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[Korey]

In summary:

• Asylum's biggest customers are Netflix, Amazon, Red Box, Blockbuster and of course Syfy. So they get paid by these companies to pump out movies based on what their data says consumers want, without much thought given to quality. They try to cover multiple needs in one film: "If a Japanese DVD company wants a submarine, and Blockbuster needs a monster, the Asylum will make a sailors-meet-sea creature movie, then tweak the concept further to sell to all its potential platforms."
  
  
• It makes services like Netflix seem like they have more content than they would have otherwise.
  
  
• The shameless copies like "Transmorphers" have equal shelf-space on Netflix. They sit right next to each other, but one movie cost $200 million while the other cost less than $1 million.
  
  
• Some customers may settle for the shameless copy in the absence of the real one, which helps out Netflix if they can't license the real one.
  
  
• They purposely anticipate the threat of lawsuits and use it as free publicity, then slightly change the name and poster art to avoid the actual lawsuit.
  
  
• "For a typical film, the Asylum floats a concept to its stable of writers. They blast back a slew of 100-word pitches. [Asylum chooses a writer's concept], he bangs out a draft in 10 days, then hands it off to a producer; revisions are made, then the Asylum shoots the film, fast."

List of Asylum's films



http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/why-there-are-so-many-terrible-movies-on-netflix

It’s finally happened: I’ve run out of things to watch. The blockbuster hits and grand Oscar-chasers and addictive TV shows are on summer break, and I’m left scraping the bottom of the Netflix barrel on sleepless nights—a bleak rabbit hole of cheap, made-for-video b-movies. Why are there so many god-awful movies on this site?

A recent Pacific Standard article gives a glimpse into the answer—a peek into the strange world where Big Data and low-budget movie studios collide. The article profiles Asylum, the infamous "mockbuster" rip-off movie studio that churns out content on a shoestring budget based on what will sell, paying no mind to what's actually good.

Netflix is one of Asylum’s regular buyers, along with Red Box, Blockbuster, Amazon, and others. And it buys the whole shebang. It scoops up every new release and has the studio’s entire catalog available.

And Netflix doesn't just stop at licensing new releases. In a sense, it’s influencing their being made in the first place. Netflix provides Asylum with data on what its users are interested in, and the studio obliges.

“It’s not like we said, ‘There aren’t enough crappy B-level movies out there, so we must corner that market!’," Asylum co-founder David Michael Latt told Pacific Standard. "We don’t really know the consumer. The consumer is too big and too fractionalized. All we know is we’re making a film for Netflix, and they tell us what they want.”

Netflix is getting good at predicting what people want. It knows what each of its 35 million subscribers is watching, for how long, and whether they liked it. It spots trends by analyzing the millions of categories movies and shows are tagged with, to predict the customer probably wants to watch, say, Critically-Acclaimed Gritty Movies Based on Real Life.

It also hands that information, or at least part of it, over to Asylum, which returns the favor with a steady stream of data-informed sleaze. "Netflix doesn’t just stream films—it wills them into existence," reported Pacific Standard. In other words, by enjoying Jaws and Twister, I may have accidently willed Sharknado into existence.

In fact, streaming sites like Netflix are what revitalized the struggling b-movie industry. For years, Asylum’s bread-and-butter was “mockbusters,” knock-off versions of successful blockbusters hits turned around in a month, for under a million, with amazing rip-off titles like Snakes on a Train and The DaVinci Treasure.

Even in the analog days, genres and concepts were tested on buyers before the movie was produced to make sure there was consumer demand. Streaming made this model work even better. One, websites could collect loads of data and feedback instantly. Two, sites need easily and constantly available b-movies to beef up their libraries, making it look like there's a lot of content, and new stuff arriving all the time.

Three, the mockbusters (or "tie-ins," as the studio is trying to rebrand them) can ease the sting, and capitalize on it, when users search for a title that isn’t available. Looking for Transformers? Maybe you’ll settle for Transmorphers instead. The licensing deals Netflix has with the major film studios and networks are always in flux, and b-movies serve as filler flix.

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/why-there-are-so-many-terrible-movies-on-netflix

More in-depth article about how Asylum makes its movies:

http://www.psmag.com/culture/escapes-from-the-asylum-60701/

For a typical film, the Asylum floats a concept to its stable of writers. They blast back a slew of 100-word pitches. If the Asylum chooses Horton’s concept, he bangs out a draft in 10 days, then hands it off to a producer; revisions are made, then the Asylum shoots the film, fast.

In 2-Headed Shark Attack, “Carmen Electra is a doctor,” Horton tells me with a mix of glee and disdain. The question is: For the love of God, why?

“The short answer is: We don’t know,” says David Michael Latt, the Asylum’s co-founder and head of physical production, who pushes as many as 25 films into production each year. “It’s not like we said, ‘There aren’t enough crappy B-level movies out there, so we must corner that market!’ We don’t really know the consumer. The consumer is too big and too fractionalized. All we know is we’re making a film for Netflix, and they tell us what they want.”

...

Today, the dynamic between low-budget producer and content-hungry distributor has flipped. Netflix doesn’t just stream films—it wills them into existence. The composition of contemporary B movies is dictated by middlemen like Netflix and Redbox, international direct-to-DVD distributors, and cable networks like Syfy, all of which pad their offerings with Asylum originals tailored to their needs. If a Japanese DVD company wants a submarine, and Blockbuster needs a monster, the Asylum will make a sailors-meet-sea creature movie, then tweak the concept further to sell to all its potential platforms. The nimble creative process is “cashing in on this shifting moment in film consumption between the demise of the video store and the rise of streaming,” says Davis.

At surviving brick-and-mortar stores like H. Perry Horton’s, renters gravitate toward the big-studio releases shelved at eye level. But on Netflix, “You click through and see all the titles—new Hollywood releases mixed in with direct-to-video,” Davis says, all crammed into a grid of thumbnail posters. Filtering in low-budget films with the high-budget versions “fuels this perception that there’s a wealth of new content.” And in the endlessly filterable world of Netflix, where your preferences are sorted into hyper-specific genres, a full page of results for horror films with nightmare-vacation plotlines makes you feel like Netflix is tailoring its product just for you. “The bottom line is that it’s there, and you saw it,” Davis says—even if you didn’t actually watch it.

When Latt runs down the list of the Asylum films slated for production in the first half of this year, it sounds like a list of hot-button search terms: zombies, sharks, haunted houses, talking dogs. It’s almost as if the Asylum doesn’t even have to make the movie—but it does, for “just a little bit less” than what they will collect from the Netflix-Redbox-Syfy group of middlemen who are likely to buy it. It doesn’t matter how unwatchable it is.

...

If the Asylum’s films are naive camp, its marketing strategy is all deliberate. “It’s a parody of the studio system,” Latt says. “We’re making fun of the commerce side of this. You made your movie for $200 million? I’ll make it for 20 bucks.”

Consider the Asylum’s line of “mockbusters,” designed to ride the coattails of the zillion-dollar publicity pushes for big-studio films. When DreamWorks studios came out with Transformers in 2007, the Asylum raced out Transmorphers. When Columbia Pictures released Battle: Los Angeles in 2011, the Asylum countered with Battle of Los Angeles. When mockbusters trip legal threats from the big studios—and they usually do—the Asylum will fuss with the cover art and change the titles to pacify the lawyers, then thank the studios for throwing more publicity their way.

When the Asylum caught legal heat last year for planning to release a low-budget fantasy DVD called Age of the Hobbits the same week Peter Jackson’s three-hour epic hit theaters, it changed the name to Clash of the Empires, then released a statement that said: “We continue to believe that this frivolous lawsuit was filed to divert attention from the adverse publicity and poor reviews received by ‘The Hobbit’ movie.”

Whenever a studio points out that the Asylum’s films are too similar to its own, the Asylum is there to remind the studio the similarities actually run a lot deeper than they think. The big studios are also selling viewers the same concept-driven shlock—they’re just funneling a lot more money into it. As Horton puts it: “Battleship is a $200-million film based on a board game.” And when the big publicity push is over, Battleship will be sitting right next to the Asylum’s shoestring-budget American Warships in the Netflix queue. Which movie looks stupid now?

Their business model is fucking genius. People search Netflix for these big budget popular movies (which are usually NEVER available for streaming) and Asylum's shitty knockoffs pop up in the search results instead.

And tons of people get duped, the user reviews on these are great.

Battle of LA is a movie that everyone needs to experience. Truly something special

 

[Talon]

Lol. Tara Reid was in Sharknado?

 

[Neuromancer]

God bless 'em

 

[Grizzlyjin]

I sat through all of their Hansel and Gretel movie. It was dumb...but I didn't switch to something else. We had fun talking about the dumb effects and laughing at the silliness of it.

I will say that they must be coming up in the world. Instead of complete no name actors, they seem to have snagged a couple people who are C list and fading. Like at least they're extremely recognizable.

But honestly, are any of their movies dumber than Skyline? Not really.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Colin Cowherd was talking about Sharknado the other day. I had no clue wtf he was talking about. Now, hahahhaaha.

 

[NoRéN]

Even the dogs in the cover for Golden Winter look disappointed that they are in a shitty knockoff.

 

[Korey]

I like how the Battle for Los Angeles poster has two taglines.

 

[Deified Data]

Can't wait for Atlantic Rim.

And holy shit at Kel Mitchell in Battle of Los Angeles.

 

[captmcblack]

The names on these boxes are so powerful. Kel Mitchell, Carmen Electra, Tara Reid, Carl Weathers? C'est incroyable.

 

[Carnby]

Mario Van Peebles AND Carl Weathers in American Battleship!? It sounds perfect! LOL

I like how the Battle for Los Angeles poster has two taglines.

LOL You're killing me!

 

[wenis]

That's awesome! lots of people in the behind the scenes work of movies getting regular gigs with them. That's only great.

 

[Mariolee]

A movie so big it needs TWO taglines.

 

[Sean]

Their business model is fucking genius. People search Netflix for these big budget popular movies (which are usually NEVER available for streaming) and Asylum's shitty knockoffs pop up in the search results instead.

And tons of people get duped, the user reviews on these are great.

 

[tino]

So... you come from an alternate universe where Asylum make good movies?

 

[Funky Papa]

Their business model is fucking genius. People search Netflix for these big budget popular movies (which are usually NEVER available for streaming) and Asylum's shitty knockoffs pop up in the search results instead.

And tons of people get duped, the user reviews on these are great.

I feel kind of terrible thinking about those confused grampas buying gifting Asylum movies by mistake come Christmas.

 

[wrowa]

Atlantic Rim is going to be more profitable than Pacific Rim.

This post was supposed to be a silly joke but while writing it I suddenly felt very depressed.

 

[alfredofroylan]

You left out the best Asylum movie ever made:

 

[DarkFlow]

He should invest in unblock us, UK Netflix and the others have much better movies then the US.

 

[Snowden's Secret]

Are these movies worth watching, in a hipster sort of way?

 

[NoRéN]

I feel kind of terrible thinking about those confused grampas buying gifting Asylum movies by mistake come Christmas.

Happened to my neighbor. I was over fixing their computer and mom comes home with the latest Shrek movie for the kids. Kids are all excited and they play the movie. Right away the kids were asking what this was. Turns out mom bought this:

 

[Ahasverus]

You left out the best Asylum movie ever made:

What is this lol how could this not end up in a lawsuit?

And for the love of god gimme more users reviews

 

[DarkFlow]

What is this lol how could this not end up in a lawsuit?

And for the love of god gimme more users reviews

Sherlock Holmes is public domain, they can't sue over the title.

 

[charsace]

I saw this. Enough said indeed. The movie is funny as fuck.

 

[Particle Physicist]

I love how open and upfront they are about the crappy movies they make. lol

 

[Fireblend]

Well, I know what I'm watching tonight.

 

[Easy_D]

You left out the best Asylum movie ever made:

Are there actual dinosaurs in it? If so, I have to watch it.

 

[CloudWolf]

The thread title is all kinds of wrong, it should be "Netflix is the reason why The Asylum makes awesome movies"

God, I love those bastards.

Are there actual dinosaurs in it? If so, I have to watch it.

Yes, and it's amazing. Seriously, it's actually not bad. It's the only Asylum film that I would recommend with a straight face. It's very possible that I like it even more than the RDJ movie.

 

[jamesinclair]

Kel Mitchel? Carl Weather? Carmen Elektra? Haylie Duff?

Maybe its time to stop getting pissed off that these movies are trying to trick me...

And these titles can seriously be tricky. Jack the Giant Killer vs Jack the Giant Slayer. Which one is the real one?

 

[iammeiam]

No lie: Transmorphers 2 was a much better movie than the second or third Transformers. Still not great, but. I enjoy comparing bad movies to their knockoffs to see which is worse.

 

[Tamanon]

What is this lol how could this not end up in a lawsuit?

And for the love of god gimme more users reviews

I don't think Sherlock Holmes is a copyrighted character since it's a public work.

 

[Ferrio]

Watch Titanic 2. It's soooo bad to laugh at. On the other hand their lord of the rings knockoff was terrible terrible terrible and nothing could save it not even Teal'c from Stargate.

 

[HamPster PamPster]

I liked Metal Tornado

 

[Stevetopsy]

I started thinking "why even put actor/actress names at the top? No one has heard of any of these terrible people...". Then I see Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid, and even John-Rhys Davies!?!? After LoTR, how could he even want to even step foot on set for one of these movies.

 

[StopMakingSense]

What is this lol how could this not end up in a lawsuit?

And for the love of god gimme more users reviews

Public Domain

 

[verbum]

I started thinking "why even put actor/actress names at the top? No one has heard of any of these terrible people...". Then I see Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid, and even John-Rhys Davies!?!? After LoTR, how could he even want to even step foot on set for one of these movies.

They have bills, probably get union scale for being in them. And I know they are praying no one watches them.

 

[jmdajr]

Heck they are showing an Encore of Sharknado based on demand. I guess their business model works.

 

[RiccochetJ]

Titanic II was great!

I can't help but watch them just like I can't help myself but to watch Uwe Boll movies when they pop up on my Nexflix recommendations list.

 

[Ridley327]

I started thinking "why even put actor/actress names at the top? No one has heard of any of these terrible people...". Then I see Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid, and even John-Rhys Davies!?!? After LoTR, how could he even want to even step foot on set for one of these movies.

John-Rhys Davies was making terrible films even after Raiders of the Lost Ark. Dude's gotta provide for his family, man.

 

[Monkeylord]

I haven't found a single Asylum movie on Netflix (UK).


I lament this fact.

 

[FunkyPajamas]

You left out the best Asylum movie ever made:

My man. A true gentleman.

 

[Cow Mengde]

One of the best Asylum movies that came out recently. The CGI was also pretty decent.

The trailer is here: http://www.theasylum.cc/product.php?id=224

 

[Funky Papa]

One of the best Asylum movies that came out recently. The CGI was also pretty decent.

The trailer is here: http://www.theasylum.cc/product.php?id=224

That's a filthy lie if I ever saw one.

That said, I'm really amazed by the steep increase in quality of cheap CG. I mean, it looks like ass, but it's well modelled and somewhat acceptably animated ass. Attemping the same kind of visuals ten years ago on a shoestring budget would have been impossible, if not downright comical.

 

[Zajora]

Looking at the list of their films, and my god I can't believe I didn't realize these were all by the same studio. I've only heard of a small number, but they all sound hilarious.

 

[Cow Mengde]

That's a filthy lie if I ever saw one.

That said, I'm really amazed by the steep increase in quality of cheap CG. I mean, it looks like ass, but it's well modelled and somewhat acceptably animated ass. Attemping the same kind of visuals ten years ago on a shoestring budget would have been impossible, if not downright comical.

It wasn't too bad from the trailer I saw. I don't know what metric you're using to judge it, but I'm using low budget metric to judge the CGI.

 

[NinjaFridge]

I love how open and upfront they are about the crappy movies they make. lol

Seriously, it's hard to hate on them.

 

[lexi]

So are these all on Netflix? If so my instant queue is about to be expanded.

 

[Hex]

This was going on long before Netflix, when rental stores were the way of life.
WHO CARES?
The fact that research was actually done on this is sad.
Edit: And as some have said, sometimes the straight to video films are move fun

 

[Stumpokapow]

And these titles can seriously be tricky. Jack the Giant Killer vs Jack the Giant Slayer. Which one is the real one?

A good way to solve this is to not watch terrible $200 million dollar disasters like Jack the Giant Killer, Transformers, Battleship, etc.

 

[See You Next Wednesday]

I finally found a reason to dislike Netflix now.

 

[dark_chris]

I remember my gf at the time got duped into getting 2012 but theirs was 2012 Supernova.
What trash movie it was. lol