Mirror mirror, on the wall, what the most awesome film on DVD today of all?
A cumbersome opening, to be sure, but the long and short of it is, today, The Asylum's latest production introduces itself to the world via DVD/Blu-Ray/VOD: Grimm's Snow White.
Simply scroll down a few inches to find my notes on the film, which overall I thoroughly enjoyed as an intelligent, thrilling, fantastical twist on the fairy tale. GSW stars the lovely and talented Eliza Bennett as the titular princess, Jane March as her wicked and vain stepmother, and Jamie Thomas King as the charming Prince.
Written by Naomi Selfman (Mega Python vs Gatoroid, 18 Year Old Virgin) and directed by Rachel Goldenberg (Sherlock Holmes, Princess and the Pony) - two of the Asylum's best, in my humble opinion - this one's a guaranteed good time, but don't take my word for it, I'm biased as hell, go see for yourself then spread the word!
For their next release - Grimm's Snow White, on DVD this coming Tuesday - The Asylum has gotten their fingers on the classic fairy tale and given it their own personal twist, which naturally includes murder, mayhem and tremendous monsters. Dig the plot:
When the King is killed by ferocious reptile beasts, his Queen takes control of the kingdom. She tries to kill her beautiful stepdaughter SNOW, but she escapes into the enchanted forest...
In my continuing effort to not spoil films when I review them, I won't go much deeper into the plot except to say that this ain't your little sister's Snow White, not by a long shot.
The film is anchored with vibrant performances from its leads, including Eliza Bennett as the titular princess, who tackles the role as potent yet naive, as beautiful and elegant as a princess should be, but with the hidden soul of a warrior. Jane March as the Wicked Queen is delightfully deceitful and eloquently two-faced; this lady enters a room, it goes stone cold. And Jamie Thomas in the role of the Prince is indeed charming, but more than that he is steadfast and honest, a true prince among knaves, not blinded by his privileged existence but rather impassioned by it, and eager to serve the world.
The script, from Asylum vet Naomi Selfman, retains all the classic elements of the original story, only now with utterly-Asylum updates, most notably the inclusion of said ferocious reptile beasts, and an interesting take on the dwarfs. The result is an epic yet intimate fairy tale on steroids, its more horrifying points amped to the Nth degree. This is Snow White like you never imagined it, the antithesis to the raven-haired, doe-eyed heroine of your childhood; this is dark, brutal, and awesome.
The direction from Rachel Goldenberg, another Asylum vet, is sweeping and elegiac, as Goldenberg makes wonderful use of the beauty and inherent spookiness of the British countryside, formulating the perfect fairy tale setting. Her work, teamed with that of the VFX department - who have hit it out of the park yet again, as far as I'm concerned - creates a film perhaps best described as a period-piece creature-feature, a Merchant-Ivory flick with work from Ray Harryhausen, or The Princess Bride as written by H.P. Lovecraft.
Overall then, if you're looking for a fantastical, frightening twist on a beloved childhood treasure, this is the version for you. Check it out for yourself this coming Tuesday, the 13th, when Grimm's Snow White hits DVD.
In Committed's final spotlight celebrating the creative talent behind The Asylum's next DVD release - Grimm's Snow White on March 13th - we look at actor Jamie Thomas King, who will be playing the role of Prince Alexander.
King started his career, as do many UK actors, with the illustrious BBC, before landing his first movie role in Tristan and Isolde, co-starring the lovely and talented Sophia Myles, and Shakespeare's worst nightmare, James Franco.
From there King landed a 14-episode gig on the steamy historical Showtime series The Tudors, which lead to a trip across the pond and appearances in such notable American TV shows such as "Private Practice," "Mad Men" and "CSI: Miami."
King was most recently seen in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and can next be seen (after Grimm's Snow White of course) in Storage 24, a British horror/sci-fi film.
Dude looks princely to me, but let's find out for sure on March 13th, when Grimm's Snow White comes to town...
There's been an array of info pertaining to new projects coming out of The Asylum these last several days, and today proved no exception: behold the first production stills from next year's Grimm's Snow White.
This is easily The Asylum film that I'm most looking forward to in 2012 (besides one I wrote), based solely on the talent behind the camera: director Rachel Goldenberg (Sherlock Holmes, The Princess and the Pony) and writer Naomi Selfman (Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, Mega Python vs Gatoroid) Both of these people are among the best The Asylum employs, and rank high on my personal list of greats: Ms. Selfman's scripts are smart, funny, thrilling and rife with memorable moments, and Ms. Goldenberg's direction - as proved in spades from these stellar stills - is taut, atmospheric, fantastical and utterly captivating. These two talents working together, then, my expectations go through the roof for this one, and this first look at the production only strengthens that conviction.
Grimm's Snow White stars Jane March, Jamie Thomas King and Eliza Bennett (above) as Snow. Grab it on DVD March 13, 2012.
It was only yesterday that word broke The Asylum was going to be entering production on a new flick Grimm's Snow White, and now today, we have cast and crew info!
First things first, the premise:
When the King is killed by ferocious reptile beasts, his Queen takes control of the kingdom. She tries to kill her beautiful stepdaughter SNOW, but she escapes into the enchanted forest...
Honestly, they had me at "ferocious reptile beasts." Score.
Now for the cast: it's uncertain who's playing who, but The Asylum has enlisted Jane March - best known for 1992's The Lover and most recently of Clash of the Titans, in which she played Hestia - Eliza Bennett - of Inkheart, Nanny McPhee and most recently the SyFy original Roadkill - and Jamie Thomas King, of "The Tudors" and the upcoming John Le Carre adaptation Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Conventional wisdom would tell us that March will be the Wicked Stepmother, Bennett Snow and King some version of the Huntsman. But again folks, this is The Asylum: who knows what kind of fable-bending tricks they have up their sleeves?
What gets me most excited for this one, however, is who's behind the scenes. The script is from the uber-talented Naomi Selfman (#1 Cheerleader Camp, Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, Mega Python vs Gatoroid) and will be directed by Rachel Goldenberg, another inmate with talent to spare (Sherlock Holmes, Princess and the Pony). Both of these women are among my favorite contributors to The Asylum; if I had Selfman's filmography I'd make it into a t-shirt and Goldenberg has perhaps the most innovative, interesting and unique eye of all Asylum directors. With these two working together, we are guaranteed an intelligent, mesmerizing, action-packed and gorgeous film.
Prepare your loved one now, because this bad boy drops Valentine's Day (2/14) of next year.
