IT’S THE BOOZE TALKIN’: Attack of The Asylum!

Last Updated on July 26, 2021

Attack of The Asylum!

First comes the concept, then the title, then the poster. Somewhere down the line there will be an actual film to make. It’s a method of madness that seems sketchy at best, perhaps a drunken brainstorm from some college kids and their first video camera. Make no mistake about it though, these guys are professionals and know exactly what they’re doing (although I wouldn’t rule out the drunk part). And fuck me if it isn’t starting to win me over. Is that a direct-to-DVD SHERLOCK HOLMES rip-off that features hints of battles with dragons, dinosaurs, and a giant squid? How do you not want to rent that on the way home from the liquor store?

How do you take the concept of PIRANHA 3-D, a film that centers around hordes of tiny flesh eating fish feasting on the glistening hard-bodies of young spring breakers, and make it even more ridiculous? You create MEGAPIRANHA and you have him eat a battleship. It’s an art form that has been mastered by partners, David Michael Latt and David Rimawi for the last 13 years, a span that has seen them distribute well over 10 films annually and usually find a profit for each within 4 months of their release.

While fulfilling my duties on The JoBlo Movie Podcast, my co-host, Johnny Moreno, and I stumbled upon the trailer for MEGA SHARK VS. GIANT OCTOPUS and quickly became obsessed with what it had to offer. Shark eats bridge. Shark eats commercial airliner, mid-flight. Debbie Gibson. How much can my inner adolescence handle? And as fun as it was to tear the film apart on multiple shows, it was refreshing to visit their website afterward and realize we were actually laughing with them as opposed to at them. There’s a dry wit there that makes me wish I was part of the team if only because I drink a lot and think up stupid shit too.

Ironically, the first experience I had with The Asylum was the best and I didn’t even know it until researching this article. 2003’s KING OF ANTS was a hardcore revenge film that pulled no punches and truly entertained the sick psychotic in me (read Arrow’s review here). How they got from an original gut wrenching thriller such as this to knocking off any and every blockbuster of the past 5 years is beyond me. Maybe it’s the booze.

GET THE KING OF THE ANTS ON DVD HERE

Speaking of which, [insert catch phrase here] I think the world needs films like these. They’re the anti-spoof films for a new generation. Where as shit like EPIC MOVIE tries way too hard to make you laugh every 5 seconds and fails horribly, The Asylum doesn’t really put much effort into anything and ends up being hilarious.