When you think of accomplished or renowned directors, Neil Marshall isn't a name which would ordinarily come to mind, but his relatively small filmography is already a solid body of work and is well worth investigating.
In 2002 Neil Marshall released his feature length directorial debut, Dog Soldiers. Although considered a B-Grade film, for it's relatively low budget, the film packed some serious British star power and some outstanding (non CG) special effects. For a Werewolf film, it tried to be a little different and I believe successfully set itself apart. Encapsulating the groundbreaking transformation effects of An American Werewolf in London and the impressive werewolf design on par with The Howling series, you can quickly see where most of the small budget was spent.
The film sees a squad of British soldiers on a "war games" style training mission in the Scottish highlands, but things quickly turn for the worse when they encounter the bloody remains of their Special Ops opponents. As the moon rises their numbers begin to dwindle and they find themselves in a race for survival to see daybreak.
Although stuck in a never ending developmental hell, there is a proposed sequel to Dog Soldiers (Dead Meat) in the works (and has been for MANY years) and a web series which never seemed to quite get off the ground, Dog Soldiers: Legacy
The series appears to have stalled and never exceeded anything more than a teaser, but is the brainchild of Kismet Entertainment.
Marshall's follow up was another horror in 2005 with The Descent. The Descent saw rave reviews and quickly found itself on top or must watch horror film lists. With a relatively small female cast the film avoided the usual cliches of nudity and excessive gore and combined the horrors of claustrophobia with a predatorial element which was a true return to the definition of horror (especially with most of the film suspended in darkness). The popularity of the film saw an ill-conceived sequel (as it effectively ruined the end of the original film).
A group of 6 women meet up for an adrenaline rush spelunking adventure. Things quickly turn after a cave-in forces them deeper into the mountain with limited equipment and finite sources of light. But the women soon discover they are not alone and find themselves hunted and outnumbered by a breed of blind subterranean predators.
With the lowest rating on IMDB, Doomsday is, on first viewing, a very hard film to get into and is a mash of several different genres. Seemingly starting out as a Zombie movie it quickly changes to an action film before settling for a while as a post-apocalyptic sci-fi, then, from out of nowhere, it shifts gears to a middle ages-esque setting and eventually closes out with a Mad Max style chase sequence. It really does take a lot to fully grasp the rampant pace the film changes genres and really does take a bit of concentration or else you quickly find yourself lost or losing interest. But for it's unsettled story it is a highly original high octane adventure, and is actually well worth watching.
A Virus infects Scotland and quickly infects millions, killing hundreds of thousands, as a precaution Scotland is walled in to stop the spread of infection. Decades later the virus reemerges in London, and although no one has set foot on Scottish soil since the quarantine, satellite imagery shows uninfected survivors. An elite team is dispatched beyond the wall to find the cure and save the world from further infection.
His final film to date is Centurion, and is a take on the famed disappearance of the Roman Ninth Legion, it's a well acted and unassuming dramatisation of a still unanswered historical question and does well to offer a possible theory on the ill-fated 9th's demise at the hands of a united Pict (Scottish) guerilla army. This topic proved popular as the year after Centurion, The Eagle starring Channing Tatum was released, but pales in comparison.
After the regimented Ninth Roman Legion are ambushed a small group of survivors are forced to employ guerilla tactics when they find themselves trapped behind enemy lines. As they run for their lives they are tracked and slowly killed off as they desperately try to make their way back to safety beyond Hadrian's wall.
Neil Marshall has been attached to several films, but none of those have come to fruition (with him at the helm). In the meantime he has directed a few episodes of Game of Thrones, including the hugely popular Season 2 battle of Blackwater episode (entitled Blackwater). He has also directed a few episodes of the television series Black Sails, but having watched the first episode, it's not great. Personally, I'm looking forward to his next film, especially if he is again the writer (as he is of the four films mentioned in this post).
Thank you Neil Marshall, your contributions to film are appreciated.
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