2012: Doomsday (2008)

What happens when you take a low-budget copy-cat film factory (The Asylum) and create a end of the world Christian epic? You get 2012: Doomsday. (Note: Films with a ":" in the title are usually suspect at best).

For those of you who don't visit the low budget section of Blockbuster, you may not be aware of Asylum's offering to the film palette. Asylum is known for taking titles that the major studios are making, changing it slightly and releasing a low budget "copy" or similar genre flick. Here are some examples:

Alien vs. Predator (Hollywood)
Alien vs. Hunter (Asylum)

Snakes on a Plane (Hollywood)
Snakes on a Train (Asylum)

Transformers (Hollywood)
Transmorphers (Asylum)

10,000 BC (Hollywood)
100 Million BC (Asylum)

You get the idea. They take on special effects heavy Hollywood flicks and try to ride on their coat tails with their weak special effects copies. This production model has been used since filmdom started, with B westerns, B crime dramas, etc. Asylum is the latest to favor financial rewards over artistic innovation. And to their credit, it works.

When films of faith started to generate a market, Asylum created Faith Films and have made two "Christian" epics, Apocalypse and 2012: Doomsday, both of which are a combination of Armageddon, Day After Tomorrow and Left Behind.

And, for the most part, they are both the same film (Apocalypse deals with an impending asteroid collision and 2012 deals with the impending end of time interpreted by the Mayan calendar), however 2012 succeeds more often than it fails. Director Nick Everhart along with director of photography Mark Atkins max out their low budget resources to create a competent and fast moving story about four people who are called to an Aztec temple as the world is about to end.

The film opens with an archaeologist uncovering a hidden Aztec location which holds a large golden crucifix. This is followed by a missionary in search of a doctor to help villagers in a remote Mexican location. Then there is the missionary's father who has forecast the coming cataclysms. And, finally, there is the atheist paramedic who has visions of a cross and an Aztec temple.

During their journeys to the temple they all must overcome weaknesses in their faith. They soon find people beginning to disappear as the end of time draws near.

Both Apocalypse and 2012 share special effect sequences, so don't watch both of them and expect original material. And, in true low budget flare, 2012 re-uses shots within the same film to fill the gaps that were not shot originally. This isn't blatant, but noticeable if you're paying close attention.

The "faith" piece of this Faith Film is light, at best. The characters speak of God in the abstract and, as they deal with loss, offer no real Christian insight into grieving, sacrifice and suffering. And only the missionary at the end of the film really prays to Jesus instead of the generic God.

As one would expect from a company with the history of Asylum, this film is not intended to inspire faith, only to cash in on the growing faith market.

For a low budget film, the directing and cinematography are above average and the acting is solid, for the most part. The script is weak, however, the special effects below average and the faith aspect of the film merely window dressing.

If you're looking for an inspiring Christian film, Faith Films hasn't made one yet. However, if you're a Christian film lover who also enjoys an average b-movie and all of the limitations which that implies, then 2012: Doomsday won't disappoint... much.