I dove into Araki’s films, and realized he’s just as much a provocateur as John Waters, I saw the film for the satire that it is. After all, who can take anything serious when each moment of screentime is spent on situations that make parents groups start writing letters to their congresspeople. It’s childishly aggressive and nihilistic, with overt references to America (pro-America signs are literally everywhere, plus the characters names), angsty teen fetishishs (including tattoos, skull earrings, and drugs) and even Satan himself (everything they buy ends up costing $6.66) It’s so on the nose that I was a little embarrassed that I took the film so seriously on first watch.
However, despite their diet consisting of nothing but junk food, this is hardly a junk food movie. Just as we completely buy into the ridiculousness, Araki provides us with a shockingly upsetting ending just to remind you of the dangers that exist in the world for the LGBTQ+ community. Its hard to watch and hopefully leaves you thinking a little more about those “teenage punks” society is often so quick to dismiss.
The Doom Generation might not be Araki’s best film (that would be Mysterious Skin) and his work is incredibly hard to come by (though it often appears on the Criterion Channel), but he’s a director worth noticing.
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
