The Asylum Totally Explained

Everything about The Asylum totally explained

The Asylum is an American film studio. They primarily focus on horror films, but have also released films of the action, comedy, sci-fi, and thriller genres. It was started in 1997 by David Michael Latt, David Rimawi, and Sherri Strain. Currently, it has three managing partners, Rexfillian Sutch, David Michael Latt and David Rimawi. Its headquarters is in Hollywood, California. The Asylum can be called a modern-day B-movie company, producing several films made on low budgets and short shooting schedules each year. Although The Asylum have released a large number of original movies, they're best known for a series of films (dubbed 'Mockbusters' by Empire Magazine) which have been very obvious and unashamed rip-offs of major Hollywood movies released around the same time. The Asylum's efforts, however, are usually made for much less money and go straight to DVD. Nevertheless they're clearly profitable as the company has now made over a dozen such films and have more in the pipeline.

Units

The Asylum has three divisions: The Global Asylum (film distribution worldwide), The Asylum Home Entertainment (distribution within the United States), and The Asylum Studios (production company).

Films

The Asylum particularly produces and releases horror movies, often shot very quickly and filmed on low budgets. Also, certain actors, directors and writers are used repeatedly for different films. Those involved in this group are referred to as "Asylumites".
The Asylum has garnered some criticism because of unoriginal movies. For example, they produced a film version of the H.G. Wells' novella The War of the Worlds that was released on DVD in 2005 just a day before the Steven Spielberg version premiered in the U.S. on June 29th. This capitalizes on the fact that movies usually debut on weekends while DVDs are released in many areas earlier in the week such as Tuesday. Some have said this is to capitalize on those who ask for films that have just gone to theatres for the DVD out of confusion from the commercials, causing them to pick up these similar movies instead. Mockbusters by Asylum tend to be far more graphic than their original counterparts. Films that have been produced and released direct-to-video by The Asylum to capitalize on the releases or successes of other films include:

King of the Lost World - A loose adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's novel The Lost World, the title and DVD cover art are meant to capitalize on Peter Jackson's King Kong remake, released one day after King of the Lost World.
When a Killer Calls - The story of a babysitter being terrorized by a psychopath, this film was released in February of 2006 to coincide with the U.S. theatrical release of the When a Stranger Calls remake.
Hillside Cannibals - A film based on the same allegedly true story as The Hills Have Eyes, and released 18 days after the U.S. theatrical release of that film's remake on March 10th, 2006.
The Da Vinci Treasure - This project starring C. Thomas Howell and Lance Henriksen is an obvious rip-off of The Da Vinci Code, and was released four days after the other film's U.S. theatrical release on May 19th, 2006.
- This film about a couple who discover that their adopted child may be the Antichrist was released on June 6th, 2006, the same day as the U.S. theatrical release of The Omen remake. This is also a rare Asylum film to have a sequel in .
Pirates of Treasure Island - This pirate-themed film was released on June 27th, 2006; most likely to capitalize on the July 7th U.S. theatrical release of . One may note that the box art for Pirates of Treasure Island is very similar to that of the first film, and one actor's appearance is a blatant copy of Johnny Depp's character, Captain Jack Sparrow.
Snakes on a Train - This film was released three days before the U.S. theatrical release of Snakes on a Plane on August 18th, 2006. Aside from the "snakes terrorizing humans in an enclosed area" theme, the Asylum film bears no resemblance to the Samuel L. Jackson vehicle. This may be due to the fact that very little was known about the actual plot of the Snakes on a Plane feature until its release.
The 9/11 Commission Report - A film based on the "9/11 Commission Report" and released on September 5th, 2006. It has been described by The Asylum as, "A thriller in the tradition of Syriana, Traffic, and United 93." (External Link). ABC network's TV film The Path to 9/11, also allegedly based on the "9/11 Commission Report", was shown on September 10th, 2006 (a day before the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks). This project could also have been made in response to Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, though Latt has stated on his internet forum that The Asylum's film is original.
Dragon - This movie was released three days before Eragon and follows the same concept of dragons in a fantasy world but differs greatly in its plot.
Transmorphers - A film about giant robots fighting humans which was released a week before the U.S. theatrical release of Michael Bay's Transformers on July 3, 2007. Despite a very similar title to the film based on the Transformers toy line, Transmorphers is more analogous to the Terminator universe, where after years of robots ruling Earth, the humans rise up in war.
Universal Soldiers - Despite the title and a quote on the back of the DVD box ("More thrilling and action-packed than the original Universal Soldier!"), this film is completely unrelated to the Universal Soldier franchise, and is actually more akin to The Terminator or Predator.
30,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Basically a modern low budget version of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
- This movie is most similar to the Alien vs. Predator franchise and has been timed to tie in with the theatrical release of the second movie in that series. The movie features aliens and 'hunters' (which bear a striking resemblance to Predators), two warring races who come to Earth. The poster is almost identical to that for the first Alien vs. Predator movie, featuring profiles of the two antagonists staring at each other and the movie's title in the middle, below an 'AVH' logo which resembles the 'AVP' logo of the Alien vs. Predator films.
I Am Omega - A futuristic thriller in which a lone man fights off hordes of creatures in a world ravaged by disease. I Am Omega has no official relation to the 1954 Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend or the Will Smith film of the same name. The Matheson novel is a copyrighted work that has only been licensed three times for film adaptations; the 1964 film The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price, the 1971 film The Omega Man starring Charlton Heston and the 2007 film I Am Legend starring Will Smith.
Monster - A monster movie which deals with the attack of a giant tentacled creature on Japan. Told from the perspective of a handheld camera, the movie was released on 1-15-08, only three days before Cloverfield hit theaters.
Invasion of the Pod People - Coincided with the release of 2007's The Invasion, a modern remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
The Hitchhiker - Meant to capitalize on the 2007 remake of The Hitcher, but released two months after that film's U.S. theatrical release, and bearing little resemblance to the remake.
100 Million BC - Meant to capitalize the movie Roland Emmerich 10,000 BC, the movie was released on 2-5-08, only two days before 10,000 BC hit theatres.
Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls - A loose adaptation of King Solomon's Mines, the title is meant to capitalize on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and billed as "from the story that inspired Indiana Jones."
Street Racer - Although the title obviously references Speed Racer, the film's plot, which involves a racer dragged back into the streets of Los Angeles, appears to be more similar to 2 Fast 2 Furious.

This practice has only been recently adopted by The Asylum. Before 2005, almost all of their films were based on original story ideas with original scripts, and were not reliant upon theatrical releases with similar names or story ideas. However, despite their more derivative productions, The Asylum continues to produce original content, primarily in the horror genre.
   The Asylum's practice of producing so-called "rip-off" movies was brought to light in July of 2006 on The Today Show on NBC, featuring perspectives on the matter by The Asylum co-founder David Michael Latt, a consumer advocate, and some people in a video store. Latt contended that he's running a business and is merely trying to get the largest audience possible to see his films (as most all filmmakers attempt to do), but also says his company puts their own spin on the tales. He also noted that The Asylum had released over 200 films, and claimed that only six were "studio tie-ins". The consumer advocate noted that, while it's very misleading and unfair to customers, it's perfectly legal and, from a business standpoint, very clever. Customers at the video store expressed bewilderment, as one who picked up a copy of Pirates of Treasure Island was prompted to ask, "Is Johnny Depp even in this?"
   Director Leigh Scott (Dracula's Curse, Beast of Bray Road, Dragon, The 9/11 Commission Report) defended The Asylum's practice of doing cash-in films during the commentary for his film The Hitchhiker, stating that numerous books and TV specials come out around the same time as much-publicized films (such as The Da Vinci Code and Pirates of the Caribbean) covering the topics or eras covered in those films. Scott defends The Asylum, saying that it's also just doing what numerous other people are doing, but they're the only ones making feature length films.
   Despite their reputation for making low budget, straight-to-DVD movies, The Asylum has enlisted the talents of several 'name' actors. Lance Henriksen has appeared in a number of major movies (including, ironically, Alien Vs. Predator, later the recipient of one of The Asylum's 'homages') as well as starring in Chris Carter's cult TV series Millennium and has appeared in several Asylum projects. Other well known actors include C. Thomas Howell, Bruce Boxleitner, Steve Railsback, Edward Furlong, Cerina Vincent, Greg Evigan, Mark Dacascos, William Katt, Michael Gross, and Lorenzo Lamas.

Forums

The Asylum's website maintains an active forum section, where fans can talk about upcoming releases and films in production. There is also a section titled "Ask David", in which The Asylum's David Michael Latt will answer questions about film production, and also offer information for aspiring filmmakers and actors, such as what producers look for in a script, what to consider in writing a script, and what actors should do to survive an audition. To that end, The Asylum (or Latt at least) has been viewed as "fan friendly" for its willingness to inform people about the film industry.

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