This past weekend the venerable L.A. Times published an article spotlighting the success of independent studios who draft off the popularity of larger studio titles, and of course The Asylum was mentioned; two of the studios three partners, David Michael Latt & David Rimawi, are quoted. An interesting and informative read on the mockbuster business model. Enjoy!
Showing posts with label mockbuster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mockbuster. Show all posts
observation notes: I Am Omega
Just so you know where all this is going, I'm going to be bold and open these observation notes with the declaration that I Am Omega is one of the greatest productions The Asylum has ever pulled off, and remember, that's coming from a guy who loves all these films, good or bad, but this one, this one enters a pantheon reserved for a precious few like Monster and The Beast of Bray Road. This is an especial accomplishment when you remember that I Am Omega isn't just a tie-in to the Will Smith flick I Am Legend, but also to two other incarnations of this story: The Last Man on Earth (1964) with Vincent Price and The Omega Man (1971) with Charlton Heston; all films are based on the novella by Richard Matheson, and the Smith version is the only one to retain the original name. But aside from that, the story here is basically the same as the others, with a few notable exceptions: the life and trials of the supposed last man on Earth (Mark Dacascos, Double Dragon and TV-Crow) in the apocalyptic wake of some pandemic virus fuck-all that turned most of society into ravenous mutant/vampire/zombie predators. As such, for the first half hour or so, the film focuses on MD's day-to-day survival routine, scrounging for supplies and, on this day at least, planting hella explosives around a natural gas pipeline. Two major differences from the other films emerge at this point: one, MD isn't scrounging off a major metropolitan area, so there are no luxuries - no fast cars, no ripe grocery stores or department stores, none of that, calling for a more hand-to-mouth existence set among a rural, desert landscape that helps raise the level of peril; and two, MD isn't an M.D. like the protagonists of other versions, he isn't conveniently the only guy ever who could figure out a cure for all this, he's just an average guy with exceptional fighting skills in a truly shitty situation, mentally fragile, on the verge of some deeper insanity, and so lost in his isolation that when all of a sudden he receives a video message from another survivor, instead of rejoicing, he flips the fuck out and shuts off the power. MD is a man with no hope of finding a way out of this hell, so he just plain has no hope.Finally, though, he answers the video message and it's - lucky lucky - a hot single chick (Jennifer Lee Wiggins) trapped downtown in need of rescue. She says she's on her way to Antioch, a utopic survivors' compound nearby, and if MD comes for her, he can go with her to salvation. So as it turns out, MD isn't the last man on Earth at all, he's just the last recluse. Long story short, he turns her down, reps from Antioch come looking for him anyway, saying the girl carries the anti-virus in her blood so they gotta get her out, but they also know about the explosives and what MD's planning on blowing up: the whole fucking city. So they need him to use his sewer-layout knowledge to get them to the girl and out again before the city blows. Still MD isn't feeling the whole rescue mission, but in the end, they don't really give him a choice. At all.
So into the sewers they go, and from here on in it's mostly spoilers so I'll cease with the plot reveal but to say the set-up more than delivers, and the action continues to mount all the way to a spectacular ending, the culmination of races against time, explosives, zombies, fraudulent heroes, hope and salvation.
Overall, this feels more like a straight-up remake of The Last Man on Earth than it does a tie-in to I Am Legend. Another key difference - and the one, I believe, that makes this film so exceptional - is its subtle but thorough exploration of the psychosis factor involved, that is, the mental effects of being, well, Omega, the last person on Earth (if only in your mind). MD is not some flawless, wise-cracking action hero here, he is a very disturbed man fighting for his life every waking second, dealing with terror, grief, confusion and rage non-stop. The toll of this would be almost unbearable, and MD does an exceptional job portraying a man in such dire straits. In addition to his superb martial arts skills - employed here in a way that wasn't too obvious or distracting from the story - Dacascos brings an emotional intensity that results in a truly stirring performance, the best of his career for its equal parts power and passion, strength and extreme vulnerability.
His co-star Jennifer Lee Wiggins, a six-time Asylum vet (Shapeshifter, King of the Lost World, Dracula's Curse, Pirates..., and The 9/11 Commission Report) somehow manages to bring a playful sexiness to a distressed role, humanizing the character and making her more empathetic than perhaps she's written. But the highlight of this film, trivia-wise, for me, comes in the form of Geoff Meed, who plays Vincent, the brutish, mohawked Antioch rep, your typical over-trained thug. Not only has Meed performed in five Asylum films - including Airline Disaster and 100 Million B.C. - he's also written three: Universal Soldiers, 6 Guns and I Am Omega. I'm gonna call him the Bo Jackson of The Asylum from now on. You heard it here first.
I Am Omega was directed by Griff Furst, who's done some work with The Asylum before (he directed Universal Soldiers and 100 Million B.C. and had acting roles in Transmorphers and The Hitchhiker), but has also done some work outside the walls that have found mention in these virtual pages (Lake Placid 3, upcoming Swamp Shark). He's the captain at the helm of this film, an intense, scary thriller that stands on it's own feet and that grabbed me from the first scene and never let go. If you've never seen an Asylum film, make this one of the first three you watch.
Asylum Gets a Mention in an Onion Online Tirade!
The Onion's revered AV Club has this online thing called the Inventory where they survey pop culture anomalies like, as the above video illustrates, blockbuster ripoffs. After wading through a couple examples from previous decades, the feature ends with a nice nod to the work of The Asylum that manages to be only slightly condescending. But who cares? It's the Onion! Press is press!
Thanks to Glenn, my friend and bartender, for sending this one my way.
observation notes: Universal Soldiers
This sci-fi action spectacle is This Asylum's tie-in to the popular JCVD series about genetically-modified super soldiers that to date has generated five five - yes, I know, it's unbelievable but true; Van Damme's in 3 of them, including the last two, and the cheapies in the middle trade off Gary Busey and Burt Reynolds as bad guys. But I digress...
In this take, directed by Griff Furst (I Am Omega, 100 Million B.C.) from a script by Geoff Meed (I Am Omega, 6 Guns) based on a story by David Michael Latt (Pirates of Treasure Island, War of the Worlds), a platoon of the above-mentioned genetically-modified super soldiers - made x amount stronger, smarter, faster, and more resilient than the average soldier - goes haywire fresh off the assembly line, sending scientists and soldiers alike scrambling to get out of the building before the universal soldiers bring it down on top of them. Once outside, however, their situation doesn't improve in the slightest, as they're in the middle of wooded-nowhere, on foot, with the platoon still hot on their heels, seemingly intent on killing them all. From here it becomes another case of who's going to get it when, mixed together with some scientific backstory and the typical theories about whether or not the soldiers can evolve on their own, assume their own directives, accompanied by the typical conclusion that if so, everyone in the party is pretty much set to be fucked beyond all recognition. Inner-personal tensions flare and threaten to defeat our heroes before their enemies can, some soldiers strive harder to survive than others, twists and turns unfurl like snapdragons and all-in-all shit pops off in very violent, expletive-filled and explosive ways.
Kind of a cross between Aliens, Universal Soldier and The Asylum's own version of Journey to the Center of the Earth, overall this one's a riveting if dark adventure that kicks off in the first frame and builds accordingly through each of its 85 minutes towards a rewarding and thrilling climax. The story moves fast, the dialogue is appropriately, brutally bleak, and despite such a large ensemble of characters, a dozen at core to start, each feels fleshed out and individualized, distinct, which is a major, major credit to the screenwriting of Geoff Meed. This is an aggressive film, relentless in its action, physicality and terror, and easily as fun and entertaining as any of the actual sequels in the tie-in franchise, if not more so for its focus on the soldier-side of the battle between soldiers and super soldiers.
Speaking of the soldiers, as mentioned this is an ensemble cast with many familiar faces, including Jason S. Gray (The Apocalypse, The Da Vinci Treasure, Alien vs Hunter), Kevin Kazakoff (Alien vs. Hunter), Noel Thurman (Transmorphers, Supercroc, Dracula's Curse, Beast of Bray Road), Randy Mulkey (Alien vs Hunter) and even a cameo by director (not of this) Justin Jones (The Apocalypse), all of whom pull together to make this one of the most successful ensembles in The Asylum's vault. But it's lead Kristen Quintrall who once again, as she did in The Apocalypse, steals the show. As the private first class among higher-ranking soldiers, she is fierce, harsh, every inch a believable warrior and frighteningly sexy. Her intensity makes the entire film more palpable, and really brings to life the tension and suspense sewn into the script. She takes the role and makes it one of the strongest female roles in all The Asylum, to rival Sarah Lieving in Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus and Cynthia Rose Hall in Supercroc, and as such she is just as irresistible to watch. Whoo-ah!
And finally credit must be given to director Griff Furst, who here has composed an exhilarating as well as beautifully dark film, akilter in all the right ways, playful with light and shadow, soft focus, and all-in-all a very atmospheric, chilling experience. Kudos, sir.
So to conclude, I say if you find yourself hankering for some Universal Soldier follow-ups, skip the immediate sequels and head here first, I guarantee it's a better time.
observation notes: The DaVinci Treasure
After barely escaping with the codex and his life when one of his team turns on him, C. Tom runs smack into a Mafioso-style anthropologist/old rival (Lance Henriksen) who wants two things: C. Tom to join his team of highly-skilled relic hunters, and the codex. Clearly, however, he has a preference should only one of these things be available. See, in Lance's head the treasure should be his because he's been looking for it longer, and C. Tom's just one more obstacle in his way, one that he can take or leave. But, in typically foolish bad guy behavior, Lance gets the codex but not C. Tom, yet leaves him alive to thwart another day. Enter the final, and only reliable, member of C. Tom's own team, a stunning linguist/theologian (Nicole Sherwin) who's more than disappointed at the codex lack.
And all this - the first nine minutes - is just the opening sequence.
The gist of the plot is this: several hundred years ago, the rich and powerful House of Medici had this awesome treasure hidden away so well that the most capable kings and armies could never find it, thanks to one of the architects of this plan, none other than famed artist/inventor/thinker/turtle-inspiration Leonardo DaVinci, who, being the shrewd man he was, secretly left clues to the whereabouts of said treasure in his work and notes. Thus, there's an entire sub-population of anthropologists, archaeologists and historians who make the quest for this treasure their lives' work, and our characters are among them. C. Tom's quest begins with the Shroud of Turin, the mythical length of fabric said to have been cloaked over the body of Jesus following his crucifixion, and furthermore said to bear an image of the body of Christ, burned there upon his resurrection. At this point in the film there were - like there are here, now - a lot of twists and facts and historical tidbits being bandied about, enough that I got a little lost in exposition, but I think that's the long and the short of it. Regardless of whatever I'm forgetting or omitting, C. Tom and his hottie theologian locate the Shroud and find it provides them with still further questions.
But as our heroes go in search of answers, Lance's goons continue to hunt them down for any new knowledge or artifacts they may have. Lots of Euro-action/intrigue ensues: church basements, stairwell shoot-outs, marketplace foot pursuits, that sort of stuff. Like a Goldberg-puzzle-box (if he ever made any) one clue unlocks the next unlocks the next and so on, resulting in a cleverly-crafted intellectual thriller that to divulge any more details about would be to rob it of its mystery. Needless to say, missed opportunities have to be rectified, rivalries intensify, cars get chased by other cars, and helicopters, shrouds become maps, Afghanistan comes into play, camera obscura gets a lot older, bricks are broken, Jesus gets name-checked a whole bunch and Lance Henriksen rocks a left-earring.
The film is directed by Peter Mervis (Snakes on a Train, When A Killer Calls) in a kind of Bourne-style: intentional glitches, freeze-frames, title readouts, sequence speed-ups and a variety of techno-noises tossed in for good measure. The film has some pretty spectacular action sequences and excellent pacing; the momentum never ebbs, building from the first scene to the revelatory climax.
This is partially due to the script, and partially to the actors. I'll start with the actors: Committed-fave C. Tom Howell turns in an exuberant, passionate and actively-pensive performance, really bringing his A-game, making him easily more fun to watch than Tom Hanks in the tie-in (I said it.). There's just a gracefulness to him here; it's the most at home I've seen him in a role for The Asylum - including his repeat performance for the wars of worlds.
Lance Henriksen, as always, plays a really believable violent badass, but at the same time, he is not at all believable - not at all - as a guy who gives enough of a fuck about archaeology to get a degree in it. Not that it matters - all-told, Lance isn't in this one more than 10 or 12 minutes.
The lovely lady at C. Tom's side is played by Nicole Sherwin, an actress/TV host/green even expert, whatever the fuck that means. Basically she's eye-candy with an intellect, largely underdeveloped (as a character), and (on the contrary) shows a little too much cleavage for a theologian, I think, though not enough for a linguist, so, balance.
As for the script - co-written by Asylum bigwig Paul Bales (Moby Dick, Sherlock Holmes) and scribe Carlos De Los Rios (Pirates of Treasure Island, War of the Worlds, King of the Lost World) - it's nice and tight, riveting in spots, pulse-stirring in others, engaging in others still, dense ("compact," not "stupid") with information but worth negotiating; there are more twists and turns here than a pretzel showcase at the Pennsylvania State Fair.
Put all these elements together and the result is a thoroughly intriguing thriller that recalls not only The DaVinci Code but also National Treasure, and rests comfortably among the best of the straight films (not sexually, I mean films without a supernatural, sci-fi or ruthless manic slant to them) The Asylum has produced. There was a lot of stuff, largely speculative documentaries, that tied-in to The DaVinci Code, so it's not like The Asylum's treading on holy ground here (pun intended); I wasn't distracted by the similarities in the slightest. A good movie is a good movie, no matter where it comes from, and this is a good movie.
Enjoy.
observation notes: Sherlock Holmes
It's 1882, and in the English Channel a clipper ship carrying precious cargo finds itself under siege from a large, tentacled creature. Not the typical start to a Sherlock Holmes story, but that's part of the brilliance of this script. While the creature-context may seem out of place for a detective story, it isn't out of place for the source author. Doyle, after all, also wrote creature fantasies, the most recognizable among them being "The Lost World," which has been the basis for no less than half a dozen films, including the second Jurassic Park and a certain Asylum monkey movie.
But back to the actual story: ashore, Holmes (Ben Syder) appears to a younger Watson (Gareth David-Lloyd) mid-autopsy to announce their summons to investigate the attack on the clipper ship. Holmes' acumen is quickly illustrated when he frees up Watson's afternoon by visually surmising all evidence any autopsy would have revealed. So let's see...smug, off-handed, unintentionally-condescending intelligence? Check.
So off go the original dynamic duo to a hospital where the lone survivor of the kraken attack, a midshipman with more than a quarter century before the mast, is emerging from his coma just as Holmes and Watson arrive. Nice touch here: when Watson bends to examine the midshipman, the tentacle-look to his stethoscope visibly freaks out the sailor. This is followed by his account of the attack, the what of it all, which Watson is quick to skeptically dismiss as shock manifesting as delusion. Holmes, of course, finds something in the midshipman's story worth believing, and so the investigation continues.
It's here another neat twist of plot first manifests itself: seems Holmes has an older brother he hasn't seen for seven years who's reported to be back on the London scene, and something about an embarrassment of some sort that resulted in said brother's full-paralysis. But this is just a quick hit, and the story moves on...
In London's seedy East End (Whitechapel-area, Jack the Ripper's hunting grounds), a young, naive virgin goes to visit a lady of the evening - appropriately named "Mrs. Pinchcock" - but this illicit tryst is unfortunately interrupted by the appearance of a ravenous dinosaur. Yep, that's right, you read me correctly: a dinosaur (at this point, my half-asleep wife muttered from the couch, "Wait, why is there a dinosaur?" Why, indeed, my love? Because The Asylum has learned a secret long known to purveyors of the fantastic: everything gets more interesting when a dinosaur enters the scene. Think about it, any movie you can name - Battlefield Earth, Annie Hall, Chariots of Fire; as great as they are, they'd be better with even one dinosaur thrown in for good measure. You know I'm right.)
So, just to catch you up, there's now a kraken and a dinosaur, and we're maybe half an hour in at this point. Awesome? Check.
Back to the bickering co-dependency of Holmes and Watson over breakfast and the morning newspaper. The story of the devoured virgin is there, and naturally captures Holmes' attention. The two take the customary perambulation for thought, which itself is interrupted by a hysterical and hysterically-high-pitched old man screaming nonsense about a monster in the woods. But it isn't nonsense, oh no. Cue dinosaur chase.
No spoiler to say our protagonists survive this scene, and it only fuels Holmes further, so he retreats to his experiments while Watson is called to see a patient, a wheelchair-bound man (Dominic Keating, a sort of British Jurgen Prochnow) attended by a beautiful young woman, his "niece." He requires medication for his many painful ailments, including the potent narcotic morphine. Watson is hesitant but eventually concedes, due in part to a shine he takes to the girl. He starts to make evening plans with her but Holmes cock-blocks him with an invitation to the East End to further investigate the findings of his analysis of the boy-monster(dinosaur) murder.
Our characters all now firmly in place, the rest is spoilers.
Okay, so that's a lot of plot, but believe me when I say my assessment doesn't do justice to the tightly-crafted twists and turns and melding of myth and literature this script accomplishes. Ultimately, I found this to be a thrilling film that hit on a cerebral, adrenal and even comical level.
One of the ways Sherlock shines and sets itself apart from other Asylum films was its lavish style, courtesy of the eye of director Rachel Lee Goldenberg. Each scene was replete with hue, texture and ambiance melding together to form a sepia-style, Burton-esque fantasy London, opulent in its steampunk-design that melds the worlds of Doyle, Jules Verne, and the recent filmography of Robert Downey Jr. into the perfect setting for an intelligent, action-packed sci-fi spectacle comparable in enjoyability - to me, at least - to its Hollywood tie-in. Aiding this effect are assured performances, atmospheric locations, accurate and fashionable costumes - I'd dress like either of these guys any day of the week, but I'm odd - astounding art direction, intense, well-designed and believable FX and a pulse-racing score. The script was inventive, respective, labyrinthine and familiarly comfortable, and easily the most engaging Asylum script of the year, with the possible exception of another Bales' project, a certain aforementioned whale movie. Goldenberg's direction was intense, exhilarating, ambitious and as such successful. Sherlock is the second film Goldenberg has directed for The Asylum, the first being Sunday School Musical. Her next project is the Asylum-family venture 1st Furry Valentine.
As for the performances, Ben Syder - for whom this is the only credit listed on IMDB - plays the famed sleuth as dismissively deadpan and admirably foppish, as though a brilliance such as his was to its bearer a frightful bore. David-Lloyd as Watson is the perfect counterpart to this, placidly skeptical and pointlessly loyal, a true sidekick.
Overall, and I know I'll get comments like I did when I made a similar declaration about Monster/Cloverfield, but I enjoyed this film more than I did the recent Hollywood version; for all their reinvention of the character, Ritchie and Downey turned him into a sort of lampoon of himself, too self-awaredly self-destructive and reckless for the legacy's own good - he's not a Victorian Indiana Jones, after all, but that's what Hollywood would have him. The Asylum's character feels just right, a balance of tradition and innovation that maintains the integrity of Doyle's hero. Syder may not have the swagger or smarm of Downey, but Sherlock Holmes isn't about swagger - he isn't a Victorian Shaft, either - he's about acumen, subtlety, and in those regards, Syder triumphs. A truly unique Sherlock Holmes experience awaits here, oddly appropriate for its liberties, and all-in-all, just plain entertaining.
What more can you ask for?
observation notes: Alien v. Hunter
The film opens in familiar fashion, with an unknown object streaking through the sky over an out-of-the-way California town, attracting the attention of the locals, including a reluctant journalist (William Katt)(he isn't reluctant about being a journalist, he's reluctant to chase down a story he believes will turn out to be nothing. but he's wrong.) When the object crashes, it is discovered to be a spacecraft, whose pilot is an unharmed, man-eating alien, itself a tie-in of sorts, as it looks like a Predator's torso with an Alien head, all served up on a spider's legs.
A couple of quick kills on the alien's end of things and people are pretty much up to speed. Katt joins with the daughter (Wittly Jourdan) of a woman gone missing in the mini-invasion, and the two of them bolt right for the staff of the local newspaper, including the lovely and talented DeeDee Pfeiffer. On their way to the office, however, Katt and Jourdan had chanced to see the pred-alien spider-thing attack the sheriff's car, and so convince the newspaper staff - some seven or eight people - to leave the relative safety of their office for the absolutely unsafe outdoors. Interesting choice, this. Because it's not just the aliens they need to worry about; just when the carnage is about to begin at the...what? Claws? Tentacles? Hooks? of the pred-alien, the titular Hunter makes his first appearance (his appearance being a combination of Golden Age Iron Man, the Tin Man, and Gort from the original The Day The Earth Stood Still.) At his arrival, the greater story of the film becomes known: the aliens are, in fact, the prey of this hunter, and Earth plays no role whatsoever in this skirmish aside from coincidental settling, making all its inhabitants, especially our heroes, mere fodder for the crossfire. And once our protagonists are aware of the greater plot, it does nothing to lessen the danger or assuage their fears - quite the opposite, in fact, in both regards. Panic is a greater enemy than any other force.
So stuck now in the open, DeeDee suggests they go see this capable fella lives across the way - the open way. They need another route, a secret, safer route. Naturally, they go with the requisite underground sewer/waterway pipes/tunnels. Also naturally, they are not the first species to have discovered said pipes/tunnels. Those of our party that manage to survive make it to the capable fella's place, who just happens to be DeeDee's ex (Randy Mulkey) and daughter (Jennifer Couch); he's a crackshot bear hunter, and she remembers her lines well. The usual attempts to communicate with the outside world are made, but the ship or the aliens or something related to either or both is fucking with all reception, leaving our heroes truly and utterly on their own.
From here it's just a question of which of our heroes are going to get picked off by the alien before said heroes can find a way to kill said alien, and how exactly they're supposed to accomplish this latter task. The film at this point becomes a tad reminiscent of others like Surviving the Game and Night of the Living Dead, but these aren't bad things.
Overall, I found Alien vs. Hunter to be a tense action-thriller, rural sci-fi, meaning light on the techno-speak and scientific explanations and heavy on the shotguns and non-army-issue camouflage. The result of this is that it makes any tragedies or victories our heroes incur that much more empathetic, because these aren't soldiers or government scientists or other sorts whose lives come with acceptable risks; these are people, regular people, like you and me, caught up in a crisis they could never be expected to negotiate, but somehow manage. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but one of the (minor, nitpicky) problems I have with Asylum flciks is the abundance of technical speak. Some amount of explanation and scientific backstory is necessary, even interesting, but occasionally the narrative emphasis of these films can get a little wrapped up in the "how" and "why," thus leaving less emphasis for the "who." I like the "who." Especially when the who is everyman. This film standouts among certain others in the Asylum catalog for its focus on people and not the source of the problem. In this regard, I enjoyed this film quite a bit.
William Katt is looking...okay. A little ridden-wet, but his chops are still intact, or at least as intact as they ever were. But honestly, in the triumvirate of curly blond dudes with a penchant for movies that air first on SyFy, Katt comes in a secure third, in my book, behind John Schneider and Christopher Atkins.
As for leading lady Ms. Pfeiffer, she isn't fucking around in this one. Her usual playful demeanor is replaced with one all-business, stern and concerned, strong, refusing to break or even show a bend. In truth, she becomes the practical center of the film, the coolest head, but still retaining a touch of sass, albeit in an authoritative, condescending way. Another good show for the better Pfeiffer as far as I'm concerned.
Asylum regular Wittly Jourdan - who's been mentioned here before for her work in Allan Quatermain... - proves herself an emotional tornado, oscillating between terrified, enraged, hopeful and despondent; all-in-all a good bit of acting. Other notables include John Murphy Jr. (30,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Universal Soldiers) as "Figgus" the stoner, and the aforementioned Mr. Mulkey (Universal Soldiers, upcoming, non-Asylum flick Super Shark), who with a mustache looks a lot like Danny Trejo.
The FX are all right, I know I was ribbing on the Hunter above, but the aliens are icky and kinda scary, no matter how boldly they wear their influences, and the score, though weird, was also weirdly appropriate. The leads get a little lost in the sea of strong supporting actors, but that makes for a more level playing field, dead-pool-wise, and a more unilateral investment on our end.
Bottom line, this film isn't too far from it's source, Alien vs. Predator, so if you liked that one, there should be plenty you can find to like about this one. Plus, you know, Deedee!
observation notes: When A Killer Calls
This one's gonna be brief. I'll be the first to admit I have questionable taste, at best, and truly do enjoy reveling in the films others deem "B" or "crap," but there's some stuff even I won't watch. Japanese Horror movies give me the deep-down, soul-resounding heebie-jeebies; melodramatic cancer films make me shiver like a newborn; Dane Cook causes me to spontaneously projectile vomit. But if there's one thing I just really can't watch, it's torture porn. That shit just freaks me out. It's sensational - not in a good way - and glorifies things that, well, are fucking weird and creepy, especially when you throw in the "porn" label, as though people get off on it. "Torture porn;" it's just ick to me (that's not a typo; i meant "ick," not "sick"). And though it might be a harsh term to apply here, the majority of this film is about as close to torture porn as you get, I imagine. I wouldn't know, honestly, I don't watch torture porn. Have I made that clear enough?
Thing is, I'm already a paranoid, skeptical, mentally unbalanced hypochondriac; I am fully aware that our world is overrun with perverts, maniacs, delusional, desperate and morally bankrupt cretins who mean me harm. I get it, I really do. So when I sit down for a good scare, I want the emphasis, in the end, on good and not scare. If I want to experience a horror that lingers, I'll watch the news. Because I like my horror fantastic - made-up, implausible, with the good kind of nudity - not brutally realistic. I have enough trouble sleeping.
So, whether this movie is good or not, I'm admitting I can't give you a complete review because I couldn't finish it. Not a commentary on the filmmaking or performances - I want to make that clear - this is purely a topic thing. I can tell you that lead Rebekah Kochan (Pirates of Treasure Island, Halloween Night, Freakshow) is ridiculously and uncomfortably convincing as the babysitting target, and madman Mark Irvingsen (Scarecrow Slayer) is more than an appropriate choice for the role. But honestly, this is such a hackneyed and often-visited idea to begin with; even the beauty of Camilla Belle couldn't make a big-budget remake palatable. So what was the hope here? Well, apparently the hope was to lure in those who thought the Hollywood version could have done with a touch more bondage. And by "a touch," I mean "a shitload."
To each his own, but this wasn't mine. However, to the film's credit, from what I saw, if you do go in for this sort of thing, you probably won't be disappointed with When a Killer Calls. From Peter Mervis, director of Snakes on a Train, another film I had trouble watching, again, not because of the film, but because of the topic; I'm ophidiophobic as a motherfucker.
WICKED COOL: an overview of Asylum horror
this is a re-post of a guest spot I did back at the beginning of the month for attackfromplanetb.com, on Asylum horror. in the spirit of the holiday, i thought i'd show it here.
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If there’s one constant in the ever-shifting marketing focus of The Asylum, it’s that people love a good scare, whether it comes by sci-fi, creature flicks or straight-up horror. And though The Asylum is best-known at present for its work in the realm of mockbusters, the genre it has been delivering with the most consistency – and originality – for nearly fifteen years, is good, old-fashioned horror.
First a bit of backstory: The Asylum was formed by David Michael Latt, David Rimawi and Sherri Strain in 1997. Rimawi and Strain had been executives at Village Roadshow, and upon leaving teamed with writer/director Latt to start a genre distribution and production company. In the early days Asylum was mainly a distributor, and the films were all over the place – thrillers, comedies, dramas, horror films, etc. – but it was horror The Asylum execs first set their production eye upon. Killers, a hallucinogenic, bloody thriller directed by David Michael Latt, was the first film produced by The Asylum in their first year together. Five years later it would spawn a sequel that would also mark the beginning of The Asylum’s rigorous production routine that would soon make them one of the most prolific independent studios in Hollywood.
For the purposes of closer examination, I’ve broken the horror films of The Asylum into three distinct eras: 1997-2005 – the genre era; 2006-2008 – the mockbuster era; and 2009-present – the (mega) modern era.
THE GENRE ERA (1997-2005)
Approximately fifteen horror films were released by The Asylum between 1997 and 2005, making them the company’s primary production focus until the mockbuster came along. Of these films, the overwhelming majority were based upon some variation of legend or myth, the very basis of genre horror: angered spirits (Scarecrow, Intermedio), vampires (Way of the Vampire), mummies (Legion of the Dead), pirates (Jolly Roger: Massacre at Cutter’s Cove), Frankenstein’s monster (Frankenstein Reborn), werewolves (The Beast of Bray Road), zombies (Death Valley: the Revenge of Bloody Bill) and, of course, demons (Shapeshifter).
No matter how broad their appeal, however, these films got lost – along with so many others from so many other small production companies, many of which are now long-defunct - in a sea of direct-to-DVD horror that choked the marketplace in the wake of the genre’s popular revival in the late-90’s thanks to films like the Scream franchise and The Blair Witch Project. But while other companies reacted to the problem by pushing out even more films in the same vein, The Asylum took a gamble and shifted their marketing strategy, as well as their place in film history.
THE MOCKBUSTER ERA (2006-2008)
In 1995, Asylum executives had a game-changing idea. That was the year Steven Spielberg was set to deliver his long-awaited version of H. G. Wells’ classic novel of alien invasion, War of the Worlds. As the story wasn’t original to Spielberg, there was nothing to stop anyone else from making a competitive version but the revered filmmaker’s own clout and ego. And who cares about that? The Asylum rushed a version into production starring former Hollywood heavy-hitters C. Thomas Howell and Judd Nelson, two fine actors who’d had doors shut on them The Asylum was only too eager to open. The result? 100,000 copies ordered by Blockbuster, blowing all other orders on all previous Asylum titles clear out of the water. The rest is history.
On the horror front, The Asylum continued to produce a large number of films in the genre during this era – eleven, depending on how you define the genre – but as with The Asylum’s sci-fi output, across the board these were mockbusters, or tie-ins:
THE ASYLUM HOLLYWOOD
Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers The Exorcism of Emily Rose
When a Killer Calls When a Stranger Calls
Hillside Cannibals The Hills Have Eyes
666: The Child The Omen
Snakes on a Train Snakes on a Plane
Halloween Night Halloween
Freakshow Tod Browning’s Freaks
The Hitchhiker The Hitcher
Supercroc Rogue, Primeval, Croc, Black Water
Invasion of the Pod People Invasion, Invasion of the Body Snatchers
666: The Beast (sequel to 666: The Child) The Omen
With the exception of Snakes on a Train, most of these films flew under the radar in terms of cultural awareness, the flashier sci-fi tie-ins like Transmorphers, Terminators, and King of the Lost World garnering the most media attention. But as the mockbuster era continued to flourish throughout ’07 and ‘08 in the arena of sci-fi, The Asylum cut back on the number of horror films it produced. 666: The Beast, arguably the last horror film of this era, would see two years pass and twelve more films made before there was another horror title in the Asylum’s filmography. But this would turn out to be just a trimming of fat, so to speak, a sacrifice in the quantity of years past for the quality to come.
THE (MEGA) MODERN ERA (2009-Present)
In late 2009 when The Asylum released Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, yet again the wheels in their marketing minds began to turn. Mega Shark, as we all know, went on to become the most notable film in The Asylum’s catalogue and was the eighth-most Googled trailer of the year thanks to a now-infamously-classic certain plane-chewing scene, an astounding accomplishment for an independent studio in arguably one of the most spectacular years in Hollywood history, visually-speaking (Avatar, District 9, Star Trek, Transformers 2, 2012, Terminator Salvation, etc.). As a result of this success, The Asylum began pushing out other similarly-conceived films, including MegaFault, Mega Piranha, the upcoming Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus (out 12/21/10!!!) and Mega Python vs. Gatoroid. In an interview aired October 2nd of this year on “Last Call with Carson Daly,” Asylum honchos Latt, Rimawi and Paul Bales seemed to indicate this was a direction production would continue to head in. So what does this mean for Asylum horror? Will creature flicks absorb both sci-fi and horror productions, meld them into some composite terror? Not likely.
Though The Asylum has only released four horror films since 2009 – The Haunting of Winchester House, Paranormal Entity, 100 Feet and 8213 Gacy House – three of the four have been completely original (Paranormal Entity was just begging to be made), and coincidentally, perhaps, or perhaps not, all four have been ghost stories. Doubtful this is a specific trend – the ghosts – but what it does seem to be is The Asylum’s return to stand-alone horror, so to speak; original stories that don’t need to draft off of a studio release to find an audience.
Trying to predict the future of the Asylum is like trying to predict what number a many-sided die will land on when rolled; one can only guess. But horror has always been the backbone of The Asylum’s productions – however manifested – and in fact, it’s where they’ve been the most original and most daring. In an era where every half-baked scary story or gore-fest is slapped onscreen, The Asylum, in this modern era, at least, seems to be doing something popular media’s conception of them would find contrary: they’re discriminating. And for us, the committed, this may not mean a horror flick every few months, but it means when we do get them, we’re guaranteed that good scare.
inmate profile: Leigh Scott
Leigh Scott is a born filmmaker. Raised in Wisconsin, Scott moved west to California at the age of 18 to attend film school at USC. While there, he interned for Roger Corman's Concorde Pictures, giving him his first glance at low-budget, high-imagination, creature-feature filmmaking. Scott first rose to prominence in Hollywood in 2004 via his films with The Asylum, where he worked primarily as a writer/director, but also as an editor, a cinematographer, a digital artist and a second unit director. Like Hitchcock, he also typically appears in his own films, usually in speaking roles. Though currently there are no plans for him to direct for The Asylum, Leigh Scott has been keeping busier than...well...I can't think of a metaphor, but he's been busy as shit, writing five scripts and shooting four films over the last two years, most through his own company, SweetPost Productions, a team that includes other Asylum veterans Kristen Quintrall and Justin Jones. His latest effort, the much-touted Witches of Oz 3D is in a similar vein to his work for The Asylum, and even stars Asylum perennial Sarah Lieving, among many, many others. A list of Mr. Scott's more notable work within Asylum walls:- Frankenstein Reborn...writer/director
- The Beast of Bray Road...writer/director
- King of the Lost World...writer/director
- Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers...writer/director
- Hillside Cannibals...director
- Dracula's Curse...writer/director
- Pirates of Treasure Island...writer/director
- The 9/11 Commission Report...writer/director
- Dragon...writer/director
- The Hitchhiker...writer/director
- Transmorphers...writer/director
- Invasion of the Pod People...writer
Leigh Scott, consider yourself saluted
observation notes: War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave
Daring to go where no other incarnation before it has dared gone - into sequel territory - War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave, once again stars C. Thomas Howell, who also directs this go-around, (script by Eric Forsberg and David Michael Latt, cinematography by Mark Atkins) as the astronomer who survived the original invasion a couple of years earlier and has now, along with the rest of society, started to regain some sense of normalcy. C. Tom has been reunited with his son (his wife has died between films) and together they've begun to settle into domestic hum-drum, post-apocalypse-style, eager to put the aliens behind them. That is, until the aliens return.
C. Tom gets hip to the impending re-invasion and takes this info to the culture's last scientists (Kim Little and magician Jonathan Levit), the three of whom together proceed to engage in a bunch of science-talk that's way over my Creative-Writing-MFA head; stuff about atmospheres and viruses and rates of speed, all spot-on, I'm sure, just beyond my intelligence level at the hour I popped this one in. Bottom line, if the aliens are indeed coming back, mankind is probably more prepared than we were the first time.
This theory is put to the test - with mixed results - when alien scouts land and begin to pave the way for invasion, killing every little pest that gets in their way, namely us. C. Tom finds himself again a cursed soul wandering the landscape alone until he is captured, along with others, by an alien paddy wagon where they are intended to be cocooned and drained to feed the invaders. Thus the shit hits the fan.
The story splits here between the scientists' battle on Earth, and the crew aboard Spaceship Suck trying to avoid drainage; both situations get worse before they get "better" - on Earth it gets all Independence Day-esque and in space it just gets gross. Long story short - C. Tom and crew return to Earth just as our defenses push the invasion into deep space, chasing after, and from here the path to resolution is paved in spoilers, so I'll step off.
Overall, I found this to be a strong, sharp film, helmed expertly by CTH the director(Da Vinci Treasure, The Day The Earth Stopped), who managed a satisfying balance between sci-fi-action and character-driven chaos. As an actor, C. looked better here than he did in the original, the grizzle is working for him now, not against. He's a little more empowered, crafting a progression in character from the last film and its unseen aftermath that finds him harder now, more capable, more adept, more adaptive, not because he wants to be, but because he has been forced to be. In this world, scientist also means warrior, and C. Tom comes ready to scrap. As good as he was in part one, he's twice as good in part two. Quite frankly, any part Kevin Bacon's up for, CTH should at least be getting a callback.
Kim Little (Supercroc, 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea) as a scientist of some sort affects her best Southern accent - Savannahan, I believe - and turns in a very austere, even-tempered and thus controlled performance, even in the face of crisis. (it should be noted that Ms. Little is not reprising her role from the first film)
And finally there was Christopher Reid. I read the name on the box*. I knew I knew it. I saw it in the credits. I knew I knew it. But in my head, the people this name conjured weren't this person. I thought it would be Christopher Atkins (100 Million BC) for a while, but he never showed up. Then I though it was Jonathan Levit, but it wasn't him either. Then a man came onscreen, and I knew I'd known that name. Christopher Reid is fucking Kid, as in Kid 'n Play, one-half of the dopest duos in the history of hip-hop, and one-half of the star power behind the ridiculously successful House Party film franchise. The massive flat top is gone, so it took me a minute to place him. Fucking Kid. He's awesome.
The FX for this film were taken over by Tiny Juggernaut, and the difference is astounding (noting that I liked the FX in the first film): the alien craft look far more formidable than they did, the blast-scenes were fast and furious, the mass destruction tangible and the dogfights between jet and spacecraft were exquisite, all totaling up to the finest work I've seen from TJ in an Asylum film.
It's a daring risk The Asylum took here, treading on holy ground and staking an acreage of their own. Ultimately, though, it seems to pay off: what you get is a film that retains the paranoia of the original while extrapolating believably into a world where the nightmare recurs. If you liked the first film, the second will more than suit your fancy.
I'd actually be up for a third.
* looking at the box again at the head of this post, I see it actually says CHRISTOPHER "KID" REID. so then, i'm just an idiot.
observation notes: War of the Worlds
This is it, the one that started it all, the film that shifted The Asylum's focus from DVD horror toward the tie-in, or "mockbuster," market. For better or worse (better), this is where The Asylum began to become what we know (and love) today.
The plot here should be rhetorical, being that it's the most famous radio broadcast ever, the direct basis for two other big screen adaptations and, as the best-known and arguably first alien invasion story in the English language, the indirect basis for at least 65% of all sci-fi films ever made. So story then isn't the issue here; the issue becomes how The Asylum handles the story. And as was (or would be) the case in regards to Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls and 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the fine folks at The Asylum aren't necessarily making a tie-in as much as they are their own adaptation of the same source material. And in this adaptation, H. G. Wells' narrative becomes a picaresque apocalypse story, kind of like The Road if we the audience had encountered these characters as the apocalypse was happening, not after it: one man(C. Thomas Howell, naturally)'s journey to find his family among unimaginable chaos, and the array of bizarre events and characters he encounters along the way. By setting the weight of the entire story of the sole shoulders of one character, the film becomes less an action-spectacular - though the action is indeed kinda spectacular - and more a philosophical characterization of the variations within the spectrum of human responses to global catastrophe.
And speaking of the catastrophe, by proxy the special effects, they weren't Tiny Juggernaut good, but for whoever did them, they were effective, especially if the aim was to try and attempt a sort of old-school sci-fi feel: the bug creature things looked like they were made for Starship Troopers by Ray Harryhausen at the dawn of CGI. Does that sound harsh? Rude? I don't mean it to, honestly, I liked this. The death rays and toxic gas, too, I thought, were nods to classic sci-fi, specifically George Pal's incarnation of this story with its iconic green glow. I really hope these nods, this effect I felt, was in fact a nod to classic sci-fi, because it's in regards to this vein that I most often view the work of The Asylum. Like George Pal or Samuel Z. Arkoff, I see David Michael Latt (who directed this film) and his crew as innovative imagineers (a term I think I'm stealing from Disney), testing the bounds of what we can believe, not afraid to tell a story you might have heard before because of confidence in their ability to tell it differently than all others; not better, not best, but not the worst, either, just different, theirs, which is the aim of every artist - to make that which is universal, unique.
"Slow down, asshole," some of you might be saying, "We're not exactly talking about art here."
To which I say: that's pretty narrow-minded of you. If all you can find art in is pretentious heavy-handedness, if you can't see it in the creation of fictional bug creatures, or in the neon glow of vaporizing death rays, or in the lines of C. Thomas Howell's face when he laments the fate of his wife and son - then you're not seeing half the art that's out there (and you're probably reading the wrong blog).
Back to it though: the main distinction I found in this telling of the story was that The Asylum has made a more intimate film than other versions; instead of focusing of the global scale of things their version is largely centered around one man alone in pursuit of his family, and, like they did with I Am Omega, The Asylum puts a heavy emphasis on the emotional toll of such a fate, allowing stress to dominate reason and cast the scientist as all but useless, just another rote survivor. Latt and crew also played up the faith angle a little more than others, okay, a lot more, specifically in reference to the alien attacks as a version of the Christian Rapture. Though here it isn't driven home as fervently as it would be in the pictures distributed through their Faith Films off-shoot, the character of Pastor Victor (the always splendid Rhett Giles) is absolutely inserted to give a theological perspective on the end of days.
All in all, this story isn't new; The Asylum's perspective on it, however, feels fresh, and is made so through the direction of David Michael Latt and the performances of his capable cast, a virtual who's who of Asylum films: C. Thomas Howell (Da Vinci Treasure, The Land That Time Forgot), Andy Lauer (Legion of the Dead, King of the Lost World), Rhett Giles (Frankenstein Reborn, The Apocalypse), Kim Little (Jane White is Sick and Twisted, Supercroc) - whose three minutes on screen are by far the most memorable - Sarah Lieving (in her first film role) and notable non-inmates like Jake Busey and the guy who played "Zed" in Pulp Fiction as C. Tom's brother.
Truth be told, I liked this better than Spielberg's version, I honestly did. Are the effects better? Of course not, the other version was directed by Steven fucking Spielberg. But H.G. Wells' original story isn't about effects, it's about fear, it's about chaos, and it's about the integral character of man being tested in the face of such adversities. And in that sense, in my opinion, Steven Spielberg is no David Michael fucking Latt.
Let the hate mail commence.
Birthday Wishes/ inmate profile: Paul Logan
In Paul Logan, The Asylum got more than a pretty face and a chiseled physique, they got their first bona-fide action star. A veteran of six Asylum films (plus some uncredited stunt work, according to IMDB, on Titanic II), Logan possesses, as I think I've alluded to before, the stern charm of a pre-Over The Top Sylvester Stallone, teamed with the husky confidence of Jason Statham, and just a dash of the bulky fighting style of Governor Schwarzenegger. So imagine those three having a baby somehow, and Paul Logan is pretty much what you end up with. Good guy, bad guys, good guys with some bad tendencies or bad guys with good leanings, PL has totally owned every role he's taken for The Asylum, and as it stands, along with Kim Little, he is the longest-active Asylum actor, having worked with the gang from their very first film - Killers - all the way up to three releases this year. So he's thoroughly committed. And, as I know I've alluded to before, he has the best run in The Asylum. Really, watching this guy run, it's like stumbling upon a wild Clydesdale. Such command. Anyway, I digress; below please find Paul Logan's filmography with The Asylum. He can next be seen in Ballistica, a Bourne-looking action/spy thriller, releasing on November 16th.- Killers...Nicky
- The Terminators...TR-4
- MegaFault...Major Boyd Grayson
- Ballistica...Damian
- Mega Piranha...Jason Fitch
- #1 Cheerleader Camp...Tom
It is also no coincidence that Mr. Logan's profile is posted today, because today is Mr. Logan's 38th birthday. Many happy returns of the day, Mr. Logan!
Consider yourself saluted.
observation notes: I Am Omega
Just so you know where all this is going, I'm going to be bold and open these observation notes with the declaration that I Am Omega is one of the greatest productions The Asylum has ever pulled off, and remember, that's coming from a guy who loves all these films, good or bad, but this one, this one enters a pantheon reserved for a precious few like Monster and The Beast of Bray Road. This is an especial accomplishment when you remember that I Am Omega isn't just a tie-in to the Will Smith flick I Am Legend, but also to two other incarnations of this story: The Last Man on Earth (1964) with Vincent Price and The Omega Man (1971) with Charlton Heston; all films are based on the novella by Richard Matheson, and the Smith version is the only one to retain the original name. But aside from that, the story here is basically the same as the others, with a few notable exceptions: the life and trials of the supposed last man on Earth (Mark Dacascos, Double Dragon and TV-Crow) in the apocalyptic wake of some pandemic virus fuck-all that turned most of society into ravenous mutant/vampire/zombie predators. As such, for the first half hour or so, the film focuses on MD's day-to-day survival routine, scrounging for supplies and, on this day at least, planting hella explosives around a natural gas pipeline. Two major differences from the other films emerge at this point: one, MD isn't scrounging off a major metropolitan area, so there are no luxuries - no fast cars, no ripe grocery stores or department stores, none of that, calling for a more hand-to-mouth existence set among a rural, desert landscape that helps raise the level of peril; and two, MD isn't an M.D. like the protagonists of other versions, he isn't conveniently the only guy ever who could figure out a cure for all this, he's just an average guy with exceptional fighting skills in a truly shitty situation, mentally fragile, on the verge of some deeper insanity, and so lost in his isolation that when all of a sudden he receives a video message from another survivor, instead of rejoicing, he flips the fuck out and shuts off the power. MD is a man with no hope of finding a way out of this hell, so he just plain has no hope.
Finally, though, he answers the video message and it's - lucky lucky - a hot single chick (Jennifer Lee Wiggins) trapped downtown in need of rescue. She says she's on her way to Antioch, a utopic survivors' compound nearby, and if MD comes for her, he can go with her to salvation. So as it turns out, MD isn't the last man on Earth at all, he's just the last recluse. Long story short, he turns her down, reps from Antioch come looking for him anyway, saying the girl carries the anti-virus in her blood so they gotta get her out, but they also know about the explosives and what MD's planning on blowing up: the whole fucking city. So they need him to use his sewer-layout knowledge to get them to the girl and out again before the city blows. Still MD isn't feeling the whole rescue mission, but in the end, they don't really give him a choice. At all.
So into the sewers they go, and from here on in it's mostly spoilers so I'll cease with the plot reveal but to say the set-up more than delivers, and the action continues to mount all the way to a spectacular ending, the culmination of races against time, explosives, zombies, fraudulent heroes, hope and salvation.
Overall, this feels more like a straight-up remake of The Last Man on Earth than it does a tie-in to I Am Legend. Another key difference - and the one, I believe, that makes this film so exceptional - is its subtle but thorough exploration of the psychosis factor involved, that is, the mental effects of being, well, Omega, the last person on Earth (if only in your mind). MD is not some flawless, wise-cracking action hero here, he is a very disturbed man fighting for his life every waking second, dealing with terror, grief, confusion and rage non-stop. The toll of this would be almost unbearable, and MD does an exceptional job portraying a man in such dire straits. In addition to his superb martial arts skills - employed here in a way that wasn't too obvious or distracting from the story - Dacascos brings an emotional intensity that results in a truly stirring performance, the best of his career for its equal parts power and passion, strength and extreme vulnerability.
His co-star Jennifer Lee Wiggins, a six-time Asylum vet (Shapeshifter, King of the Lost World, Dracula's Curse, Pirates..., and The 9/11 Commission Report) somehow manages to bring a playful sexiness to a distressed role, humanizing the character and making her more empathetic than perhaps she's written. But the highlight of this film, trivia-wise, for me, comes in the form of Geoff Meed, who plays Vincent, the brutish, mohawked Antioch rep, your typical over-trained thug. Not only has Meed performed in five Asylum films - including Airline Disaster and 100 Million B.C. - he's also written three: Universal Soldiers, 6 Guns and I Am Omega. I'm gonna call him the Bo Jackson of The Asylum from now on. You heard it here first.
I Am Omega was directed by Griff Furst, who's done some work with The Asylum before (he directed Universal Soldiers and 100 Million B.C. and had acting roles in Transmorphers and The Hitchhiker), but has also done some work outside the walls that have found mention in these virtual pages (Lake Placid 3, upcoming Swamp Shark). He's the captain at the helm of this film, an intense, scary thriller that stands on it's own feet and that grabbed me from the first scene and never let go. If you've never seen an Asylum film, make this one of the first three you watch.
inmate profile: Eric Forsberg
Writer/Director Eric Forsberg has been a major productive force over at The Asylum for the last few years, with a seemingly-inexhaustible creativity that indicates he'll be churning out the hits for a while to come.
A native of Chicago, Forsberg started his writing and directing in the theater world, specifically in comedy, where one of his early successes was a noir-homage called Knatt Scatt Private Eye, starring a certain actor named Steve Carrell. This was in 1985. He also worked as an improv instructor for the famed Second City, teaching future notables such as - I shit you not - Stephen Colbert, Tim Meadows, Amy Sedaris and Rachel Dratch. So the guy knows talent, raw and honed. He's been in Hollywood going on 15 years and has carved a very comfortable - and well-deserved - spot at the big-kids table, Asylum-wise. Check his resume:
Writer or co-writer on:
Alien Abduction, Monster, Snakes on a Train, 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea, War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave, Sex Pot and Mega Piranha.
Director of:
Alien Abduction, Sex Pot and Mega Piranha
Quickly becoming our next auteur, this inmate has a feeling Forsberg's on the verge of dropping a bomb on us, and not the bad kind, like, "wow, that movie bombed," but like, big explosions and cool fire and shit like that, you know, the "bomb." Lingo isn't a strong suit of mine. My point being, give this guy a treatment with vs. in the title, and I got a feeling the bar's going to be blown through the roof. Bar, as in a thing that's raised, not a place one drinks. Jeez.
Eric Forsberg, consider yourself saluted.
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