Asylum Found-Footage Checklist

In honor of Alien Origin, a found-footage film that marks The Asylum's next release - this Tuesday, June 12th - I thought to put together a list of Asylum found-footage films to date, just to make sure you've seen them all. Enjoy.

Monster

2008

"After a massive earthquake in Tokyo, two American filmmakers document the true cause of the destruction."

Paranormal Entity

2009

"Actual footage of the events leading to the 2008 "murder" of Samantha Finley. This DVD, released against the wishes of the authorities, proves that nothing human caused Samantha's death."  

8213: Gacy House

2010

"John Wayne Gacy murdered 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978 in suburban Chicago. 26 bodies were found in a crawl space beneath his house and 3 others were buried in the backyard. Although the house was completely demolished during the exhumation of the bodies, on May 15, 2004 a group of paranormal investigators wired the home that was built in its place with paranormal detection and surveillance equipment. The outcome of the investigation was grisly, terrifying and disturbing. "

Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes

2011

"The shocking account of history's most infamous case of demonic possession, compiled from the actual videotape and film recordings from over 76 exorcisms. "

The Amityville Haunting

2011

"Actual found footage that documents the horrifying experience of a family that moved into the infamous haunted house."         

The Asylum 2011: Ridiculously Popular

The greatest website in the world, IMDB of course, published this morning its list of the 3, 759 Most Popular Video Titles of 2011, and man, is The Asylum all over it; let's put it like this - if The Asylum's 2011 filmography was a high school student, they'd be a handsome, intelligent quarterback. Twelve titles - that's not a typo, twelve - in the top 100 are Asylum titles, 4 in the top 10. Check it out:

#2 - The Amityville Haunting

#5 - A Haunting in Salem (!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

#6 - Dragon Crusaders

#10 - 2012 Ice Age

#19 - 200MPH

#21 - Barely Legal

#23 - 11/11/11

#24 - 3 Musketeers

#32 - Battle of Los Angeles

#36 - Born Bad

#48 - Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes

#80 - The Princess and the Pony

Congrats to all the fine folks at The Asylum for the much-deserved recognition. And man, if 2011 was this good, I for one can't wait to see how 2012 plays out... 

observation notes: The Amityville Haunting

There's nothing like a good scare for Christmas, I always say, and this year The Asylum has given us just that with The Amityville Haunting, on DVD this coming Tuesday, the 27th.

The studio's fifth found-footage film (behind Monster, Paranormal Entity, 8213 Gacy House and Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes), this one is a collection of home movies from and featuring the Benson family, who early last year moved into a house where 20 years earlier, a man named Robert Defeo Jr. murdered his whole family by shooting them each in the head. You'd think your Realtor would be required to tell you stuff like that. Nope, not if it happened more than three years ago. This is why they make ghost detection apps for iPhone and Android; just sayin' people, you gotta learn to take some spectral responsibility...

Anywho, as I don't like to give away any spoilers in my notes, and as found-footage films are pretty much twist after twist after twist, anything specific you say is giving away something, so I will comment only generally. Think of the film like Anneliese meets Paranormal Entity, a family in conflict with a deeper, darker power than they could have conceived of. The footage is raw, gruesome in spots, and guaranteed to make you jump. Things move very quickly here - only a month after moving in was the Benson Footage discovered - and get real weird real fast; there's a lot of supernatural activity going on in this house - I'd tell you not to blink or you'll miss some of the subtler notes, but I don't think you'll be blinking much. My only advice is to remember to breathe, otherwise, you're gonna pass out like seven minutes in.

If I'm honest, found-footage films aren't necessarily my cup of tea, not because I think they're overdone or anything like that, I just like a little more story than most of them provide. But The Amityville Haunting has a tangible and engaging narrative running through it; the film does not feel like a patchwork of random yet similar events, but rather a skillfully sewn together storyline that mounts in intensity from the first frame to a gut-wrenching crescendo 90 minutes later. Whoever The Asylum got to arrange this one did a bang-up job.

So bottom line, if you enjoy found-footage films, or just horror in general, guaranteed The Amityville Haunting has something that will make you scream. It's a fast-paced, fright-filled story sure to generate some uncomfortable empathy with the afflicted Benson family. It will also teach you to bone up on the history of buildings you consider buying to store your family in, and to maybe not move to notoriously haunted towns. Again, just sayin'...

outisde the walls: March DVD Releases

I recognize that not all great films are made exclusively by The Asylum and that, in fact, there's a whole world of film outside these walls, some of which might actually interest Asylum fans, when they're not watching or re-watching Asylum films, of course. And, being as I'm only looking out for your viewing well-being, here's a peek at some other DVD releases this month which might satiate you between Asylum releases. But remember, as always. Sweet n' Low ain't sugar.


3.1.2011

Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes

Asylum Film

  




Central State Asylum for the Insane 

Faster










 

S.W.A.T. : Firefight
















3.8.2011













The Abducted









  

Half Moon

Jackass 3D

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection XX

Pelt

The Shriven

The Walking Dead: Complete First Season

The Zombie Farm














3.15.2011

Interplanetary

  






Shadow

Sharktopus

Urgency













3.22.2011

Alien 2 on Earth

Battle of Los Angeles


Asylum Film
written and directed by mark Atkins
starring Kel Mitchell and Nia Peeples

  
  




Dark Fields

Devolved

Frankenstein

Siren

Skyline

 Vanquisher

Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes on DVD Today!

For the brave among my fellow faithfully-committed, there's good news (relatively speaking) at your local video store today: the latest Asylum release - and a surprise one at that - on DVD: Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes.

I've said enough at this point about this one, but if you need a refresher, or want some detailed backstory, click here, here, here or even here (link notes) for my insights up until now. But in my faux-professional opinion, if you have an interest in seeing this one, you're gonna want to see it as spoiler-free as possible. 

Either way, beat it like a bat out of hell (sorry) to wherever you crazy kids procure your new releases these days (legitimately, of course) and grab this up toot suite. 

New Asylum DVD!!!! Trailer up now at theasylum.cc

observation notes: Anneliese - The Exorcist Tapes

It's the film that a week ago, we didn't even know it existed, but now here it is, ready for its DVD release this coming Tuesday, the 1st of March: Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes.*

As I believe all such found-footage films - documentary or narrative - are pretty much entirely spoilers, I'm going to make these notes intentionally vague, resorting mainly to the backstory of the film and the tapes within the film, as well as my emotional responses. The biggest spoiler in all found-footage films is: "is it real?" I'm not touching that at this point. After we've all had a chance to view it and form our opinions, I'll be happy to share my stance. But for now, all I'm saying is, "watch the movie and judge for yourself." I will say that the movie begins with a disclaimer stating the footage contained therein is real, has not been doctored, and was gathered for medical purposes. So...there's that.

There are two options on the start-up menu, "Play Tapes" and "Play Documentary." I only mention this because it confused me a little bit, so I thought I'd save you similar turmoil: "tapes" is the film itself; "documentary" is the film about the film, and only runs 9 minutes. 

What is not up for debate is the veracity of the story and the girl behind the film. As I've mentioned a few times, Anneliese Michel was a German teenager in the late 1960's, early 1970's who was purported to have been possessed by demons. After undergoing approximately 70 exorcisms (accounts vary from 66 to 72), Miss Michel died from exhaustion, dehydration and near-starvation. She was 34 years old. Her parents and the priests involved in her exorcisms were charged by the state with negligent homicide in her death, and at the trial, it is an acknowledged fact that tapes depicting the exorcisms of Anneliese Michel were shown. 

No one in the general public had ever seen those tapes until, supposedly, now. 

Discovered and compiled by Jude Gerard Prest, best known in these virtual pages as the Looney-award-winning supporting actor from Mega Piranha, but also an accomplished producer**, what we have here is a first -person filmed account of the poor girl's ordeal featuring Anneliese, her parents, the priests and a small American film crew. It's 90 minutes of visceral footage, emotional interviews, frightening sights and sounds and an on-going debate within the film to mirror the one no doubt most viewers will have: is this behavior real? is this girl possessed?

In short (and vaguely), this film is a disturbing, compelling, gut-wrenching experience, rife of images that won't soon leave your nightmares. And whether the girl on the tape is Anneliese Michel or not (whoever she is, man, does she scare the shit out of me, especially her eyes), that does not change the fact that Anneliese existed, she experienced horrible things in her short life, and this film, by all reports, is an accurate depiction of those experiences. Not for the faint of heart, or the wavering in faith; you're either all in or all out, there's no straddling the subject of this one. But whatever your stance, when you watch it, leave a light on, and if you're so inclined, a prayer or two probably wouldn't hurt.

* because of the rushed nature of this release, I feel compelled to explain for the first time how I get my hands on new releases, if only to assure my readers that I am not, nor do I condone, the illegal downloading or "pirating" of films. music, sure; films: no way. I work, as I've mentioned, in a video store, meaning we get next week's new releases several days early for preparation purposes. that's how I procure early peeks.

** including a pre-production supervising producer gig on "Deadliest Warrior," one of the most awesome shows in the history of visual media.

inmate profile: Anneliese Michel

This one's gonna be a little weird, for a couple of reasons: one, Anneliese Michel is not a willing member of The Asylum. In fact, she isn't a willing member of anything, because she is deceased, and has been for thirty-five years. Secondly, she wasn't an actress, or a writer, or director, or in any way associated with the film industry. She was simply a German teenager in the 1970's who somehow became demonically possessed. In celebration of The Asylum's latest release, Anneliese: The Exorcism Tapes, available on DVD one week from today(!!!), I thought we'd take a closer look into the unfortunate life of a girl at the heart of the 20th Century's most shocking and notorious case of demonic possession.

Anneliese Michel was born to German Catholics in the fall of 1952. A religiously devout child, as a teenager Anneliese began to experience convulsions that evolved into what were believed to be epileptic fits in her seventeenth year. And this is where shit starts getting creepy, because the fits weren't the only abnormal experiences befalling young miss Michel. She began hallucinating during prayers, hearing voices hissing of her damnation, eating insects, sampling her own urine, that sort of crazy shit. Whatever people thought was wrong with Anneliese, it wasn't until she was 23 that the idea she might be demonically possessed was introduced to the canon of thought. It was all downhill from there.

Over the next ten months, Anneliese would suffer through no less than sixty-seven exorcisms, each lasting hours at a time. She died in her sleep, six weeks shy of her 35th birthday, from what officials declared was extensive malnutrition and dehydration. At the time of her death, Anneliese Michel weighed 68 pounds, and still claimed to be plagued by demons. 

Following Anneliese's death, both her parents and the two priests involved were charged with negligent homicide. Tapes of the exorcisms were shown during the case. In the end, the priests were fined; Anneliese's parents were not sentenced. 

It's the abovementioned tapes that The Asylum purports to have - though they've freely admitted they can't be certain the girl in their tapes is actually Anneliese Michel - and it is based on these that they, in association with Actor/Producer/Looney-Award-Winner Jude Prest, have built into a film documenting her ordeal. This will mark the fourth time Anneliese's story has been told in some fashion over the last decade: she is the basis for The Exorcism of Emily Rose starring Jennifer Carpenter and Laura Linney, the German film Requiem from 2008, The Asylum's own Emily Rose tie-in Possession: The Exorcism of Gail Bowers, and now Anneliese: The Exorcism Tapes.

Whether this latest incarnation is actual footage or devilishly intelligent marketing by The Asylum for another found-footage fauxcumentary, I don't really think it matters. This is a fascinating story, a fascinating character, and real or dramatized, my bet is it's gonna scare the shit out me either way. 

Anneliese Gets a Title, Poster and Page!

We already knew The Asylum moves fast, but their latest release is taking the cake: announced only yesterday, the found-footage project centering around German girl Anneliese Michel now has an official title, a poster, and a page on The Asylum site!

The official title is: Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes, and the release date is less than two weeks away, March 1st. 

As I mentioned yesterday, the film is based upon found-footage of the actual exorcisms of Anneliese Michel, the German teen who claimed to be possessed by demons and died as a result of her exorcisms. What we have here are purported to be the actual tapes - actual, not "actual" - of portions of these exorcisms, which if that's in fact what they are, would be an amazingly skin-crawling look into this riveting and terrifying bit of history. But of course, the skeptic in me is keeping on eye on the possibility that this is just a shrewdly marketed Gacy House Redux. 

Either way, we're getting a new Asylum title, and sooner than we thought! Not this Tuesday but the Tuesday after, Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes will be in our greedy little hands. Praise the Lord! Oh...errr...yeah.