observation notes: Transmorphers

A notable entry of the mockbuster era, Transmorphers - in league with War of the Worlds 1 and 2 - really helped solidify The Asylum in the cultural consciousness as an independent studio worth watching. Facing lawsuits - there were none - from Michael Bay and Hasbro, The Asylum brazenly forged ahead and released this dystopic sci-fi/action epic. It goes as follows:

After the discovery of life on a distant planet - 20 million miles distant, a nice nod to Ray Harryhausen, perhaps - we foolishly try and make contact. Decades we wait, and then the response? Full-on alien-robot invasion, one that obliterates 90% of the Earth's population and paves the way for the rest of the alien-robots to re-settle our planet. These robots? Transmorphers. It's up to what remains of humanity to act as our last defenders.

Cut to outer space, where a military guild ship has caught hints of a robot advance. The impending course of action causes a bit of a rift in the crew, half of whom side with the lady General (Eliza Swenson) and want to respond diplomatically, the other half on the side of another officer (Jeff Denton) who wants to respond with guns blazing. As a sort of compromise, or stalling tactic, a team of elite space-marine-type-folks are sent out to recover a bot for studying purposes. This is where the hunt begins, not so much on the marines' part as much as on the part of the warrior-alien-robots they presume to hunt. Excellent sound effects abound.

When they discover the coming battle is too big for just the team to handle, the military resorts to awaking a pair of problem-soldiers (Griff Furst and Matthew Wolf) from cryogenic stasis to lead the assault. Naturally, they're a little pissed about being frozen - Griff Furst for the physical act of being frozen, Wolf for the fact that in the interim, his ex-wife has become the new wife of...wait for it...the lady General! (wha-?)

This is the oft-spoken-of lesbian subplot mainstream media chose to latch onto in their mentions of the film, but honestly people, isn't that just lighting fires to watch them burn? I mean, aside from her body, Megan Fox looks like a unibrowed transsexual right out of the salon (no offense to transsexuals, or salons, only Megan Fox). Where's the brou-ha-ha in that thing making out with the Even Stevens kid?

I digress, but it doesn't matter, because from here on out the film becomes a cat-and-mouse game of intergalactic Risk, man versus robot for the supreme control of the others' right to live. The rest is yours to discover.

I will say, however, that overall Transmorphers was a nice sci-fi (that is, heavily technological) /post-apocalypse (that is, ruined landscape, decimated population, fight for survival) hybrid that plays like Starship Troopers set in a Warriors landscape. The sound editing wasn't so great on my copy, but the FX are amazing in design, if not comparably fluid in execution: at times the robots come off a little too 2-D, but for direct-to-DVD they are exceptional, and believable enough for your buck. The battle scenes are especially spectacular, enough so to make you overlook any technical short-comings if you allow yourself to get lost in the sheer artistry and resourcefulness of low-budget filmmaking.

As for performances, this one's peppered with a score of great ones from Asylum regulars. Jeff Denton (The Beast of Bray Road, The Hitchhiker), as mentioned, plays the stern officer itching for a fight, and as such he pulls off the HMFIC* role to a T, stoic and stern, the blue-collar translator to Eliza Swenson's more-polished authoritative general. The lovely Ms. Swenson (Dracula's Curse, Frankenstein Reborn) inhabits the role of the General as a cold, distant and emotionally detached administrator, in short the perfect commander. Visually Ms. Swenson comes off as a young Angelina Jolie meets Amanda Seyfried, which is a beautiful, beautiful thing. But her most powerful asset is her ability, for someone so petite, to fill the screen with her strength, an insane amount, like the button that unleashes the bomb. No wonder she's been employed by The Asylum seven times (catch her next in director Leigh Scott's The Witches of Oz).

Unfrozen soldiers Griff Furst (Alien Abduction, The Hitchhiker) and Matthew Wolf (The Apocalypse, Dragon) are a gruff but wry duo, a blend of humor and action. Furst comes across as the space-Maverick to Wolf's Goose, but in the former's case, even badder-boy, grizzled and dashing, a charming machine of a soldier. He's never been more likable, or formidable.

Other notable performances in this large ensemble cast come from Asylum regulars Shaley Scott (The Hitchhiker, Invasion of the Pod People) - who as a firestarter is deliciously meddlesome, insidious and mayhemic in a Serpent-queen kind of way, if that makes any sense, which it totally does to me; she's got blue eyes that'll burn right through the screen - Michael Tower (30,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Dracula's Curse), Sarah Hall (When a Killer Calls, The Hitchhiker), Erin Sullivan (Monster), Noel Thurman (Supercroc, Universal Soldiers), Jason S. Gray (Universal Soldiers, The Da Vinci Treasure), Jessica Bork (Dragon, The Hitchhiker), Thomas Downey (The Beast of Bray Road, King of the Lost World), Monique La Barr (Death Racers, 666: The Beast) and even a few more.

Of course, this giant cast is brought to you by none other than Leigh Scott, who comes across as very loyal for how often he uses the same folk. Mr. Scott wrote and directed this film in ambitious fashion, complete with split-screen and a grayed color-scheme that played together to form a claustrophobic, prison-like future from which there is no escape but full-blown revolution. 

Though alike in name and concept, the story of Transmorphers is its own, independent of the Hollywood version, and, in that regard, is a successful futuristic-actioner. It's arguable that Leigh Scott mastered the mockbuster, and I think the best proof is right here.

* Head MotherFucker In Charge

observation notes: Dragon

Boasting to be part one of an epic trilogy, Dragon – like one of the films it would seem to tie-in to, Eragon – failed to produce a second or third part. Whether this was the result of unrealized ambition by notedly-ambitious writer/director Leigh Scott (The Beast of Bray Road, 9/11 Commission Report), or perhaps a tongue-in-cheek nod to the over-ambitiousness of the mentioned film is unknown, and in the end, who really cares? All told, this fantasy film stands just fine on its own.

The basic premise is this: there’s this Princess (Amelia Jackson Gray), cute as a button, on a desperate mission to save her kingdom from impending invasion by an army of not-so-cute elves, the evil kind. Only problem is, the elves aren’t her only problem. She has to navigate her way through a haunted forest, a sorceress (Eliza Swenson) of questionable loyalties, a band of mercenaries and their roguish leader (Jeff Denton) and, as the title would lead one to believe, a big ass Dragon. 

Fortunately for our Princess, however, she does not traverse this forest nor brave these travails alone; at her side are a pair of upstanding adventurers (Matthew Wolf, Jon Paul Gates) more than capable of defending her majesty.

Before I get into any other aspect of this film, I’m going to talk a minute here about the effects, as with a film like this – that is, a direct-to-DVD purported fantasy epic – effects are the dealbreaker; a bad story can be overlooked, sour performances made funny, so long as when the moment comes, the effects don’t disappoint. And these don’t. Crafted by the fine folks at Sharper Effects Group, each effect – from dragons to fire to magic et cetera – is seamlessly integrated into the visual fabric of the film so that, while not perfect, they are near-perfect in context. The dragon especially, though a dash cartoonish, Pokemon-ish, even, was real enough for me; if we ran into each other in a dark alley, I’d definitely piss myself.

As for the performances, this one – like many Leigh Scott films – boasts a fine cast of capable regulars. Jeff Denton (Beast of Bray Road, The Hitchhiker) plays the roguish leader of the mercenaries with his customarily formidable aplomb, audacious and suavely capable. Great hair here, too, though his accent is slightly less-great. Ms. Gray (Halloween Night, Snakes on a Train) as the Princess is perfectly cold and demurely arrogant, blooming over the course of the film to reveal a good heart and strong soul at the center of a fiercely loyal and independent woman in an era where such a thing was a rarity. Also showcasing great strength and an awesome accent is Ms. Swenson (Transmorphers, Dracula’s Curse) as the sorceress. Ms. Swenson is gorgeously witchy like Stevie Nicks at her peak, but, you know, fucking mean. This is the best I’ve seen her, totally immersed in this accursed, prognosticating wretch of a witch, but, admittedly, I’m just discovering the joys of this wonderful actress, so for all I know the best could be yet to come. Here she’s like the best goddesses: frighteningly authoritative and creepily sexy.Plus, she did the score for this film. Yup, and it's really, really good.

As the guards, Matthew Wolf (Transmorphers, The Apocalypse) and Jon Paul Gates (a whole bunch of stuff even I haven’t heard of) are the heart of the film, the former playing it as a naïve warrior, too chivalrous, perhaps, for his profession, and as such endearing, while the latter demonstrates some of the same chivalrous obedience paired with independent caution; he’s got a job to do from which he wavers not, but mortality to him is a real thing, and something to guard fiercely. 

Leigh Scott, as mentioned and as he often does, pulled double creative duty here, writing and directing. His script is truly epic from the get-go, not overly-mythic but rather, like the best myths, simply explained as a struggle between good and evil for an ultimate balance. The story is competently militaristic, believable from a strategic standpoint, and only fantastic for the agents that execute the plan; this could have been a war movie, a sci-fi flick, a western - the story’s that universal. Here LS has crafted an engaging narrative that fits the genre for its basic complexity, but doesn’t bore or lag, and packs a mammoth wallop for 80 minutes. As a director, LS makes a great use of the scenery, making a real forest haunted by use of light and color to strike an unsettling ambiance.

Overall I found this one to be faithful – in terms of narrative and atmosphere – to the films it would seem to ape: Lord of the Rings, Eragon, Dragonheart, Reign of Fire. The action sequences are spectacular*, and these when paired with a stirring plot and excellent performances make for an intense drama expertly doled-out at a pace that accomplishes the near-impossible: making epic that which takes less than an hour and a half to unfurl. If you like dragon-based fantasy films, I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t love this one.

*my cat, who, in 6 years has never paid so much as a lick of attention to the TV, was utterly transfixed by this one, for whatever reason. Weezer has very discriminating tastes, believe me; I’d trust her more than me.