Released in 2005, The Beast of Bray Road is a shining example of an indie horror film. Based around the “True Story” of a mysterious wolf-man-cryptid reportedly seen around Elkhorn, WI, The Beast is a near masterpiece of budget cinema. Director Leigh Scott (born in Milwaukee!) manages to take his history of low-to-no budget filmmaking and expand upon it with the slightly larger budget provided by the company he was working for, The Asylum. Producers of such films as AVH: Alien vs. Hunter, 100 Million BC and Invasion of the Pod People, The Asylum has, since roughly 2005, specialized in making films that are near direct rip-offs(at least in title, if not in story) of Hollywood releases. AVH? Title based off of AVP: Alien vs. Predator. The stories are surprisingly similar for these two, but with other’s it’s merely a visual similarity on the cover and the title that tend to trick unwary viewers.
Valid business tactic? Legally, it is. There is no infringement, technically, but there is often a stellar lack of creativity. Of course, for any company it’s all about the bottom line, so if you make a film called Transmorphers, release it a week before Transformers and some shmuck goes into Blockbuster and rents it, thinking they’re getting the big-budget Michael Bay movie, well, too bad for them and hurray for the company. Streamlining the process has allowed The Asylum to shoot and release several movies a year for incredibly low budgets. Reusing directors, editors and actors has basically given them a corral of “talent” and experience that they can use to pump out feature length films every couple months.
As one of these rapidly made films, The Beast of Bray Road showcases the formulaic nature The Asylum uses to create films. Clearly made for a low budget, no really recognizable actors, a laughable script and locations that are clearly not in rural Wisconsin, Beast takes all of this and whips it into what is actually a semi-respectable B-movie. The visual effects are…interesting. Slightly lower quality than most Sci-Fi channel movies, the makeup and creature effects are certainly better than most college level horror films. Acting is mediocre at best, with line delivery often stilted and awkward. The cinematography is surprisingly well done, however. The cameras and lenses are clearly of mid to high quality, the lighting is generally even and well sourced and the image quality remains constant. The only low points are during many of the supposed night time scenes, when the day-for-night is poorly done, seeming to be a post manipulation of the image rather than a during shoot compensation or filtering.
Far from being the great horror breakout of 2005, The Beast of Bray Road is instead a fine example of low-budget, mass produced B Horror. The Asylum company may not be looking to make the finest films, but they have certainly committed themselves to being one of the top B movie companies. They’ve found their niche and they have dedicated themselves to running with it as long as they can. So, if you and some friends are in the mood for a night of cheap horror, grab a few of the fine films pumped out by The Asylum and get ready to enjoy a humorous evening.
2 comments:
I had to comment back on this post once I saw it! After Leigh Scott's "Beast of Bray Road," he directed yet another masterpiece called "Dragon."
I worked on this while it was filmed in Wisconsin! It is a classic example, along with a lot of his other films, that dialogue does play a large role in independent cinema. It was drowning with dialogue and the CGI was laughable (as I am sure it did not have the complete finances or resources to get it ‘picture perfect’). However, I agree Asylum movies are definitely worth the watch.
The Asylum has a great formula for shooting out many movies a year as you said! They even edit on location and in the hotel rooms (they stay in if traveling) after the memory (P2) card is full.
Also added onto this great collection of titles, I would highly recommend checking out Asylum’s “Snakes on a Train.” Yes, train, not plane. It is in fact, another near rip-off.
If you want to follow Scott’s work, he started a branch off of ‘The Asylum’ called Blackthorn Industries.
Fascinating! It's interesting to hear from someone who actually worked with them. My personal favorite produced by them is "Scarecrow Slayer". Simply amazing; I recommend checking it out. I'll be sure to get Dragon sometime soon. Sounds like a marathon may be coming up in my near future!
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