Doom is directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak

Haunted by More Than Ghosts

On this planet is Reaper’s past. This includes his sister, Dr. Samantha “Sam” Grimm (Rosamund Pike), who chose the path of science and has not seen her brother since he joined the military. “It [the death of their parents] was a huge tragedy in their lives,” comments Pike. “They were teenagers when it happened, and they dealt with it in very different ways. John’s way of dealing with it was to become a kind of killing machine and just obey orders. Sam decided that she would carry on with their parents’ research. That is what caused the rift.”

Sarge questions Reaper’s motives for joining the team on this mission, but Reaper reassures him that he will not let his personal issues interfere with the job. “But, of course that does happen,” Urban notes. “The main reason John goes back to this dreadful place where he grew up and watched his parents die is to get his sister.”

“Their orders are simple,” says di Bonaventura. “Contain and calm down the situation—which at first doesn’t seem that large—that rapidly gets out of control. And they are put to the ultimate test. Some of whom are going to survive, and some of whom will not.”

Sam has heard the transmission from Olduvai Station’s senior scientist Dr. Carmack (named after the “Doom” saga’s creator), whose horrified image signals the catastrophic nature of the emergency. “He is obviously terrified about something, but Sam doesn’t realize what terror has been unleashed,” Pike explains.

The team’s orders are to seal off and secure the underground facility while uncovering what took place at the now-deserted Martian research labs. Tense and on point, the team creeps through dank corridors, abandoned labs and sewers. Each discovery yields an escalating sense of madness and mayhem. This team is prepared for anything—except what they find.

The research station has been overtaken by creatures that are straight from hell. The situation quickly descends into an all-out war, with Sarge and his men attempting to destroy a legion of creatures while struggling to carry out their orders to contain whatever is loose on Mars. “All hell breaks loose,” says Johnson. “And it’s nonstop.”

“The team is suddenly confronted with extraordinary things that don’t belong in anyone’s world,” comments Daniels. “You have some who are ahead of it—like Sarge—talking in very black-and-white terms. Everyone else gets a little fringed around the edges. But they still try to do their jobs with the least casualties possible.”
These monsters are more than human, and it will take more than humans to fight them. “If you’ve got to fight demons, you’ve got to have big weapons,” says di Bonaventura. Though they have come to Mars with plenty of firepower, they pick up new and improved weapons along the way, most dramatically the BFG, a research weapon locked away in its own reinforced chamber. “Sarge stumbles upon it,” says Johnson. “It’s what he has always dreamed about.”

Sarge’s orders are clear—whatever is causing this outbreak on Mars must be contained, which means no one at Olduvai Station gets out alive. “As the situation progressively gets worse and the unit starts to splinter, Sarge starts to go in a very morally dangerous direction,” says Urban.

“There’s a gray area Sarge walks,” notes Johnson. “He does things that are questionable, without a doubt. But at the same time, he has his orders. And they’re logical considering the situation.”

As the team is picked off by increasingly gruesome and deadly demons, Reaper finds himself increasingly at odds with his commanding officer and the orders they’re all sworn to carry out. “Sarge and John have been through quite a few scrapes together and a lot of battles,” comments Urban. “But through the course of this new mission, that relationship gets strained to the point where it starts to deteriorate. A real difference of ideologies, philosophies and morals comes through, and John is forced to make a choice.”

The mystery behind the mutations taking place sheds a horrific light on the work Sam and her colleagues have been engaged in at Olduvai Station. “It goes back to our primal fears about good and evil,” says Pike. “And life and death.”

“The best action and horror movies always have underlying humanistic themes,” notes Wells. “In the midst of all the brutality and action in our film, there are also clear moral choices that the characters must make about who they are going to be and how that will affect not only their own fates…but the fate of their world.”
Universal Pictures Presents A John Wells Productions / di Bonaventura Production of An Andrzej Bartkowiak Film: Doom starring Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, Raz Adoti and The Rock. The music is by Clint Mansell. The costume designer is Carlo Poggioli.

Doom’s visual effects supervisor is Jon Farhat; the film’s editor is Derek G. Brechin. The production designer is Stephen Scott, and the director of photography is Tony Pierce-Roberts, BSC. Doom is co-executive produced by Laura Holstein and Jeremy Steckler. The executive producer is John D. Schofield. It is based on the videogame by id Software. The film is produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and John Wells. The story is by David Callaham; the screenplay is by David Callaham and Wesley Strick. It is directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak.