In my humble opinion, one of the most overlooked films of the past few years is “The Descent” — a creepy, psychological thriller so terrifying that the studio gave adult diapers to film critics before the screenings.

Now director Neil Marshall is hard at work on “Doomsday,” his follow-up sci-fi flick about a killer virus. “This plague wipes out the planet, and certain people are immune — very few of them,” the legendary Malcolm McDowell explained. “They’ve built this huge wall up between England and Scotland. I mean, it’s Hadrian’s Wall, and the Scots have been trying to keep the English out for millenniums. Finally they’ve kept them out, but [my character’s] daughter gets through. It’s a complex but wonderful script.”

The first images from “Doomsday” recently went live on the film’s Web site, and the recently-wrapped futuristic pic is expected to be released in 2008.

“I was very taken with him and with the film,” McDowell said of his director. “It’s a very good script. … I have this wonderful cameo, a terrific part that’s this King Lear kind of character, medieval almost. It was quite beautiful, actually — I also get to do a great voiceover in the film that goes all the way through from [my character’s] point of view; he’s the voice of the movie.”

In addition to McDowell, the flick features Bob Hoskins and newcomers Rhona Mitra (”The Number 23″) and Martin Compston (”A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints”), alongside “Descent” veteran Nora-Jane Noone. “They were in Capetown, South Africa; that’s where they shot the majority of it,” McDowell added. “We shot my bit in Scotland.

“Neil Marshall is a tremendous talent,” he finished, drawing a horror-fueled comparison to his “Halloween” boss. “He’s sort of an English Rob Zombie, if you like.”