‘The Doom Generation’
The middle chapter of writer/director Gregg Araki’s outré “Teenage Apocalypse trilogy” is The Doom Generation, his 1995 meth-fueled road trip comedy slash nihilistic horrorshow. Beautifully restored in 4K and featuring some legitimately jawdropping scenes that were originally excised from the theatrical and home video cuts due to their extremely graphic and disturbing nature, Araki’s film revolves around the sexually fluid slacker couple Amy Blue (a firecracker Rose McGowan) and Jordan White (the Keanu-esque James Duval) and how their already tenuous existence spirals out of control as soon as they encounter the devastatingly handsome drifter Xavier Red (a devious, devilish Jonathan Schaech) at a convenience store. Part Heathers and part True Romance, this boundary-smashing sensation is currently streaming on The Criterion Channel (alongside Araki’s Totally F***ed Up and Mysterious Skin) in honor of Pride Month.