Tons of Info on Upcoming Asylum Films!

It's going to be a busy end of the year for The Asylum, and things kick into high gear in only ten days, with the release of the studio's first ever theatrical effort, #HoldYourBreath, written by Geoff Meed (I Am Omega, 6 Guns), directed by Jared Cohn (Born Bad, Bikini Spring Break) and starring Katrina Bowden (30 Rock, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil). In another studio first, the movie has its very own website, complete with pretty much everything you'd want to know about the film.

After #HoldYourBreath, the next studio picture seems to be something called Layover, premiering on the Lifetime Network October 11th at 8 p.m. Though The Asylum doesn't have a page up on their site, according to IMDB, the film stars Lauren Holly (Picket Fences, Dumb & Dumber), Joe Lando (Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Meteor Apocalypse), Kaylee DeFer (Gossip Girl) and Gerald Webb (pretty much every Asylum movie of the last two years). No plot details available at present.

After that, there's another TV premiere, on SyFy this time, where the studio's latest undead drama, Rise of the Zombies, bows October 27th at 9 p.m. This one comes courtesy of Zombie Apocalypse director Nick Lyon and 11/11/11 writer Keith Allan. Levar Burton (Star Trek Next Generation, Reading Rainbow) and Mariel Hemingway (Manhattan, Star 81) star.

Then, there's The Asylum's next DVD release, 40 Days and Nights, which is going to be AWESOME, not just because I wrote the screenplay, but because really, how can a global flood movie not be awesome? Anyway, we're finally seeing a poster for this one, and it's pretty badass. Check it:

The film stars Monica Keena (Freddy vs Jason) and Alex Carter (CSI), is directed by Peter Geiger, and streets on November 27th, just in time for the holiday season.

And we're still not done. Next on DVD there's Jared Cohn's hellspawn drama 12/12/12, which itself got a pretty awesome poster:

 

That shit right there is just wicked. That baby looks like it wants to eat my soul, slowly, with its eyes. Get ready for this one to make you abstinent starting December 4th.

Two more to go, hang on...one week after 12/12/12, we get Age of the Hobbits, for my buck the studio's most ambitious and ingenious mockbuster yet, written by the great Eric Forsberg (Mega Piranha, Almighty Thor) and directed by Joseph Lawson, who after Nazis at the Center of the Earth is The Asylum's director to watch. No poster on this one, but we did get the first stills from production today. Check them out right here. Bai Ling (Crank 2) and Christopher Judge (Stargate) star.

And last but not least, we finally have some news on Hansel and Gretel. Dig the plot: "In this modern retelling of the classic horror tale, teen siblings are enslaved by a psychotic recluse within her gruesome house of horrors in the woods."

Sounds good to me. The film comes from writer Jose Prendes, who wrote and directed the excellently creepy Haunting of Whaley House, and director Anthony Ferrante (Boo, Headless Horseman). This will be The Asylum's first film of 2013 - assuming we get to 2013 - and is slated to come out January 8th. Dee Wallace (Eliott's mom in E.T.) and Stephanie Greco (Whaley House) star.

And that's it. For now.   

 

ADOPTING TERROR on DVD at last!!!

Though it has aired on Lifetime several times over the last few months, yesterday marked the official DVD release of the Sean-Astin-Samaire-Armstrong thriller Adopting Terror, directed by Micho Rutare, and written by Rutare and Nik Frank-Lehrer. 

I gave high marks to the film upon seeing it's premiere, and can guarantee if you like taut, intelligent thrillers that keep you on the edge of your couch cushion, this one is definitely up your alley. Most made-for-Lifetime movies have a touch of camp to them, but not this one; this one's a pure-T tale of everyday terror, a family's worst nightmare. Brendan Fehr steals the show, and Michael Gross and Monet Mazur make memorable appearances.

So there you have it. Now get thee to a DVD dispensary and put you mitts on Adopting Terror, the latest release from the fine, fine folks at The Asylum.

REMINDER: 2-Headed Shark Attack on SyFy Saturday Night!!!

Just a friendly reminder that this Saturday night at 9 p.m. marks the U.S. Television Premiere of 2-Headed Shark Attack on SyFy.

The film - starring Brooke Hogan, Charlie O'Connell, Carmen Electra, directed by Christoper Ray from a script by yours truly, H. Perry Horton, based on a story by Ed DeRuiter - has been hailed and reviled by critics worldwide, so jump on the bandwagon and see what the hype is all about.

Saturday. 9 p.m. Syfy. A shark with two heads and more bikini screen-time than most sex comedies. What more could you ask for?

SHARK WEEK on DVD Today

If it's Tuesday, this must be where I tell you about the latest Asylum release streeting today on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD: this time it's Shark Week, respectfully described as Saw meets Jaws, which is hook enough for me.

The film, which had its World Premiere earlier this month on the prestigious SyFy Channel, stars Patrick Bergin as a maniacal shark aficionado who kidnaps seven unwitting strangers and forces them through a gauntlet of increasingly more dangerous shark species. Yancy Butler is his femme fatale. Christopher Ray directed it, based on a script I, H. Perry Horton, had a hand in. Guaranteed you won't soon forget this film, so get out there, get your hands on it, and start making memories.

#HoldYourBreath Gets a Trailer!!!

#HoldYourBreath, the first theatrical release by the fine folks at The Asylum, finally showed us the goods today via this trailer:

In case you couldn't tell, the basic plot is as follows: "A group of friends on a roadtrip explore a cemetery where the ghost of a notorious serial killer jumps from body to body, killing his victims one by one."

The film, written by Geoff Meed (I Am Omega, 6 Guns) and directed by Jared Cohn (Born Bad, Bikini Spring Break, upcoming 12/12/12) stars 30 Rock's Katrina Bowden and Grizzly Park's Randy Wayne, and is set to premiere October 5th.

2 HEADED SHARK ATTACK Gets a US SyFy Premiere!!!

Get ready for another Saturday-shark-movie-marathon on SyFy next month, because 2 Headed Shark Attack is at long last making its U.S. television debut on September 8th!

The film - directed by Christopher Olen Ray (Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, Shark Week) and written by me, H. Perry Horton (A Haunting in Salem, Shark Week) from a story by Edward Deruiter (3 Musketeers) and starring Brooke Hogan, Carmen Electra and Charlie O'Connell - has been out on DVD since January of this year and in that time has received rave reviews from shark film aficionados worldwide.

If you're a fan of Brooke Hogan. September 8th is an especially special evening, because immediately preceding 2HSA is her other film to date, Sand Sharks, a truly delightful, fun and thrilling film directed by Asylum-regular Mark Atkins (Dragon Crusaders, Battle of Los Angeles). September 8th also happens to be my birthday. Pretty, pretty sweet present.

The time: September 8th, 2012, 9 p.m. wherever you live.
The place: SyFy
The event: 2 Headed Shark Attack World Television Premiere.

Your presence is kindly requested.

An Interview with 2-HEADED SHARK ATTACK/SHARK WEEK Scribe H. Perry Horton

Who is, of course, me, but here's the interview anyway, with Mike Gencarelli of Media Mikes. Enjoy!

Watch SHARK WEEK on SyFy Tomorrow Night!

Just a reminder - as though you needed another one - that tomorrow night, the next movie from The Asylum, and my third script for the studio, Shark Week, makes its World Premiere on SyFy at 9 p.m. If you like sharks all sizes, devious madmen with a penchant for sick games, femme fatales, true-hearted protagonists or even just lots of blood, this one if definitely up your alley. If you're on the Twitter, there's a live tweet-a-thon going on during the East Coast premiere that will include director Christopher Olen Ray and several members of the cast and crew. Hash tag Shark Week and all that. I myself will be watching the West Coast premiere later that night, the same way I watch all my scripts for the first time: under a blanket in a dark, locked room, covered in flop sweats, before the scattered empties of cheap wine coolers. 

Shark Week. Saturday night, 9 o'clock. SyFy. Tell everyone you know to tell everyone they know. Please and thank you.

inmate profiles: Patrick Bergin & Yancy Butler

With only a few days before Shark Week makes its World Premiere on Syfy - this Saturday night, 9 p.m. - it's high time we take a closer look at the actors who bring the film to life. And who better to start with than our two leads, Patrick Bergin and Yancy Butler? Ladies first:

Yancy Butler was born and raised in American Bohemian paradise, Greenwich Village in New York City. She began studying acting in her early teens, and made her debut in her early 20s on an episode of Law & Order, which got the attention of network execs who quickly signed her to their new sci-fi show Mann & Machine in which she played, and I'm quoting, a "voluptuous robot partner" to a brash cop. The series lasted only nine episodes, but a star was born. 

Once she invigorated the big screen in John Woo's Hard Target opposite JCVD, Ms. Butler's status as a sexy tough gal was cemented. From there she went on to star in such movies as Drop Zone with Wesley Snipes, Fast Money, Ravager, Doomsday Man, Striking Range with Lou Diamond Phillips, and more recently Kick-Ass with Nicholas Cage and both Lake Placid 3 & 4. And of course there's her work in television, which included Brooklyn South, a gritty cop show spearheaded by David "Deadwood" Milch, and Witchblade, the role for which she is perhaps best remembered. All in all, Ms. Butler has made a steady career for 20 years playing as one badass lady; Shark Week should prove no exception.

Then there's the venerable Patrick Bergin, a son of Dublin and a veritable star on both sides of the Atlantic. After starring on stage in screen abroad, Bergin first came to the attention of American audiences via the Julia-Roberts thriller Sleeping With the Enemy, in which he was the Enemy. His other big U.S. role came opposite Harrison Ford in Patriot Games. 

Beyond these roles, Bergin has appeared in near 100 productions, including roles as Robin Hood, Dr. Frankenstein, St. Patrick, King Arthur, Dracula, Casanova and now Tiburon, maniacal shark fetishist. 

And now the fates have aligned and at last these two talents shall share the same screen as the devious duo behind Shark Week, on SyFy this Saturday night at 9 p.m., then on DVD a few weeks later on August 28th. Written by me, H. Perry Horton, and directed by Chrisopher Olen Ray, for whom the film marks a shark hat trick, after Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus and 2 Headed Shark Attack, the latter of which I also penned. Just so you know your in good hands. Or fins.*


*sorry, I had to.

SHARK WEEK Stills and a Teaser Trailer!!!

So much Shark Week info this week, and now we get the cherry on top: production stills and this incredibly awesome teaser trailer: 

Man oh man oh man oh man, I wrote the damn thing and that trailer gave me chills. Check out the finished product this Saturday night at 9 p.m. on SyFy. Patrick Bergin, Yancy Butler, Erin Coker, Josh Allen, Frankie Cullen, Valerie Garcia, Bart Baggett and more star for director Christopher Olen Ray.

 

Details on 4 New Asylum Projects

Lots of new over at The Asylum page today, where we get cast, crew and plot details on 4 upcoming productions; let's just get into it, shall we?

#holdyourbreath: This is The Asylum's theatrical debut, written by Geoff Meed and directed by Jared Cohn. 

The plot: "A group of friends on a roadtrip explore a cemetery where the ghost of a notorious serial killer jumps from body to body, killing his victims one by one."  

The stars: Katrina Bowden, Randy Wayne, Lisa Younger, Seth Cassell, Erin Marie Hogan.  

The release date: October 5th, in theaters!

40 Days and 40 Nights: an upcoming disaster flick, written by me, H. Perry Horton, and directed by Peter Geiger. 

The plot: "When a colossal tectonic shift causes the sea level to start rising, a microbiologist gathers the DNA of as many species as she can, while the military creates an "ark" in a desperate attempt to preserve life on Earth." 

The stars: Monica Keena, Alex Carter, Christianna Carmine, Emily Sandifer, Mitch Lerner.  

The release date: November 27th.

12/12/12: thriller written & directed by the ever-busy Jared Cohn. 

The plot: "When baby Sebastien is born on 12/12/12 everyone around him starts to die. Soon, his mother realizes that her son is the spawn of Hell."  

The stars: Sara Malakul Lane, Jesus Guevera, Carl Doleson, Steve Hanks 

The release date: 12/4/12


Age of the Hobbits: written by Eric Forsberg for Joseph Lawson to direct.

The plot: "In an age long ago, the last village of clever, peace-loving Hobbits is attacked and enslaved by the Java Men, komodo-worshiping, dragon-riding cannibals. Now the young Hobbit Goben, along with his father and sister, must seek help from the "giants" (human hunters) to find the Javas' lair and rescue the last surviving Hobbits, Goben's mother among them. In their quest to destroy the Javas, the heroic partnership of humans and Hobbits will transform both species forever." 

The stars: Christopher Judge, Bai Ling, Sun Korng

The release date: December 11 

WHALEY HOUSE on DVD Today!!!

That's right, my fellow faithfully-committed, if it's Tuesday it must be time for another Asylum new release. This week it's the righteous haunted house flick, The Haunting of Whaley House, from writer/director Jose Prendes. Now, if you scroll down a few centimeters past the bottom of this post you'll find my glowing review of the film, which is absolutely a must-see for fans of the genre: great story, great cast, great scares, great film. So get thee to a DVD outlet be it rental or retail, and get your hands on this one while supplies last. Also on Blu-Ray and VOD.

observation notes: THE HAUNTING OF WHALEY HOUSE

Coming this Tuesday to DVD is The Asylum's The Haunting of Whaley House, an original ghost story from writer/director Jose Prendes (The Terminators, Haunting of Winchester House stories) based on the real-life history and lore of an historic home in San Diego. The plot is straight forward enough - "When a tour guide breaks into America’s Most Haunted House, a bit of amateur ghost hunting with friends turns into more horror than they could have ever imagined." - but the results are far from expected or ordinary: HoWH is an intelligent, paranoid and horrifying thriller, well-steeped in reality and thus resonant with authenticity.

Now, as you know, Committed is 100% anti-spoiler, so I won't delve on the details, but I can say in sweeping generalizations that Prendes has built a ghost story classically constructed, confident and fluid, and paired with lively, fast-pace and quick-witted dialogue rife with horror- and pop-cultural references that together create a delightful amalgam of old and new. The scares are smart, abrupt and startling - no corner or shadow is safe - resulting in a palpable tension from the first frame to the last; and believe me, once shit starts popping off in this one, SHIT STARTS POPPING OFF.

One of the major strengths of the picture outside Prendes' talents is the ensemble of actors he's assembled. Admittedly, there's been an over-saturation of ghost hunting in popular media over the last decade; and more often than not, when such characters are presented, it's with a dash of humor/pity. But Whaley House is how ghost hunters should be represented - passionate, scientific, meticulous and above all hungry for proof - and manages to an authentic and even admirable portrayal of such persons. The chemistry between the actors - Stephanie Greco, Alex Arleo, Arielle Brachfeld, Graham Denman (who also scored the film), Carolina Groppa, Howard McNair and Jason Owlsley - is believable and relaxed, while the individual characters themselves are nicely balanced, equally valuable and distinctly drawn; this is not your typical cast of ghost hunting characters, and the film is richer for their uniqueness. 

As a director, Prendes is obviously well-versed in all the classic horror films, domestic and foreign, and he brings his experienced eye to every frame, the result of which is perhaps the most suspenseful Asylum film to date. I honestly didn't know what to expect here, and Prendes and team surprised me at every turn, often to my nerves' chagrin. There is a creeping, anticipatory direction that transforms the camera into a pensive voyeur almost afraid to progress through the story, but unable to turn away. This one raises the bar, for real. It's lusciously atmospheric, rife with the best elements of its old-school influences, all the while breaking some scary new ground itself. And it's filmed in a really good looking house.

So then bottom line - stop what you're doing this Tuesday and rush to wherever you procure your home rentals and wrestle for your copy of Haunting of Whaley House; I can't imagine a world in which you'd be disappointed. Highest possible recommendation.

SHARK WEEK Gets an IMDB Page...Further Cast Details!

With only 10 days to go until the Shark Week premiere on SyFy - Saturday, August 4th, 9p.m. - there's now an IMDB page giving away further cast and crew details. The film, as avid Committed readers (assuming there are any) will know, stars Patrick Bergin (Sleeping With The Enemy, Patriot Games) and Yancy Butler (Witchblade, Lake Placid 3 & 4) as the shark-loving madman and his moll, respectively, who abduct a group of strangers and force them to fight for their lives in a gauntlet of ever-deadlier shark species on a remote island compound; now we know who some of the "contestants" are:

Josh Allen (below, Nazis at the Center of the Earth) and Erin Coker (right, 11/11/11) had already been mentioned on The Asylum's Shark Week page, and while Ms. Coker has not yet been added to the IMDB page, Mr. Allen has, and he's playing "Cal," the primary protagonist. I would assume - not just out of the blue, I wrote the script - that Ms. Coker is playing his female counterpart, but we shall see. New names include Asylum vet Bart Baggett (2010 Moby Dick, Airline Disaster, Air Collision) as "Holt," a cantankerous fellow, Frankie Cullen as, appropriately, "Frankie," and Valerie K. Garcia - the same VKG who works magic as a key makeup artist, with a resume that includes not only this film and several others, but especially the INCREDIBLE ghost-witches from A Haunting in Salem - as "Layla," the wild card of the bunch, if you will.


Shark Week was directed by the great Christopher Olen Ray (Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, Almighty Thor, 2-Headed Shark Attack) and written by me, H. Perry Horton, and is the perfect way to spend next Saturday night (9 p.m., SyFy)

100 GHOST STREET: THE RETURN OF RICHARD SPECK on DVD Today!

The Asylum's next entrant into the found-footage phenomena is the chilling film 100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck.

Speck, for those gleefully uninformed, was a real nutjob who raped and murdered a bunch of student nurses back in the 1960's. The Asylum has purportedly found footage shot by a team of paranormal investigators who infiltrated Speck's kill-house a year or so ago. The footage is all that remains of their expedition. Check out the trailer below, then, if you dare, check out the film now on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD.

 

3 Inmates Win 2012 Golden Cob Awards!!!

The Annual Golden Cob Awards for excellence in B-movies, presented by the B-Movie Celebration, were announced over the weekend, and The Asylum has not one, not two, but three inmates being honored for their work over the last year!

First up is actor Bill Oberst Jr., who is being honored as the Best Rising B Movie Actor for his work in last October's ghost flick A Haunting in Salem, in which he played the paranormally-beleagured Sheriff Wayne Downs. Oberst has also appeared in The Princess and the Pony, Born Bad and - a film sure to get recognition of its own next year - Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies.

Next there's the winner for the Best B Movie Soundtrack, The Asylum's musical maestro Chris Ridenhour. Though Ridenhour puts out, like, four dozen scores over the course of the last year, the Golden Cobs are singling out his epic and adventurous work on Mark Atkins' Dragon Crusaders as the best of the year. Ridenhour can next be heard in Shark Week, premiering on SyFy on August 4th, then the disaster flick Supercyclone, then zombie-fest Dead Walking, also set to premiere on SyFy, in October.

And last but by no means least there is director Christopher Olen Ray - of Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, Almighty Thor and 2 Headed Shark Attack fame - who is being honored with the festival's Bill Cothron Best Emerging Filmmaker Award. His next effort, Shark Week - as mentioned above - premieres on SyFy on August 4th at 9 p.m.

Congratulations to all the winners! Viva Asylum!

inmate profile: Arielle Brachfeld

T-minus two weeks until The Haunting of Whaley House drops on DVD, Blu-Ray, and VOD, and given that the advance copies at Comic Con sold out fast, seems like there's a mighty fine film headed our way. So here at Committed we continue to educate and inform you about the creative talents behind this impending ghostly greatness; already we've profiled writer/director Jose Prendes and actors Stephanie Greco and Alex Arleo. Today we feature actress Arielle Brachfeld.

Ms. Brachfeld began acting professionally in 2005 with a couple of shorts that lead to a role in the indie comedic homage, Return of the Ghostbusters. From there the parts came rolling in, including The House That Jack Built alongside Joe Mantegna and Gail O'Grady, the horror anthology Evil Deeds 2, indie comedy/horror Blood Effects, and Love, Gloria, with Asylum-alum Heather McComb (2012: Supernova). 

In addition to her work in Whaley House - which from the picture below looks pretty pivotal, not to mention blood-curdling - Ms. Brachfeld has several other projects in various stages of development: InSpectres, a comedy; Live-In Fear, a supernatural adventure flick; The Obsession, a drama alongside yet another Asylum-alum, Dominique Swain (Nazis at the Center of the Earth); and Love: As You Like It, "a sexy, bold reimagining of Shakespeare's romantic comedy..." Can't got wrong with that, right?

Until then, check out Arielle Brachfeld's next performance in The Asylum's The Haunting on Whaley House, out July 31st.

inmate profile: Alex Arleo

Next up in the Committed spotlight from the cast of The Haunting of Whaley House is actor Alex Arleo, who plays the awesomely-named "Jake Wildman" in the film.

Arleo made his on-screen debut back in 2009 in George Anton's Dracula, in which he played "Holmwood." A couple years after that he made his first film with The Asylum, the riotously raunchy Barely Legal (that's him below). Then 2012 hit, and Arleo started popping up everywhere, first for The Asylum again in Celebrity Sex Tape, then alongside Michael Madsen in the drama Sprawl. Four episodes of Girls of Sunset Place followed that - another co-star of the series was Gary Stretch of Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus fame - then Bert: The Emotion Picture from Barely Legal director Jose Montesinos and co-starring Barely Legal's Jeneta St. Clair, and now he's back at The Asylum for the Haunting of Whaley House.

 
Obviously Arleo's becoming quite the in-demand young actor. Witness the chops that has casting scouts scooping him up when The Haunting of Whaley House dominates DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD charts everywhere starting July 31st.

SDCC Reveals New Asylum Production!

One of my favorite sites, Dread Central, is sharing some awesome art they picked up at Comic Con, including the previously-seen Bigfoot poster and the Shark Week poster I showed you a couple days ago (on SyFy 8/4 @ 9pm, DVD 8/28), but the real score here is the revealing of a new Asylum production, as well as its stars!

The film, Dead Walking, is also set for a SyFy Premiere, this one on October 27th, just in time for Halloween. The films stars Mariel Hemingway (Manhattan), Levar Burton (Duh) and Danny Trejo. Yep, The Asylum landed Trejo. In a zombie movie. Oh shit is this gonna be good. One thing I can add to this story is a director. If my Facebook feed is to be trusted, Nick Lyon, director of Zombie Apocalypse, is back behind the camera for this one, and since Zombie Apocalypse was pretty damn awesome, I'd expect the same thing from Dead Walking. Hold your breath til October to find out (but don't forget Shark Week in less than three weeks!!!)

SHARK WEEK POSTER!!!!!

With less than a month before its World Premiere on SyFy - Saturday, August 4th, 9p.m. - Shark Week, the next creature feature from the fine folks at The Asylum, at long last has a poster, and a pretty rad tagline:

"7 Days, 7 Sharks, 1 Survivor!" Poetry, pure poetry. 

The film - starring Patrick Bergin and Yancy Butler, and directed by the great Chris Olen Ray (2-Headed Shark Attack, Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus) off a script written by yours truly, H. Perry Horton (A Haunting in Salem, 2-Headed Shark Attack) - hits DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD on August 28th, and is already available for pre-order on Netflix and Amazon. Until then, or at least until a trailer arrives, I'm just going to be staring at this.