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Man of Doom

Any suggestions for a live-action Doom fan film I'd like to make someday?

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So building upon this last thread I've made on the lack of live-action Doom fan films, I figure that making a potential fan film shouldn't be out of the question.

 

So unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of months, it's pretty much well-known that a new Doom movie is going to be revealed then released soon. While I do have confidence in the filmmakers that they'll be able to pull off a solid effort in creating both an entertaining action flick and a faithful Doom adaptation, I completely understand the apprehension that many people may have about this upcoming movie.

 

In the event that the movie does end up sucking just as hard as the 2005 Doom movie, that's part of the reason why I plan on doing a big fan film for Doom (another reason being a noticeable lack of fan films for Doom despite the popularity of Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal).

 

So I plan for this to be an entirely original take on the Doom mythos, but I'm really not sure how to do it, which is why I'm looking for ideas on what to do with this potential fan film.

 

Some ideas I have include what's basically a routine clean-up job in an infested base, an alternate take on Olivia Pierce, basically a normal day in the life of Doomguy and his quest to rid the Earth of demons. However, this particular profile of the Doomguy is the driving inspiration behind the prospective fan film, a quote from @Rifle Infantry:

 

Quote

Deeply, deeply, deeply fucked up.

 

He's killed so much that it's an ancillary action now. He's not unlike a former human, in a sort of detached daze as he guns down countless Hellspawn. One of the reasons he works mostly alone is because he has to stop himself from reflexively shooting other Marines as he rounds a corner, owing to how many zombies have contributed pinkish bullet scars into his torso by now. When he walks down a ruined street, other Marines stop short and stare at him with gazes that are half respectful and half incredulous. His reputation and power have reached the point where the Marine Corps simply directs him to the biggest demon staging areas if they wish it to be cleared.

 

His entire body is a pockmarked landscape of craters, scars, and burns from the sheer abuse he's taken, and he quivers from stimpack addiction that's only been quelled by the sheer adrenaline of demon killing so far. Weighed down by the guns he carries- most commonly a double-barrel shotgun he found sitting in a dark maintenance under-hall back on Earth- he clanks as he walks, his battered body armor crisscrossed with ammo belts and shell holders.

 

At first, it was terrifying for him. Former humans and imps were something to hide in a vent from. Now he simply kills them as he goes along. Most demons, despite normally being psychopathic murderers ready to turn on one another in a moment if so much as accidentally grazed, will shit themselves when they see him.

 

Though it's not represented in Doom's simple AI, I always imagine Imps backpedaling and flinging fireballs in an absolute panic when they see him. Former humans, even though the murderous daze they normally go about their duties enshrouded within, know enough to scream, throw down their rifles, and sprint as fast as their legs can carry them in the opposite direction. Cacodemons and Pinkies are perturbed by the sheer amount of death that he stinks of. Hell Knights carry a terrified respect for him and even Barons rue the day they see him. Revenants were already unlucky enough to have met him once; how they can muster the courage to try again is beyond me. Mancubi smell burned meat and dried blood, and in their greed believe they could take him on. Arch-Viles, the highest priests of Hell, whisper unholy prayers under their lips as they hear the approaching sound of clanking ammo chains and the gentle whirr of a BFG's main reactor.

 

The only thing that drives most demons to fight him is the knowledge that if they run, a far worse fate than a simple shotgun to the chest awaits them. Cyberdemons are foolish. Their computerized scanners tell them that they have 40 times his durability and far superior weaponry. Most of them privately believe that he hasn't really killed all the demons he is said to have. Well, before he took a rocket launcher to Baphomet's forehead, that is. Now demons know him as the one who killed their overlord and creator.

And throughout it all, what's left of him?

 

Nothing.

 

He doesn't even know his own name anymore. When the computers on Phobos went berserk during the first incursion, his file was wiped. He's killed so much, taken so much trauma, that he has forgotten who he was or what his name is. All personality has been worn away by years of incurring the same trauma over and over again. All that's left is years of honed instincts, military training, and well-drilled knowledge of heavy weaponry.

 

Sometimes, when a battle is over for a time, he might amble into a deserted house and search the fridge. He might chew on some leftover ham steak to quell approaching hunger pains or guzzle a Corona in a mini-fridge downstairs in a futile attempt at wiping away the things he's seen. Perhaps an imp will wander inside- it's those times where he reaches down to that ancient holster of his, draws his Beretta 2092, and blows the little bastard away in a cute little imitation of that first time all the way back on Phobos.

After 48 hours of continuous operation, fueled by a handful of Berserk packs, he collapses in a barricaded room- checked three times, after the time a former sergeant attempted to gut him with a bayonet as he slept- and a few tears might roll down his dusty, bloodied cheeks as he drifts away for a few hours of fitful, restless, dreamless sleep.

 

They call him Doomguy. That's what he reckons he is now.

 

The bringer of Doom.

 

Finally, assuming I had an unlimited or at least sizable budget to pull this off, what would you like to see in this Doom fan film?

 

For example, what locations would you like to see? What demons should be present?

What guns should make an appearance?

Any powerups that should make a cameo?

Any other characters from previous titles that should get a mention? (It can be anything Doom-related from Quake 3 Arena to Doom 3 to Doom 2016.)

 

Any kind of suggestion is completely welcome.

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Reading my own old forgotten quotes is both interesting and incredibly cringe-inducing at times.

 

My thoughts on a Doom II movie (because let's be straight, every Doom movie is always the first game with hints of 64):

  • Doom I and Doom II Doomguys would be split up; Doom Iguy would be locked up in intensive medical care, being mentally broken by his ordeal in Hell, and would be mentally unfit to appear in public, though he has become a myth and a symbol of pride among the Marines.
  • Doom IIguy (hereafter just Doomguy) is a USSMC soldier, fighting on the front lines during the last stages of a worldwide Hell invasion. His name is not given (minimalistic presentation).
  • Flashes of Full Metal Jacket/Enemy at the Gates style sequences early-on involving intense urban ground combat between demonic forces and the Marines/other local human infantry. The humans are seeking to capture the city starport so that they can escape to off-world stations on Mars and in orbit; Earth as a defensive position is unsustainable.
  • Emphasis on the unearthly horror of fighting Hell; demons that simply do not give up after being shot numerous times, giant bullet-resistant Hell Knights wading into rifle fire to throw what amounts to napalm, and having your squadmates possessed and promptly turning their guns on you.
    • Humanity is losing, the Marines are pretty much the last organized source of resistance, and it is clear that unless a miracle happens mankind is doomed.
  • Doomguy's platoon is wiped during a catastrophic encirclement by possessed forces (those reserves that were holding back? Thanks to that damn Arch-Vile they're now firing their LMGs and mortars into the back of the front line). He is the sole survivor.
  • Doomguy tries to make his way to safety initially, dodging gangs of possessed civilians (compare them to barely-restrained and organized Crossed in behavior), but ultimately realizes that Hell's hordes are overtaking the city, and he has no way to go but inward
  • Doomguy makes his way toward the starport, the original objective of the mission; figuring that he has nothing else he can do. He arrives but finds that the demons have erected a vast barrier of fire over it blocking any launches, controlled by a powerful demon holding a portal to Hell open to draw forth hellfire for the flame barrier. Doomguy kills the demon with a heavy weapon, but is drawn into the portal as the barrier collapses.
  • Doomguy wanders through hell, and realizes that no matter which way he goes, he approaches the center (weird non-Euclidean geometry). His mental state gradually declines as he sneaks and fights his way toward the center of Hell. He gradually begins to resemble Doom Iguy in mannerism (taking a very similar journey) and stocks up on heavy weapons taken from the possessed and from random portions of Earth phasing into Hell as the realities merge at the border. He switches weapons from an assault rifle to a shotgun.
  • Doomguy finds the Icon of Sin, a writhing, tortured beast birthing new demons through a sucking hole in its skull, a giant thing chained into the core of Hell. He loses his mind and attacks it even as demons bear down on him. When he kills the Icon of Sin, he finds the demons around him backing away in fear, and is allowed to leave Hell freely with no demons daring to attack him.
  • Shots of him trekking home as the inhabitants of Hell watch him retrace his steps. When he finally reaches Earth again he finds it a wreck, but is contacted by the Marines, who inform him that Hell has retreated and across the world humans are retaking their homes.
  • Doomguy is so mentally taxed by the experience that he isolates himself from society and is ultimately committed to a military hospital. He ends up in an identical state to Doom Iguy by the end of the movie.
  • As he lives in the hospital, one day there's an explosion at one end, the familiar sulfuric smell of a portal to Hell opening, and fanatical shouts in German sound through the halls.

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6 hours ago, Man of Doom said:

So building upon this last thread I've made on the lack of live-action Doom fan films, I figure that making a potential fan film shouldn't be out of the question.

 

What kind of experience do you have with making films? If you haven't made anything before then you are in for one hell of a rough ride. Back in 2011 I had this crazy idea to remake the 1971 film Duel. I got a few of my friends together & bought about $8,000 worth of props out of my own pocket. From then until 2014 one disaster after another kept on delaying the project until I finally had to give up on it. Murphy's law comes out in force when making a film, some problems that I had to deal with were trying to find days where all my actors could film at the same time, loosing an entire days worth of filming due to forgetting to turn on the microphone, having an actor move to Alaska, having one of my prop vehicles break down & to make matters worse due to the extreme rarity of said vehicle I couldn't even get replacement parts.

 

Here's my advice from someone from a fool who thought that film making would be a fairly straightforward endeavor.

-Hire actors & set a shooting schedule. It doesn't matter where you live if you go online you can find local actors for hire. Trying to get a group of people together who aren't getting paid is pretty much a complete waste of time & will cause you tons of problems.

-Make it a short film. If I had planned out my Duel remake as a 15 minute short I would have had 3 different versions of the film by the time 2014 rolled around. A short film is far easier to complete that a full length feature.

-Don't get overly ambitious. With more people & props there will be a greater chance that something will go terribly wrong. Keep the film simple & to the bare minimum.

-Gain experience. Make a film dosn't matter what kind of film it is, learn from the mistakes that you will make.

-If you plan on starting a Kickstarter or something to raise funds then you had better have some damned good experience with making films. If you don't & then release a sub par product then you are going to have a lot of people pissed off at you.

 

If you truly with to make a Doom fan film then I wish you luck, it sure as hell isn't going to be easy.

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Don't insert any action scenes. They sucked in the big budget movie and they will suck in yours 1000 times more. Since you most likely don't have much money you'll have to rely on things that don't really require it. Clever dialogues and powerful mood should be your main strengths. Maybe the whole film could be about two veteran marines in a bar reminiscing about the old times. With some twist at the end ("you are the demons").

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How about making an anthology? This is the subject of a thread I made awhile back, on how an anthology could fit the Doom universe well. I've even come up with ideas on different segments.

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