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Stars: Gina Vitori, Andrew J Katers, Samantha Bowling, Evan Sloan, Shawn McConnell, Lindsay Sawyer, Val Victa, Jordan Williams, Kate Watson, John Wusah, Tammy Klein | Written by Nick Zephyrin | Directed by James H. Thomas

Yay! It’s another mockbuster from The Asylum. Yes, those fine purveyors of shark-schlock have returned to their mockbuster roots with The Tomb: Heart of the Dragon, a low-budget “homage” to the Tomb Raider series, another example of The Asylum’s savvy marketing methinks – originally timed to debut a mere week Before the release of the Alicia Vikander starring blockbuster reboot of the film franchise but not released in the UK, direct to DVD, until this week!

For those unaware, I am a huge fan of The Asylum’s output and I’m not just talking Sharknado and it’s sequels or the myriad of other killer-fish flicks they’ve produced. Films like Avengers Grimm, Abraham Lincoln...

Stars: Lauren Parkinson, Elizabeth Eileen, Marah Fairclough, Christina Licciardi, Michael Marcel, Katherine Maya, Eric Feltes, Randall Yarbrough, William Knight, Rah Johnson | Written by Jeremy M. Inman | Directed by Max Elfeldt

Originally released in 2015, I was something of a fan of the superhero mockbuster Avengers Grimm, which was an off-the-wall mix of Grimm Fairy tale characters and superhero team-up movies from the schlockmeisters at The Asylum, the company behind such films as Transmorphers, Hercules Reborn and Sharknado. Despite its low-budget and somewhat flawed nature, the film was, and still is, a brilliant example of how to modernise fairy tale characters and Not just be a Once Upon a Time rip-off. It’s also a fantastic example of a family-friendly action movie with a strong central female cast – beating the current crop of big-budget movies to the mark by a few years (it’s surprising sometimes how often low-budget indie film making...

Stars: Gina Vitori, Andrew J Katers, Samantha Bowling, Evan Sloan, Shawn McConnell, Lindsay Sawyer, Val Victa, Jordan Williams, Kate Watson, John Wusah, Tammy Klein | Written by Nick Zephyrin | Directed by James H. Thomas

Yay! It’s another mockbuster from The Asylum. Yes, those fine purveyors of shark-schlock have returned to their mockbuster roots with Tomb Invader, a low-budget “homage” to the Tomb Raider series, originally timed to debut a mere week Before the release of the Alicia Vikander starring blockbuster reboot of the film franchise. Another example of The Asylum’s savvy marketing methinks.

For those unaware, I am a huge fan of The Asylum’s output and I’m not just talking Sharknado and it’s sequels or the myriad of other killer-fish flicks they’ve produced. Films like Avengers Grimm, Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies and Hercules Reborn are just a few examples of some of my favourite movies from this ever-prolific studio.

Stars: John Hennigan, Michelle Taylor, Eric Etebari, Joseph Gatt, J. Michael Evans | Written by J. Amanda Sabater | Directed by Steven Lamorte

Never Leave Alive is the latest star vehicle for wrestler/actor John Hennigan (who wrestled for WWE under the name John Morrison, and currently wrestles for Tna and Lucha Underground as Johnny Impact and Johnny Mundo respectively), who has parlayed his in-ring skills into leading man status in a number of action movies such as Hercules Reborn and his passion project Boone: The Bounty Hunter.

His latest film sees Hennigan playing world-renown hunter Rick Rainsford, who boat capsizes, leaving him trapped on a deserted island with his reluctant companion, Anna. While attempting to save another gravely injured survivor the pair find themselves hunted by Zaroff, a sociopathic ex-kgb Agent along with his partner Ivan. In spite of their differences Rick and Anna must work together to disarm Zaroff’s deadly traps,...

With Sharknado 5 making a splash on TV screens across the globe these past few weeks, what better time to visit the world of The Asylum? With a myriad of films under their belt, from their beginnings as king of the mockbuster to their foray into original film making, it’s no secret we’re big fans of these bastions of the direct to DVD market and have reviewed a Lot of their output! With that in mind, here’s my pick of the Top 5 (because it’s Sharknado Five… geddit?!?) movies from The Asylum in – shock, horror – order of preference…

5) Avengers Grimm

An off-the-wall mix of Grimm Fairy tale characters and superhero team-up movies which, frankly, should have been obvious given the title, Avengers Grimm’s plot is relatively simple: when Rumpelstiltskin uses the Magic Mirror to escapes to the modern world taking Snow White with him and destroying the mirror in the process,...

Stars: John Hennigan, Jamie Bernadette, Josh Fingerhut, Wayne ‘Crescendo’ Ward, Georgia Thompson, Terrance Richardson, Derek Russo, Jennifer Dorogi, Chloe Farnworth, Van White, Ashley Doris, Drew Davis-Wheeler, Lisa Goodman | Written by Scotty Mullen | Directed by Scott Wheeler

When an exploration for treasure goes wrong, the original Prince of Persia Sinbad accidentally releases The Furies, three beautiful but terrible ancient beings powerful enough to threaten life on Earth. Face to face with the living manifestation of rage, the legendary hero must destroy The Furies before time runs out, or witness the devastating consequences… Battling for their lives, Sinbad is the only one who can save them all from certain death, in a world where everything is against him.

The Asylum, and John Hennigan (aka wrestling star John Morrison), strike again. Back in 2014 we reviewed the Hennigan-starring mockbuster Hercules Reborn, and now the two come together again for a new take on the...

Stars: Jhey Castles, Jason Woods, Grace Van Dien, Elaine Partnow, Lane Townsend, Robert Evans, Kyle Barok, Chris Clanton, James Cleveland, Alex Diehl, Bill Voorhees, David Alan Giat | Written and Directed by John Baumgartner

After the infamous San Andreas Fault finally gives, triggering a magnitude 9 earthquake in California, a search and rescue helicopter pilot and his estranged wife make their way together from Los Angeles to San Francisco to save their only daughter. But their treacherous journey north is only the beginning. And when they think the worst may be over… it’s just getting started.

Oops, wrong synopsis!

Yes, once again mockbuster kings The Asylum cash-in on the release of another Summer blockbuster – in this case the Dwayne Johnson disaster movie San Andreas – with a direct to market title that takes a sliver of the same story and spins their own, low-budget, take on the same subject matter in the...

Stars: Casper Van Dien, Lauren Parkinson, Lou Ferrigno, Milynn Sarley, Marah Fairclough, Rileah Vanderbilt, Elizabeth Peterson, Kimo Leopoldo, Henry Foster Brown, Jonathan Medina, Daniel Nemes | Written and Directed by Jeremy M. Inman

Sometimes you see a trailer for a movie and know it’s perfect for you… that was Avengers Grimm for me. So much so that I specifically hunted down a copy for review!

An off-the-wall mix of Grimm Fairy tale characters and superhero team-up movies which, frankly, should have been obvious given the title, Avengers Grimm is the latest film from the schlockmeisters The Asylum – you know, those folks behind such films as Transmorphers, Hercules Reborn, Sharknado and a myriad of other mockbusters, cash-ins and giant sea creature movies.

Like many and Asylum movie, the plot is relatively simple: when Rumpelstiltskin uses the Magic Mirror to escapes to the modern world taking Snow White with him and destroying the mirror in the process,...

Singapore’s Silver Media Group and La-based Push To Start Productions have signed a deal at Hong Kong’s Filmart to co-produce faith-based film One Hundred Yards.

Kevin Sorbo from TV series Hercules and drama God’s Not Dead is attached, as well as WWE star John Hennigan (Hercules Reborn).

One Hundred Yards is about a top college quarterback who abandons his bright future in professional football to go search for his missing mother in the Philippines when a sudden illness forces him to deal with his inner demons.

It is due to go into production in the third quarter of 2015.

Christian music group Hillsong is composing new songs for the film.

Stars: Christian Oliver, Les Brandt, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Ernie Reyes Jr., Isaac C. Singleton Jr., Kaiwi Lyman, West Liang, Tara Macken, Antoinette Kalaj, Alvin Hsing, Bryan Cartago, Mark Heidelberger | Written by Ashley Scott Meyers | Directed by Lloyd Lee Barnett

Not to be confused with the Don Wong starring, badly dubbed, poorly edited film of the same name – which I distinctly remember hiring from my local video shop – Ninja Apocalypse is set years after the great war, and the titular apocalypse, where humanity has become divided into separate clans of ninjas. Clans, which besides having your usual ninja-like martial arts skills, are also blessed with strange supernatural powers: some of which look like they stepped straight out of a video game – you know the type, the typical fireballs, lightning strikes and telekinesis.

Discovering a plot to attack their land, Grandmaster Fumitaka calls on the clans under his control to a meeting deep...

Stars: Zoe Bell, Vivica A. Fox, Kristanna Loken, Brigitte Nielsen, Cynthia Rothrock, Nicole Bilderback, Gerald Webb, Tim Abell, Tiffany Panhilason | Written by Edward DeRuiter | Directed by Christopher Olen Ray

You remember the 80s and the action films of The Cannon Group? Remember how Stallone tried to bring that era back with The Expendables? Remember all the chatter about the being an “Expenda-belles” movie? And how, even now some 3 films into the franchise, we are nowhere near to seeing the female-centric version come to fruition? Well forget that film. And forget The Expendables. Check out the Mercenaries…

The plot is, like it’s big-screen brethren, pretty simple.When the President’s daughter is kidnapped by a man-hating “Amazonian She-Bitch” (to quote the movie) whilst on a tour of a foreign war zone, a team of female mercenaries – all prisoners of the United States government for various severe crimes – is assembled by...

Stars: John Hennigan, Christian Oliver, Marcus Shirock, James Duval, Dylan Vox, Christina Ulfsparre | Written by Jim Hemphill | Directed by Nick Lyon

The second Hercules movie we’ve reviewed here in the space of a week, Hercules Reborn is a product of mockbuster kings The Asylum and unlike The Legend of Hercules, which told the story of Hercules discovering who he is, this iteration of the mythical hero’s take takes place after he kills his wife and children in a fit of madness and is now living in exile, banished for the murders. However when the bride of Arius, an officer in the Greek army, is seized during a bloody coup by a ruthless Greek general, the soldier turns to the legendary Hercules for help. Initially Hercules refuses, but when he sees this as a chance for salvation, he agrees to help Arius. Together they must battle the general’s army,...

Scanners (Criterion Collection) My review copy of Scanners arrived late yesterday afternoon so all I've had a chance to do is remove the cellophane wrapper and admire the artwork, but I will be diving into it soon enough not only to see how well the film holds up and the features, but to check out the inclusion of Stereo (1969), David Cronenberg's first feature film, which in-and-of-itself should answer the question, "Why are Criterion Blu-rays so expensivec" P.S. Remember, this one is 50% off at Barnes & Noble right now, $14 cheaper than the Amazon price.

Under the Skin I wasn't as impressed with this as other critics were, ending my theatrical review writing, "I'm happy to have seen Under the Skin, but any future viewings will most likely necessitate a Blu-ray commentary track, otherwise I don't really see the point." Guess what the Blu-ray doesn't have...

Rio 2 Here's another one...