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inmate re-profile: Director Christopher Olen Ray

So, with only three weeks before the DVD release of 2 Headed Shark Attack, I thought it time we start shining the Committed spotlight on the creative personnel involved, starting with the man in the director's chair of this impending classic, one Christopher Olen Ray.

That's Mr. Ray on the left there.
Ray has directed twice before for the Asylum - last year's Mega Shark Vs. Crocosaurus with Jaleel White and this year's Almighty Thor with Richard Grieco - as well as twice before that: in 2008 he directed Reptisaurus, a made-for-TV movie starring Gil Gerard, and a series called "Road to Rhythm." 

I've made mention here before of Mr. Ray's cinematic pedigree - his father is noted exploitation director Fred Olen Ray, who in more than thirty years of filmmaking has unleashed nearly one hundred titles, among them Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Evil Toons and Scalps. Ray honed his skills spending years as an assistant director, PA and coordinator on more than a dozen of his father's films, so you know he received a lot of firsthand, on-set training from a master of the field. In fact, C-Ray's still works as a first assistant director on occasion, most recently on two other Asylum films - A Haunting in Salem and Zombie Apocalypse - and also on an upcoming C. Thomas Howell film I've made mention of before, Camel Spiders.

Christopher Ray, therefore, is no stranger to the creature-feature game - as MSvC clearly and deftly proved - he is weathered, learned, and more than capable of delivering to us, the ever-expectant masses, simply one of the Greatest Shark Films of all time (please please please).

Decades from now when they mention the best B-Movies of the early 21st Century, I have every faith 2 Headed Shark Attack will be on the tip of every tongue, as well as the name of its director, Christopher Olen Ray. Watch the magic unfurl before your very eyes when the greatest story ever told hits DVD January 31st, 2012, only a few short weeks from now...

Air Collision Final Poster and First Trailer!

Courtesy of the fine folks over at 28 Days Later Analysis, we have our first look at the final poster and initial trailer for The Asylum's next disaster flick, Air Collision. Owing credit where it's due, you should follow the link to see the trailer, but check out the poster below:


Air Collision - which stars Reginald VelJohnson, Jordan Ladd and Gerald Webb - is written and directed by Liz Adams, and streets March 27th, 2012

outside the walls: January DVD Releases

So I'll admit it, there are films not produced by The Asylum. There always have been, always will be. These glasses I wear are not rose-colored. They are clear, and occasionally smudged with fingerprints. A sampling of non-Asylum films due soon and news that might spark the interest of Asylum fans. Just remember, Sweet 'n Low ain't Sugar.

JANUARY 3rd



Don't Be Afraid of the Dark










Don't Let Him In







 


Ice Quake










Red: Werewolf Hunter










Shark Night








JANUARY 10th



A Darker Reality










Killer Elite









JANUARY 17th



Cold Sweat










The Interceptor









JANUARY 24th



The Woman







 

JANUARY 31st



2 Headed Shark Attack

story by Edward DeRuiter
screenplay by H. Perry Horton (me!!!)
starring Carmen Electra, Brooke Hogan, Charlie O'Connell, Gerald Webb et al
















Dream House










The Thing

A Look Ahead to Asylum's 2012...So Far...

With The Asylum's 2011 slate of films all but behind us - I say "all but" because there are still the Loonies yet to determine the fan favorites of last year's crop - I thought this would be an opportune moment to take a look ahead at the films The Asylum has already announced for 2012, which so far include two mockbusters, a disaster flick, a sex comedy and two wholly original horror films; let's take a look:




2 Headed Shark Attack

screenplay by H. Perry Horton (A Haunting in Salem)
from a story by Edward DeRuiter (3 Musketeers)
directed by Christopher Olen Ray (Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, Almighty Thor)

starring Carmen Electra, Brooke Hogan, Charlie O'Connell, Gerald Webb and a case of future household names

on DVD January 31, 2012









written by Jonny Haug, Pat Sheehan, Matt Short
directed by Scott Wheeler (MILF)
starring Jack Cullison, Emily Addison, Jonathan Brett

on DVD February 14, 2012









written by Naomi Selfman (Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, Mega Python vs Gatoroid)
directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg (Sherlock Holmes, Princess & the Pony)

starring Jane March, Eliza Bennett, Jamie Thomas King

on DVD March 13, 2012






written & directed by Liz Adams

starring Reginald VelJohnson, Jordan Ladd, Gerald Webb

on DVD March 27, 2012












written by Paul Bales (2010 Moby Dick, Legion of the Dead)
directed by Joseph Lawson

starring Dominique Swain, Jake Busey, Josh Allen

on DVD April 24, 2012










written & directed by Thunder Levin (script 200MPH)

starring Mario Van Peebles, Carl Weathers, JoHanna Watts

on DVD May 15, 2012

No 3,000 Followers, No Mega Shark 3...?

Well, over the last month the fine folks at The Asylum had given we faithfully committed the chance of a lifetime - the chance to earn the greenlighting of Mega Shark 3, and all we had to do to was pump their Twitter followers up to 3,000 by December 31st...

...and we failed.

That's right, at post-time, @theasylumcc only had 1,543 followers, barely half of the number required. So as it stands, as there does not seem to be enough interest, there will be no Mega Shark 3.

I'm going to say that again, so the finality of its weight might reverberate inside your soul: there will be no Mega Shark 3.

Doesn't sound good, does it? Doesn't sound like any kind of world one would want to be a part of, does it? How could we have dropped the ball like this? How could we have gone bald-faced right up to this gift horse and stuck our heads into its mouth? That's a gross analogy, I'll admit, but what we have here is a gross mishandling of opportunity. 3,000 followers. In social networking terms, that's next to nothing. One person tells one person who tells thirty more who tell three hundred apiece and bada-bing! We got the final installment to the greatest marine trilogy of ALL TIME.

But now, alas, all is lost...

...or is it? 

Probably, but Asylum partner David Michael Latt has issued the challenge that if @theasylumcc hits 2,000 followers by next Monday, they'll consider a third installment. No guarantees as before, but it is the tiniest sliver of hope, and sometimes, that's all you need.

So here's what we're going to do, gang: we're going to follow @theasylumcc on Twitter if we don't already; we're going to sign up for Twitter if we don't already have an account and follow @theasylumcc: we're going to take to said Twitter accounts and beg everyone who follows us to follow also @theasylumcc; we're going to repeat this begging on Facebook, Google+, our personal blogs and websites, any pertinent message boards we frequent, actual people met in the physical world et cetera until we acquire not only the 2,000 followers challenged to us, but then the extra 1,000 we were supposed to get the first time, because it's the right thing to do, and because it would result in a truly awesome movie; what further motivation do you need?


There is nothing rarer in life than a second chance; who would dare waste it?

The Asylum 2011: Ridiculously Popular

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

#2 - The Amityville Haunting
#5 - A Haunting in Salem (!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
#6 - Dragon Crusaders
#10 - 2012 Ice Age
#19 - 200MPH
#21 - Barely Legal
#23 - 11/11/11
#24 - 3 Musketeers
#32 - Battle of Los Angeles
#36 - Born Bad
#48 - Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes
#80 - The Princess and the Pony

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

and the nominees are: Announcing the 2011 Loonies!

That's right, Asylum fans, as another year draws to a close, it's time to look back over the last 12 months to determine our favorites among the year's harvest. I'm talking, of course, about the nominees for the 2nd Annual Looney Awards for Excellence in Asylum Films.

Invented by yours truly, the Loonies are an entirely fan-voted awards presentation across myriad categories celebrating the very best in The Asylum films of 2011. And this year has produced a lot of competition: 16 films hit DVD in 2011, up from 12 in 2010.

The deal is simple: below you will find nominees in 12 categories; all 16 films have been nominated for Best Feature (14 and 2, really, but you'll see), but in subsequent categories, the number of nominees drop, making those represented truly the creme de la creme. Write-in candidates are of course welcome.

The voting period will last for six weeks, giving you plenty of time to catch up on any films or performances you might have inadvertently missed, and will close on Wednesday, February 8nd, 2011. Winners will be announced right here two days later, on Friday the 10th. 

So email your votes to AsylumLoonies@hotmail.com and let your voice be heard, nay, counted! All these fine films are available on DVD for your screening purposes, and all can be acquired by a quick trip to The Asylum site, or Netflix. Vote once, but vote wise: winners will receive the undying admiration of we the committed, plus the worldwide esteem and jealous respect of their peers that comes with being a Looney-Award Winning Actor, Actress, Writer, Director, Non-Human, et cetera. 

Good luck to all of the nominees, and now, without further adieu, your 2011 Looney Nominees:

Best Picture

Mega Python vs. Gatoroid
The Princess & the Pony
200MPH
Barely Legal
Battle of Los Angeles
Almighty Thor
2012 Ice Age
A Haunting in Salem
3 Musketeers
11/11/11
Born Bad
Zombie Apocalypse
Ballistica 
Dragon Crusaders


Best Documentary Feature
Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes
The Amityville Haunting


Best Actor
Kel Mitchell...Battle of Los Angeles
Cody Deal...Almighty Thor
Richard Grieco...Almighty Thor
Patrick Labyorteaux...2012 Ice Age
Bill Oberst Jr....A Haunting in Salem
Xi...3 Musketeers
Michael Welch...Born Bad
Ving Rhames...Zombie Apocalypse


Best Actress
Tiffany...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Debbie Gibson...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Jeneta St. Clair...Barely Legal
Julie McCullough...2012 Ice Age
Bonnie Dennison...Born Bad
Taryn Manning...Zombie Apocalypse
Fiona Perry...The Princess and the Pony
Courtney Abbiati...A Haunting in Salem

Best Supporting Actor
Carey Van Dyke...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Bill Oberst Jr....The Princess and the Pony
Gerald Webb...Battle of Los Angeles
Gerald Webb...2012 Ice Age
Hayden Byerly...11/11/11
David Chokachi...Born Bad
Gary Weeks...Zombie Apocalypse
Martin Kove...Ballistica

Best Supporting Actress
Cecily Fay...Dragon Crusaders
AnnaMaria Demara...200MPH
Jenna Stone...A Haunting in Salem
Lisa Younger...Barely Legal
Michele Boyd...3 Musketeers
Aurelia Scheppers...11/11/11
Meredith Monroe...Born Bad
Lesley-Ann Brandt...Zombie Apocalypse

Best Screenplay
Naomi Selfman...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Mark Atkins...Battle of Los Angeles
Paul Sinor & Victoria Dadi...2012 Ice Age
Edward DeRuiter...3 Musketeers
Keith Allan & Kiff Scholl...11/11/11
Craig Engler & Brooks Peck...Zombie Apocalypse
Jared Cohn...Born Bad
Eric Forsberg...Almighty Thor

Best Score
Chris Ridenhour...A Haunting in Salem
Chris Ridenhour...Zombie Apocalypse
Chris Ridenhour...11/11/11
Chris Ridenhour...200MPH
Chris Ridenhour...3 Musketeers
Chris Ridenhour...Dragon Crusaders

Best Visual Effects
Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Zombie Apocalypse
2012 Ice Age
Dragon Crusaders
Battle of Los Angeles
Almighty Thor

Best Creature
Gatoroids...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Mega Python...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Zombies...Zombie Apocalypse
Witch-Ghosts...A Haunting in Salem
The Pony...The Princess and the Pony
Anneliese Michel...Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes

Best Cinematography
Alex Yellin...200MPH
Mark Atkins...Battle of Los Angeles
Alex Yellin...2012 Ice Age
Alex Yellin...A Haunting in Salem
Mark Atkins...Dragon Crusaders
Alex Yellin...Born Bad

Best Director
Mark Atkins...Battle of Los Angeles
Shane Van Dyke...A Haunting in Salem
Keith Allan...11/11/11
Nick Lyon...Zombie Apocalypse
Jared Cohn...Born Bad
Cole McKay...3 Musketeers
Mary Lambert...Mega Python vs Gatoroid
Rachel Goldenberg...The Princess and the Pony

 
  
    
         

TWO New Asylum Flicks on DVD TODAY!!!

For the first time maybe ever, today marks the release of not one, but TWO new Asylum movies on DVD: Zombie Apocalypse and The Amityville Haunting.

Zombie Apocalypse - written by Craig Engler and Brooks Peck and directed by Nick Lyon - is about pretty much what the title would lead you to expect: a group of survivors in a zombie wasteland try and fight their way to salvation. The film stars Ving Rhames, Taryn Manning, Gerald Webb, Lesley Ann-Brandt and scores more, and did right well in its World Premiere on SyFy back in October.


And then there's The Amityville Haunting, the latest found-footage project from the studio, this time concerning an ill-fated family that chose the wrooooong house to move into.


Both of these films are definitely worth a watch - Zombie Apocalypse boasts some of the best effects, writing and acting the studio's ever put out there, and Amityville Haunting will scare the living crap out of you, believe me. Jump to the links above for more info, including production stills and trailers, then go wherever you go to procure DVDs these days and get your hands on this fun and frightening double feature.
  

Celebrity Sex Tape Gets a Poster!!!

Today the fine folks over at The Asylum revealed the poster for their next sex farce, Celebrity Sex Tape:


Pretty standard poster, white background a la all Asylum comedy posters, and plenty of titillating promise. In case you forgot, this is the premise:

A group of college nerds secretly record a washed up celebrity having sex and post the tape on the internet. When the publicity revives the actress's career, every B-list celebrity, reality show reject, and celebutante in Hollywood want to star in the guys next "production."


Rrrrrracy...the film - directed by Scott Wheeler (MILF) from a script by Jonny Haug, Pat Sheehan and Matt Short and starring Jack Cullison, Emily Addison, Jonathan Brett, Colbert Alembert, Howard Cai, Andre Meadows and Julie Barzman - hits DVD on February 14th, 2012, making it next year's perfect Valentine's gift.

observation notes: The Amityville Haunting

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

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

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

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

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