The Doom Generation

The Doom Generation is a 1995 black comedy thriller film written and directed by Gregg Araki. The film follows two troubled teenage lovers, Amy Blue (Rose McGowan) and Jordan White (James Duval), who pick up a young handsome drifter named Xavier Red (Johnathon Schaech). After Xavier accidentally kills a store clerk, the trio embarks on a journey full of sex, violence, and people from Amy's past. Billed as "A Heterosexual Movie by Gregg Araki", The Doom Generation is the second film in the director's trilogy known as the Teenage Apocalypse film trilogy, the first being Totally Fucked Up (1993) and the last one Nowhere (1997). The characters of Amy Blue and Jordan White are based on the Mark Beyer comic strip "Amy and Jordan".

The Doom Generation was Araki's major film debut. It was shot mostly at night during January 1994 in Los Angeles on a budget of $800,000. The crew avoided well known landmarks and shot in undeveloped areas of urban sprawl to give the film an apocalyptic feel. The budget allowed Araki to hire professional crew, making it the first of his films not shot by himself.

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 1995, before appearing at various other film festivals. It received mixed reviews from critics. During the press screening, many of the critics walked out. However, at the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), the film received critical acclaim, most proclaiming it as Araki's breakthrough film. Distributed by Trimark Pictures, it was released in the United States on October 27, 1995. The film was not a financial success, earning only $284,785 at the box office. McGowan was nominated for the Best Debut Performance at the 11th Independent Spirit Awards.