Dare You Enter the Freakshow?
A week or so back I did a story about yet another new production from The Asylum designed to serve as a direct-to-DVD knock-off of a theatrically released film. I got an e-mail shortly thereafter from Asylum mainstay Leigh Scott, writer/director of The Hitchhiker, which will be released by The Asylum in March to capitalize on the spring release of The Hitcher remake, although that probably won’t quite work out the way they intended seeing as how The Hitcher remake’s release date got pushed up to the cinematic dumping grounds of January. According to Scott, The Hitchhiker was an old screenplay of his with a different title that owed more to I Spit on Your Grave than The Hitcher. But in true Asylum fashion…
However, that may not be The Asylum’s fashion much longer. I don’t know if you heard or not, but while horror may be red hot at the box office, the glut of horror out on DVD is souring distributors, especially international buyers, away from the genre. That’s one of the primary reasons why, according to Scott, The Asylum will focus less next year on knock-offs of upcoming theatrical horror films, aside from The Hitchhiker and the also-recently-reported on Supercroc, and just horror in general. In fact, expect more sci-fi.
But one original horror movie from The Asylum that we can count on is Freakshow. Set in the 1930’s, Freakshow is about a group of thieves who infiltrate a traveling circus with plans to rob it. Unfortunately for them, much grotesque carnage awaits the thieves after they underestimate the sideshow freaks that run this carnival.
The film is said to be heavily influenced by Tod Browning’s classic Freaks, even going so far as casting several real-life circus performers and disabled actors, but is its own entity. Judging by the short trailer for it on YouTube, the biggest difference of all is a heavy emphasis on horrific gore. I’m far from squeamish, but even I found myself cringing at the tongue-cutting scene shown in the trailer. That was a tad much even for me. But if you dig that sort of thing, and I know a lot of you do, then check out the trailer for Freakshow.
The Asylum will unveil its Freakshow to DVD audiences on January 30th.
Me? I’m holding out for Supercroc.
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