"Iron Man 2" stays on top and a whole bunch of Asylum films hit the shelves

So, "Iron Man 2" tumbled a bit, but not enough to lose its first place standing at the box office. It still pulled in $53Million, which ain't chump change, but that is down 59% from the week before. What surprised me was that "Robin Hood" did a lot better than I thought it would. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, it's the team that brought you the all-time classic, "Gladiator", AND pulling on that film quite a bit in their marketing, I thought it was going to be a disaster. I thought Robin Hood was tired, I just think of "Robin Hood: Men In Tights", for some reason. Tough to think of Robin Hood as a bad ass, I guess... even though he actually, in fact, was a bad ass. Anyhow, it pulled in $37.1Million and that's almost in line with what "Gladiator" did and that's remarkably good for a medieval-themed film. Next week ain't aces for horror fans, as we get "MacGruber" and "Shrek Forever After", then... on May 28th, if you're lucky enough to live in a market that's showing it, you'll get "George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead". Now, to the week in horror on DVD. As usual, you can go to our Youtube Page to see the trailers and you can click on the title to go to the films page on Amazon, where you can read more and/or buy it.

Am I the only one who hadn't heard of the Kevin Costner film, "The New Daughter"? I'm just reading about it now, for the first time, and there's a lot of good things going on here. It's the directorial debut of Spanish screenwriter, Luis Berdego and he's written a few things, most notably, "{REC}", which was then "Quarantine". He also wrote the sequel to "{REC}", "{REC} Genesis", which is currently in pre-production. Now, as the butt of a lot of jokes over the last decade, it's easy to discount a Costner film, but... I have a tough time being hard on him these days. Did you see "Mr. Brooks"? If you haven't, go check that out. It may change your opinion on him. Anyhow, I loved "{REC}", so I'm anxious to check out what Berdego can do at the helm, but I'm also anxious to see Costner's next foray into horror. Could be good.

I'm going to assume that the 2 disc set of "Tokyo Gore Police 1.5" is, in fact, just a reboot of "Tokyo Gore Police", but with some added features or something. In case you were wondering... and I'm sure you were, this and "Machine Girl" are my two favorite Japanese gore films of late, so if you haven't seen either, check this out... then check out "Machine Girl". After that, you'll either think that the Japanese are out of their mind (or more out of their minds that you had originally thought) and you'll never watch another Japanese gore flick again OR you'll be hooked. Now that I think about it, it's been a while since I've watched a good Japanese gore flick. Takashi Miike usually makes about 5 movies a year, he must have something new out...

I've been thinking about it. I think I could work for Asylum Films. Seriously. I could handle a lot of the marketing and advertising. I could also help develop new titles, open up new markets, even do a bit of writing. At first, much like most people, I looked down my nose at them... rip-off movies that are just trying to trick people into watching the wrong film. Asylum - the guys who created the "mockbuster", low-budget, straight-to-DVD productions that usually emulate or copy productions by major studios. This week, they're rereleasing some of their best and they're selling them all for only $6.99 each, including: "30,000 Leagues Under the Sea", "AVH: Alien vs. Hunter", "Invasion of the Pod People", "Journey to the Center of the Earth", "Haunting of Winchester House", "Monster" and "Freakshow". So, look, it's easy to look down your nose at them, sure. Be a film snob. However, what's tough to ignore is the fact that they make money. Lots of it. They're like Roger Corman, almost all of their films make a profit. Not only that, they're getting a ton of recognition and their films aren't that bad... well, the later ones are a lot better than their earlier ones. They've turned the corner, from rip-off guys to becoming their own niche. At first, people may have been tricked into watching their films, but now... people look for them. Anyways, if anyone knows anyone at Asylum or if you're from Asylum yourself, shoot me an email. I'll send you my resume.

From My Inbox To Yours: Another Potpourri of Indie Horror News

Ahhh.... another Friday and, I've gotta say, it's been a great week. In fact, I think I may be finished up early today, too. That means one of two things, I'll either watch a couple of indie horror films this afternoon OR I'll find a patio to sit on and have a few beers. Toss up right now, as the weather IS great, but... I haven't been able to watch a movie since last weekend and I can always drink at home with the window open. We'll see how it goes. Anyhow, once again, a few interesting things have come through my inbox and I'd like to share.

I realize that most of our readers are from North America, but we do have a few readers overseas. Either way, you should know about the 9th annual Fantastic Films Weekend that takes place in the UK. They screens some great films, both old and new. Check out the list of films that they'll be screening, a lot of them are available on DVD and you may have forgotten about them. I know I looked through the list and found a few that I had forgotten about. For example, their latest additions include: Paul Verhoeven's "Robocop", Bill Rebane's "The Giant Spider Invasion", Jan Svankmajer's "Faust" and Derek Ford's mondo witchcraft documentary "Secret Rites". They're also going to be screening some new blood, including "Zone of the Dead", "Plague Town", "Shadow" and their midnight screamer, the phenomenon that is "Birdemic: Shock and Terror", a $10,000 epic that's played to sold out audiences at festivals across the US. If you're in the U.K., check the festival out. If you're not, at least go check out the site and get some ideas for your next rental.

Have you heard about IndieGoGo.com? I hadn't... until I was forwarded a link because someone was looking for some funding. Now, just to be clear, I'm not typing this from the rear deck of my yacht, lighting cigars with $100 bills or anything. I'd LOVE to fund everyone's indie projects, but that's just not going to happen right now. However, I CAN pass on the link to you guys because that's what IndieGoGo is all about. Basically, they look to be a collaborative way to fund ideas and they're geared towards indie projects. I mean, they are called INDIEgogo, right? Anyhow, if funding is a big hurdle for you... and it probably is, check it out. I really like how one of the ways they help fund films is with pre-sales, that's ingenious.

I love this article from TheWrap.com, called "Cannes: The Asylum Makes Steady Profit on ... 'Titanic II'". I mean, I love it because there's a great message in there. You know what that message is? Sure, there are 'important' films out there, but people don't necessarily only want to see important films. There's a lot of people out there who want schlock. They want indie and micro-budget horror, they want "Titanic II". By the way, 'What if another ship took the same route as The Titanic and what if it ALSO hit an iceberg?' Awesome... and, not only that, they're making money on all their films! Can any Hollywood studio say that? The moral of the story? Every once in a while, it's important to realize how UNimportant we actually are.

Have a great weekend, talk to you next week!