3 More Asylum FIlms Go Theatrical!!!

Following in the footsteps of last year's #HoldYourBreath, The Asylum has 3 more films on its docket slated for limited theatrical release: the comedy Cleaver Family Reunion, which hits screens on March 29th; dramatic actioner Barrio Pitfighter, the film I told you about yesterday, which premieres on June 25th; and super-rad disaster flick 100 Degrees Below Zero, which opens on April 12th.

This last one makes me RIDICULOUSLY HAPPY, as I was fortunate enough to get to write the script for it, along with Richard Schenkman (Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies). I was even more stoked to find out that one of the theaters showing 100 is right here in beautiful-ish Portland, Oregon, where I reside. So get ready for some rowdy photos from that showing. 

No complete list is yet available of what theaters where will be hosting these Asylum flicks, but rest assured the second I know it, you'll know it. Viva Asylum!!!

A Bunch of Info on a Bunch of New Asylum Projects!

With the New Year now in full swing, there comes info on a handful of The Asylum's 2013 slate, including release dates, new projects, and posters. Let's get into this, shall we?

First up, there's a new poster and a release date for last Halloween's SyFy-Zombie venture, Rise of the Zombies. I don't know what's scarier here, the zombie horde, or huge Trejo-face. 

The film also stars Mariel Hemingway, Ethan Suplee, Heather Hemmens, French Stewart, and LeVar Burton, and comes courtesy of director Nick Lyon, maestro of 2011's Zombie Apocalypse - shout out to the zombie tiger - working off a script from Keith Allen and Delondra Williams. This gore-fest lands on February 12th, Lincoln's Birthday. 

Next up is 500 MPH Storm, whose poster can be found a few inches below this in the previous post. The storm-flick features Casper Van Dien, Michael Beach, and Sarah Lieving, and will street on February 26th, Johnny Cash's birthday.

Then there's plot, cast, and release date info on two new Asylum films, 100 Below Zero and Age of Dinosaurs. 

The former (a.k.a. Dead World and 50 Degrees Below Zero) is a polar disaster flick from director Richard Braunstein (Layover) and screenwriters Richard Schenkman (Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies) & H. Perry Horton (2-Headed Shark Attack, this blog). The plot: 

"When a chain of volcanic eruptions rips through Europe, the enormous ash cloud blocks out the sun, plunging the continent into a new ice age. An American couple must find their college-aged kids and get them out of Paris before it freezes over."

The film stars Jeff Fahey, Johnathan Rhys-Davies, and the lovely Sara Malakul Lane (left), and will be released on July 23rd.

Then there's Age of Dinosaurs, which we already knew was directed by the super-talented - and a Committed fan fave - Joseph Lawson (Nazis at the Center of the Earth, Clash of the Empires), written by Hank Woon Jr. (the above-mentioned 500 MPH Storm), and stars Treat Williams and Ronny Cox, but what we didn't know is just what this yarn's about. Well, now we know:

"Using breakthrough flesh-regeneration technology, a biotech firm creates a set of living dinosaurs. But when the creatures escape their museum exhibit and terrorize Los Angeles, a former firefighter must rescue his teenage daughter from the chaos brought on by the Age of Dinosaurs."

Film streets May 7th.  

Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies on DVD Today!

The film destined to be one of the biggest - if not the biggest - Asylum films of the year, Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies, is at last on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD as of the instant you read this sentence.

The film - whose plot the title pretty much sums up - comes from writer/director Richard Schenkman and stars the great and talented Bill Oberst Jr. (A Haunting in Salem, Born Bad) as the 16th President of the United States, who slings a wicked scythe.

For a more in-depth analysis of what I thought of the film, just scroll down a couple inches. Otherwise, go now and procure your copy of truly one of the most-unique zombie films to date; you won't be sorry, guaranteed.

observation notes: ABRAHAM LINCOLN vs ZOMBIES

As the title would indicate, the plot of The Asylum's latest offering, Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies, is pretty straightforward:

"While the Civil War rages on, President Abraham Lincoln must undertake an even more daunting task: Destroying the Confederate Undead."


The results? Extraordinary. ABvZ is a nice, thick slice of revisionist history madness, a gore-weltering, zombie-emancipating, president-bolstering piece of cinematic magnificence, and to miss it would be to give up on all fun in your life.


As always, Committed's notes are spoiler-free, but certain aspects of this tour-de-force must be acknowledged, beginning with the performance by Bill Oberst Jr. (A Haunting in Salem, Princess and the Pony) as our 16th President. Holy crap. Oberst is dead-on (pun totally intended) as Lincoln, giving as textured and encompassing a portrayal as Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain, only, you know, with hella more killing. The cadence of the man, his stature, his stern resolve, moral tenderness and his limitless sense of duty; all are layered into Oberst's towering on-screen persona. There is no other actor who could have pulled this off, period. Oberst is the star here in every sense of the word, the film is his, and he carries it proudly, defiantly, and with expertise.


It is a zombie movie, after all, so something must be said of the effects, which I found to be appropriately for the era and its available kill technology. This isn't the messiest zombie flick of the year, but it is perhaps the most nuanced, and certainly the only one featuring two American Presidents (you're gonna love when you find out who the second one is, trust me).

Overall, I found ABvZ to be a glorious mash-up of Night of the Living Dead and Munich, shot kinda like The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, seriously. Writer/Director Richard Schenkman has turned in a well-researched, well-integrated film that achieves perfect pitch as a period horror film, a burgeoning sub-genre sure to flood the market in the next few years.* Schenkman did his homework, and it shows. This is a smart, exciting, thrilling and ultimately righteous film-going experience. And, as a Southerner, it's possibly the best we've ever been represented in a Civil War movie - as brain-hungry, mindlessly-violent zombies. Enjoy!




* a reminder that I have called dibs on Robert E. Lee vs Bigfoot, or really any concept that involves Rebel troops fighting one or more Sasquatch.

Lovely Ladies of the Asylum vol. 9

I'm not a fool, gentlemen. I know what brings you here, what lures you in, coaxes your hits, some of you at least. It isn't the snarky commentary, or the breaking news, the hard-hitting interviews or deep-digging profiles, no, it's not me at all, is it? I see the keywords from my Google hits, and I know a picture of a pretty lady brings in more readers than the phrase "observation notes." 

Not that I can blame you: The Asylum employs a score of attractive and - more importantly - capable, intelligent and talented actresses well worth your search engine adoration. So, to gives my readers something I know they want and would never ask for, I tastefully present a pictorial tribute to some of The Asylum's beautiful leading ladies, this time the stars of the studio's remaining 2012 productions. Enjoy.

Johanna Watts

American Battleship


out 5.22.12

Baby Norman


Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies

out 5.29.12

L - R: Erin O'Brien, Jamie Noel, Samantha Stewart, Rachel Alig, Virginia Peturcci
Bikini Spring Break
out 6.26.12

Stephanie Greco


Haunting of Whaley House

out 7.31.12

AnnaMaria DeMara


Super Cyclone

out 8.24.12

Ming Na


Super Cyclone

still out 8.24.12

New Asylum Tidbits

Couple new things coming out of The Asylum camp today, including the poster for Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies and the title and description of a new found-footage film.

Let's start with the poster:

That there folks is a pretty fine poster. Bill Oberst Jr. (A Haunting in Salem, Princess and the Pony, Born Bad) plays the President in question. The film is out May 29th.

Then, continuing their string of found-footage hits - The Amityville Haunting, Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes, 8213 Gacy House, Paranormal Entity - The Asylum brings us Alien Origin this summer. These are the only details provided: "Recently discovered footage from a lost military expedition exposes a horrifying truth about the genesis of life on earth. "

The film is set to street on June 12, and should be at least a thousand times better than the second X-Files movie...

ABE LINCOLN VS ZOMBIES Teaser Trailer!!!

Just like the headline says, the teaser trailer for Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies has risen over at You Tube, and this shizzle looks AWESOME. Check it out:

That's Bill Oberst Jr (A Haunting in Salem) playing Honest Abe in a film written and directed by Richard Schenkman. May 29th...that's the day your perspective on American History shifts forever...

Huzzah! First Stills From Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies!

Having just wrapped production in Savannah, Georgia on their latest masterpiece, Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies, The Asylum was kind enough this evening to post the first stills from the film on their Flickr page. And in a sentiment, this looks fucking awesome.

That's Bill Oberst Jr (A Haunting in Salem) as the president in question, and from the looks of it, he was pretty smart casting. Watch these picture come to bloody life when Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies hits DVD on May 29th.

A Look at Upcoming Asylum Films

Even for someone who follows The Asylum as closely as I do, it can be tricky keeping up with what's coming out, especially seeing as 2012 promises to be the studio's most productive to date in its 15 year history. So what I thought I'd do is rundown a list of Asylum productions already scheduled for release in the coming months. I'm quite sure by the time I publish this it will already need updating.

Grimm's Snow White

written by Naomi Selfman (Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, Mega Python vs Gatoroid)

directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg (Sherlock Holmes, Princess & the Pony)

starring Jane March, Eliza Bennett, Jamie Thomas King

on DVD March 13, 2012

Air Collision

written & directed by Liz Adams

starring Reginald VelJohnson, Jordan Ladd, Gerald Webb

on DVD March 27, 2012

Nazis at the Center of the Earth

written by Paul Bales (2010 Moby Dick, Legion of the Dead)

directed by Joseph Lawson

starring Dominique Swain, Jake Busey, Josh Allen

on DVD April 24, 2012

American Battleship

written & directed by Thunder Levin (script 200MPH)

starring Mario Van Peebles, Carl Weathers, JoHanna Watts

on DVD May 15, 2012

 
  

Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies 

story by Richard Schenkman and Karl Hirsch & Lauren Proctor; screenplay by Richard Schenkman   

directed by Richard Schenkman

starring Bill Oberst Jr.
























...plus at least 4 others films there have been whispers about; as soon as The Asylum drops official word on them, that word will be reprinted here, so keep coming back!

First Details on ABRAHAM LINCOLN VS ZOMBIES!!!

Man oh man is The Asylum putting together an awesome 2012 roster. Today we got the first cast, crew and plot details of the forthcoming classic Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies, and the biggest and best news among all this is that our illustrious 16th President will be portrayed - perfectly, if you ask me - by the one and only Bill Oberst Jr., ill-fated hero of A Haunting in Salem.

Joining Bill in unknown roles are my fellow UNC alum Jason Vail (Guiding Light, Celebrity Ghost Stories, Gut), a lady by the name of Baby Norman, and a fellow named Don McGraw.

Dig the plot: "While the Civil War rages on, President Abraham Lincoln must undertake an even more daunting task: Destroying the Confederate Undead."

I like it, it's simple and to the point. The script comes courtesy of Richard Schenkman - who's also directing - from a story by he, Karl Hirsch and Lauren Proctor. Schenkman is a seasoned director best-know for 2007's Man From Earth, a mind-bending sci-fi flick.

That's all there is for now, but as the film's release date creeps closer - May 22nd - rest assured there will be more gory goodness to come...  

New Asylum Title: ABRAHAM LINCOLN VS ZOMBIES!!!!!

There's really nothing more to this post other than the title and this first-wave poster right now, but The Asylum is currently in the Peach State filming this awesomely-titled masterpiece, an obvious tie-in to Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.

Can this be anything less than utterly outstanding?

(No. The answer is no.)