The Doomsday Machine: A Cinematic Odyssey into the Abyss
In the vast landscape of science fiction cinema, certain films stand out as timeless classics that transcend the boundaries of time and space. One such gem is The Doomsday Machine, a film that catapults audiences into a campy narrative filled with over-the-top science-fiction troupes that could only solidify the film’s place in cult classic history. Released in 1972, the film has gained a dedicated fan base over the years and is celebrated for its “historical futuristic” (that makes sense when you think about it) aesthetics.
The film opens with a single spy trying to gather intel from a facility lacking in guards. Once inside the building, the spy kills a scientist in one of the most unique ways you can imagine; she strangles her with the victim’s own hair. After the murder, she makes her way to the mission object and takes photographs of a caged robot. The robot is the Doomsday Machine. Going back to “historical futuristic,” this scene is exactly what I mean. This is what many imagined the future would look like big red gumball-looking machines that could destroy everything. I do not hate this aspect of the film; I find it extremely charming and nostalgic.
We are then taken to a space station, where a press conference is taking place to discuss a space mission to the planet Venus. Just before the astronauts board the spacecraft, they are told that they must replace three members of their crew with women. The men are not fans of this, and one even says, “Women? Now I’ve heard everything”. The film was released in 1972. However, that was nine years after Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space, so the reactions of the men were strange, even for the times. The scene continues to show the distaste the men have for bringing women along with them. They begin discussing emotional stability and other things. It is just hard to watch, knowing that even at that time, women were excelling the same as men in these areas.
Once inside the spacecraft, the retro sci-fi aesthetics come back in a big way. The chairs they are all sitting in look like everyday recliners, and their helmets are obvious motorcycle helmets. They shove a couple of large cabinets in the back with some reel-to-reel machine in them so that we know it’s science stuff. I love this type of movie. It calls back to a simpler time when magic almost seemed real. We didn’t know what the inside of a rocket looked like in the 70s; I mean, some people did, but your everyday 10-year-old kid had no idea. I sometimes wish I could go back to the early days of science fiction to feel that out-of-this-world magic before we all knew better. New films must have amazing graphics, and they have a time and place, but the campy stuff will always be it for me.
The rocket then blasts into space, and the discussion of why the Pentagon forced them out into orbit so fast begins. They quickly concluded that China may have destroyed the earth. The discussion of why the women are with them comes up again now. The consensus is that they are a sort of floating Adam and Eve pod, ready to repopulate if needed. A quest to save the species. Then, they see that the end has finally happened; the Earth is no more. Members of the crew start losing their cool as they realize they are alone. Now, the fear of becoming sterile due to the radiation from the atomic war starts setting in. One of the crew members starts getting more aggressive with his flirting and takes it a step further when he tries forcing himself on one of the women. She fights him off, and the rest of the crew comes to defend her. It is evident that this man is losing his mind.
Unfortunately, new calculations have determined that only three crew members can finish the flight; the rest will not make it. They set up a computer to decide who goes, and when the man losing his mind finds out he was not chosen, all hell breaks loose. He pulls the girl he’s been chasing into an airlock and begins forcing himself on her again. He throws her across the room, and she hits the airlock open button, which opens a door into space, and they both die. But they do not get sucked out of the ship; they just kind of hover in the room with blood coming out of their faces. Another great example of something we now know couldn’t happen, but back in 1972, this would have been terrifying.
Then, one of the power boosters must be repaired, so one of the men and one of the women go out to fix it. While outside, they see a space station and decide just to glide over to it. Once inside, they boot up a computer, but nothing really happens. Not in the plot, in the scene! For eight minutes, it is just a shot of the two sitting in front of a computer, not saying anything. Finally, some audio comes in that says, “We are the collective mind of the planet. Your ship no orbits”. The voice goes on to tell them they are not welcome and that the time of humans is over. Then, another ridiculously long pause, and the voice goes on to say that they need to travel to the edge of the universe because their journey now begins. And that is the end of the film.
The premise of this film is great: a crew of astronauts is set to man a craft heading for Venus when the government finds out about a doomsday machine and decides to switch the mission to preserve mankind covertly. Then, things take a terrible turn in space, and choices must be made. The suspense and plot are there, but the editing is not. So many scenes should have been cut from this film, mostly in the end. It felt rushed, and certain scenes were left in just for time’s sake. Having said that, if you love campy science fiction, this is a great one to watch. But we all know that when watching a classic campy film, there are things we don’t really want to look past but take stock of instead. Take in the cheap settings, the poor acting, and over-the-top scenes, and enjoy them.