So, rather than making "personal, pretentious films that no one sees" you make pitiful, low-budget, badly acted, scripted, and designed films that people see by accident, thinking they were the large-scale filsm you tried to rip-off, and then wish they had never known existed??
It's impossible to make movies that suck worse than yours. My father saw Hillside Cannibals and now I have to suffer because he refuses to rent or buy another Asylum movie.
I mean, yes, some of your films are okay. Some are even original! Even wikipedia.com has stated that the Asylum pruduces films to attempt profits off of the new releases. Like the brilliant idea of releasing HG Well's War of the Worlds ONE DAY BEFORE Tom Cruise's version came out? Don't even attempt to tell me that wasn't intentional.
Now, don't get me wrong. I loved Hillside Cannibals, King of the Lost World, and a few select others. But, The Asylum makes bad movies in general. They are all shot like the camera crew has never worked in the film industry before! I'm a film student, and have always loved making movies, and, I must say, some of my first-grade movie projects were better than some Asylum productions.
The costumes are almost ALWAYS badly designed (not as bad as S.I.C.K., which listed K*Mart as a costume supplier!!), and the makeup is dreadful! Like, in Hillside Cannibals. Come on! Sawney Beane's face like...becomes your own once you wear it, but, it's noticeably rubber! And when the main female's face is sliced off and put on the other cannibal girl. The "face mask" the wildwoman is wearing looks nothing like Heather. And then they show Heather's corpse... She has like, mud on her face instead of a raw skull like someone who just had their FACE SKINNED OFF would. There's no muscle or blood visible--just brown muck.
And in the special behind the scenes for H-SC... The crew boasts about their wonderful "flesh" props. That skin looked worse than if you had used orange peels! And the organs, guts, etc. would have looked better if you used taffy. Very very disappointing that you would rip off The Hills Have Eyes and then ruin it, as all Asylum films do.
Now, granted, we all like to reimagine films. I am writing a script for my film class that is similar to The Evil Dead. However, rather than completely botch and steal from the original, we incorporate our own ideas and revise it.
That is the main thing I hate about Asylum films:
-bad scripts (the actors are often great but are never given the chance to show their skill because they are either killed too soon, are screaming too often, or the sscript is bad)
-pitiful picture quality: the camera is often jostled, and the clarity is grainy. Also, the movies always have student film aspects.
-bad plots: the characters fail to develop and the plots are too similar to other films. either that or the storyline is so botched (due to bad scripts) that you have no clue what went on
-terrible props: nothing ever looks real, and the CGI effects suck terribly
-over the edge gore: the last Asylum film I saw was Freakshow. It was so boring, I would have enjoyed sitting through a 24 hour marathon of the 700 Club with George Bush while mutilating myself. And the gore was way too over the top in the last 10 minutes. We understand the freaks kill her. We don't need 10 mins of filming them doing so to get the point. If t was realistic gore, okay. But this was very badly produced gore. And in Hillside Cannibals, when that druggie is killed, she is bisected at the torso.... but intestines spill out. My stomach and intestines are NOT in my pelvic region.
You guys seem to have originality somewhere inside yourself (I mean, for God's sake, you can twist a plot JUST enough to not get sued... that's clever!). Why not display this and make a good, original, productive movie that shows what a good company you guys are part of? If you got better script writers, directors, actors, prop managers, and a hell of a lot more money, you could be up there with Speilberg, Scott, Jackson, etc. Or do you like making campy, E-rated films?
How do you guys managed to live with yourselves and not get sued by doing this- making films so similar to large-scale productions with painfully similar titles, and have them come out mere days before or after the ones you rip off?
Give me your secret!!
Tata!
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DirectorLeigh
17 years ago
The Asylum doesn't get sued because technically they don't do anything wrong. The movies inside the boxes are very different from the theatrical movies they are "ripping-off".
As for your other points, you are entitled to your opinion, but I disagree on a couple points. Keep in mind that these films are not made like a true "indie" but are made more like a studio film. We have producers and distributors who are very hands on. Some of the elements you point out are things that the producers personally like or things that have proven to sell better in the marketplace.
I watch a lot of low budget films too. Not sure which films you are talking about, but the overall quality of the cinematography in the Asylum films that I have done is far, far better than similar films of similar budgets. And what student film aspects are you referring to? Can you point out a couple of specific shots so I know what you are talking about?
Thanks for watching.
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xWickedHeartx
17 years ago
Perhaps I worded it wrong and sounded a bit harsh, which I did not intend to do. I do respect independent films and their creators, and low budget campy movies.
I was referring to the shaky quality in certain scenes of Hillside Cannibals, and the dark, grainy look that When A Killer Calls (original title, there) possessed.
I've seen several student-made films, and made a few myself. I've also seen films a lot worse than yours.
Some low-budget B movies that I just adore are the Evil Dead series, and a lot of the old campy horror movies, like The Day The Earth Stood Still, or King Kong. I also love The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is about as campy as it gets.
About the specific shots: Nearly all of When a Killer Calls is dark and terribly grainy. I know you didnt direct this, so, nothing personal. Also, the Gail Blowers film was very dark and had a splotchy look.
Perhaps it is just the DVD, I don't know. And no, I do not download bootlegged films, though I may occasionally download music (everyone does), so, the quality can not be blamed to piracy.
Anything else?
Cheers!
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DirectorLeigh
17 years ago
You are indeed a student of film. Both Exorcism and When a Killer Calls were shot on DV and then blown up to HD. All of my films were either shot on HD or 35mm. And, with the exception of Exorcism and Hillside Cannibals, all of my other films were shot by Steven Parker (although I do think Mark Atkins who did the other two films mentioned is a great DP as well).
The distinction I'm trying to make, that no one seems to get, is the difference between "indie" and "indie studio". I too love The Evil Dead and Rocky Horror, but those films are "indie" and not "indie studio" like the Asylum, Lionsgate, Nu Image etc.
As a filmmaker, I believe that the best films are made when a small group of talented people are in control of it, from conception all of the way through distribution. When too many buyers and producers get into the mix, the product becomes too vanilla and leads to a lot of the negative comments associated with "indie studio" movies. I'm not trying to lay blame on anyone, just trying to get people to understand the difference, and warn future and wannabe filmmakers of the pitfalls that lie ahead!
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xWickedHeartx
17 years ago
I'm trying not to sound arrogant, or rude, because I respect the things you and the company have done, so, tell me if I am beginning to sound like an ass.
I understand the difference between an indie film and one made by an indie studio.
I agree that companies or films made by companies of small, close-knit friends are often good. Like The EVil Dead and Rocky Horror, where all of the cast members (nearly) were good friends. It gives the films more of a natural atmosphere.
If that why The Asylum had several of the same actors return for different movies? (I'm not poking fun, I'm being serious.)
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DirectorLeigh
17 years ago
Anything positive in these films comes from the fact that we do have this tight knit group and people like myself really do care and try to do our best.
But that wasn't the point I was making between indie and indie studio. On a true indie film, like the one I'm working on now, we have total control of the final product. Rocky Horror isn't great only because of the friendship and talent of the people working on it, but because they didn't have overlords from some studio and producers and buyers telling them what to do.
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xWickedHeartx
17 years ago
Oh, okay. That like....totally slipped my mind, even though it was in my subconscious, haha.
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