Hodge-Podge Post (assorted ephemera)

No real theme to today's post, just a couple of things I thought my fellow faithfully-committed might be interested in:

First item: the third round of SyFy's Monster Madness bracket challenge opened for voting yesterday, and our hero Mega Shark is still in it, this week facing off against dumb old Dinoshark (who by the way comes out on DVD in a week or so). If we can get through this round, there will be only the semi finals then the finals between The Asylum and creature feature domination. As of 10 a.m. PST today, Mega Shark trailed Dinoshark 41% to 58%, so get the word out, vote early and often, and help Mega Shark assume its rightful place as the nastiest of the SyFy original monsters. The link's right here.

Next up: a really great article from a Mr. Gareth Rees-White (a writer's name if ever I heard one) over at City on the Hill Press, the student-run newspaper of the University of California at Santa Cruz (go banana slugs! send me a shirt, Gareth!), about everyone's favorite independent studio. Dude got face time (or at least phone time) with producer/director/writer David Michael Latt, producer/actor Jude Gerard Prest, actor/writer/director Shane Van Dyke and line producer Mary E. Brown. Not only is the article informative, it gives a real nice sense of what it's like working with The Asylum, the kind of enthusiasm and dedication they bring to each picture. Honestly, it's the best Asylum-centric article I've read in a long while; do yourself a favor and check it out.

And finally, just a reminder that I am now on Twitter, discussing not only all things Asylum, but also offering my unique and jaded insights into other films and elements of pop culture. A particular highlight is the nightly live screening, in which I - often times after a drink or two - will pop in whatever DVD's closest and talk about it in 140 characters or less for the duration of its running time. It's probably only entertaining if you're me, but drop by sometime and find out.


Well, that's all I have today. Enjoy your weekend!

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. 

Cool and Creepy News Involving Exorcism Tapes

This is right creepy stuff here: Anneliese Michel - the young German girl who was the inspiration for The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which, in turn, was the inspiration for The Asylum's Possession: The Exorcism of Gail Bowers - was apparently filmed while undergoing the exorcisms that would in the end kill her. 

While looking for these tapes, Asylum writer/director/partner Paul Bales discovered that they had already been sold to someone. Rats! right? Wrong: that someone was sometime Asylum actor and Looney-Award-Winner Jude Gerard Prest.

So, after some back room deals, everyone got together and decided the most prudent thing to do is team up and get this footage onto DVD as soon as possible: March freakin' 1st, 2011. That's right, less than two weeks from now this footage will be available thanks to Mr. Prest and The Asylum. 

I saw Emily Rose in the theater, and afterwards became very transfixed on the story of young, unfortunate Miss Michel. This footage, if it's real, could be nothing short of amazing. No doubt there will be some who might assume this is another publicity stunt for an as-yet-unannounced found-footage horror film. Yes, it kind of ties in with the feel and production of The Last Exorcism, but that wave crashed months ago and besides, as Mr. Bales himself mentioned, they've already mockbusted this. Real or not, I think this is an interesting variation on found-footage filmmaking and another great possible direction for The Asylum to be focusing its production energies: supernatural/parapsychological/cryptozoological documentaries.

Whatever your thoughts, all will be settled in due time: less than two weeks stand between us and the next Asylum release, their first documentary, the as-yet unnamed exorcism tapes of Anneliese Michel. Check out the official lowdown here.

The Results Are In: Announcing the Winners of the 2010 Loonies!!!

That's right, my faithfully-committed, this is the day we've been waiting for: after six weeks of anticipation and more than 500 votes, it's at long last time to announce the winners of the first ever Looney Awards for Excellence in Asylum Films. This first class of winners will go down in history and their names will echo across time just like Wings, Emil Jannings and Janet Gaynor. In addition to winning the accolades of their fans and the envy of their contemporaries, Looney winners receive, well, nothing physical, but those other things really are pretty cool. A reminder that the Loonies were voted for solely by Committed readers, and you have my word as a Southerner, a gentleman and an Asylum fanatic that the results have been in no way modified. So get your screen maximized, pump something with a little pomp and circumstance on your iTunes (i chose lil wayne's "right above it") and scroll down, winners await you!

Best Supporting Actress - Lindsey McKeon - Airline Disaster

 

Best Supporting Actor - Jude Gerard-Prest - Mega Piranha

 

Best Performance by a Non-Human - Mega Piranha (collective) - Mega Piranha

 

Best Script - Shane Van Dyke - Titanic II

 

Best Actress - Tiffany - Mega Piranha

 

Best Actor - Barry Bostwick - 2010: Moby Dick

 

Best Director - Eric Forsberg - Mega Piranha

 

drum roll please...

Best Feature - Mega Piranha

 

I can assure you that each of these races came down to single-digit differentials, and for the most part every nominee got at least a handful of votes. I think this illustrates just how satisfied we as Asylum fans were with last year's output: they were all so good, we truly had a hard time deciding which one we liked best. But the results speak for themselves, and the big winner this first year is Mega Piranha, walking away with an astounding five of eight Loonies, and a slightly more astounding five of six nominations.

Big shout out to all the winners, and indeed all the nominees; this was the biggest, most spectacular year in The Asylum's history, and it was the contributions of all the nominees - and scores of others that I heartlessly left unnominated - who helped make it happen. So really they're all winners, and the prize is getting to work for the best independent studio in Hollywood.

Thanks to everybody who voted, who commented, and who helped spread the word. Special thanks, as always, to The Asylum for letting me draft off their success, and if any of the winners would like to post an acceptance speech in the comments below, feel free! No cut-off music! 

Sounds Like an Asylum Movie to Me

So, the above image was captured by the Hubble telescope last week, and is assumed to be a green cloud of gas illuminated by a quasar that blinked out of existence some 200,000 years ago. 

The object, given the catchy moniker Hanny's Voorwerp (which sounds more like a top-shelf expenditure in Amsterdam's Red Light District than an astronomical anomaly), is said to be the size of our own Milky Way galaxy, and composed of a 300,000 light-year-long stream of gas. The glowing part is supposedly oxygen, and this nebulous nebula is, by current calculations, 650 million light years from our peaceful planet. So even if it was dangerous - which officials insist it is not - it wouldn't reach Earth for several, several, several lifetimes.

Yeah right.

That's exactly what they would say, isn't it? Of course it's just gas, of course it's harmless, of course it's too far away to be dangerous. Let me pose a question: if this thing's moving so slow, where was it the day before you discovered it? It's green and glowing and 300 thousand light-years long, not exactly the kind of thing that creeps up on you. For all we know, this thing leaps light-years like lily pads and it's just resting up between jumps.  

And maybe I'm being paranoid, maybe I've been influenced by too many science-fiction films, but since when is a glowing green cloud from deep space the size of our galaxy not considered dangerous? Nothing the size of our galaxy is harmless. Blue whales are supposed to be docile things as well; try dropping one on your house. Docile or not, big shit causes damage. 

from www.longhousestudios.com

Of course it's coming for us, this strange radiation cloud, this cosmic dragon that as we pass through it will incinerate everything that crosses its green, glowing line, unless a team of crack scientists can find a way to reflect or some other way thwart the cloud from causing the whole planet to combust. 

And every team needs a leader, preferably a bit of a maverick, a brilliant and well-educated, vastly-experienced rogue who plays by his own rules, isn't afraid to take a risk, and in the end cares more about survival and discovery than fame and fortune. Ooh, ooh, and his ex-wife should be involved. James Van Der Beek and Kristen Miller were born to play these roles, born I say!

Round out the team with a couple of technicians/specialists, roles for folks like Kim Little, Jude Gerard-Prest, Jay Gillespie, Erica Duke, that sort of crew, and maybe even a two-man astronaut crew, valiant martyrs for the greater good, played by Rhett Giles and Griff Furst, just for old time's sake.

Stranger films have been made, but not much stranger things have been discovered.