Indie production house and distributor The Asylum is notorious in Hollywood. They’ve made a name for themselves by shamelessly ripping off existing IPs with similarly themed offerings that are just different enough to avoid copyright infringement lawsuits. The upcoming documentary Mockbuster will provide a look at The Asylum’s business model from the perspective of director Anthony Frith, who helmed the low-budget dinosaur epic The Land That Time Forgot for the studio.
Frith realized Mockbuster as a behind-the-scenes documentary chronicling the production of The Land That Time Forgot. He shot The Land That Time Forgot over the course of just six days, flying by the seat of his pants the entire time. Mockbuster gives viewers a front-row seat to the crazy ordeal and pulls back the curtain on The Asylum’s inner workings in the process. What’s especially remarkable is that Frith pulled double duty, helming The Land That Time Forgot and Mockbuster simultaneously. Even more surprisingly, Frith had never directed a feature (let alone two at once) prior to this undertaking.
Frith tells Variety, “I went into this project thinking that directing a dinosaur movie for The Asylum would be fun, and that it would make for a hilarious behind-the-scenes doc. From the outside, they look like Hollywood’s punk rockers, working fast and loose. But somewhere between receiving the script on Sunday and shooting on Monday, I started to see their true genius: controlled chaos – a method that, against all odds, produces movies audiences keep coming back for.”
If the name The Asylum doesn’t immediately ring a bell, you’ve still likely seen their films at your local Redbox kiosk, or maybe you’ve even watched a few. They are the demented minds behind the shameless cash grabs Transmorphers, The Terminators, and Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies. Aside from their prolific catalog of knock-offs, the studio and production company has also enjoyed success with more original offerings, like the Sharknado series.
Mockbuster, which has been acquired for distribution by Giant Pictures, will world premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival on Oct. 24th, 2025. From there, it will enjoy a North American festival run, followed by a stateside theatrical release in the spring of 2026.
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Categorized: News