10 Amazing Teen Movies You Might Have Missed

The Doom Generation is Gregg Araki’s middle entry in what was dubbed the Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy, preceded by Totally F*cked Up and followed by Nowhere. It was extremely divisive with critics at the time of release but over time and in retrospect, it has stood the test and remains an excellent watch.

Starring Rose McGowan and James Duval as Amy Blue and Jordan, characters based on a comic strip by Mark Beyer. They are two misguided teenage lovers who pick up a slightly older Drifter, Xavier Red, late one night after leaving a club.

Soon enough, they end up in a Kwik-e-mart, someone gets decapitated and they go on the run, and more unfortunate deaths ensue. Throughout this, the trio become entangled sexually, which inevitably leads to them all bedding down together and eventually leading to quite a tragic and disturbing ending.

As a snapshot of the extreme end of teen counter-culture in the mid-90s, Araki’s film really works. McGowan is an absolute thrill to watch here and gets some great one-liners and insults out of the script. All three teens are clearly quite detached from their actions, never seeming to show much emotion of any sort about any of the deaths they cause, with the exception of a dog they hit with their car.

The narrative and dialogue are extremely nihilistic throughout and this may prove off-putting to some and the amoral portrayal of the characters was certainly an issue for critics at the time.