The Asylum Mimics an Alien Invasion in ‘Battle of Los Angeles’

If you are a fan of the SyFy channel and cheesy sci-fi films, then you have no doubt been subjected to at least one film produced by The Asylum.

Outside of the pornography industry, The Asylum studios have probably produced more direct-to-video films than any other studio in existence. Since 1992, they have produced and distributed 190 films and NONE of them have ever seen the inside of a movie theater on opening day. Yet, just about every sci-fi movie fan has heard of them and watched at least one Asylum film.

Whenever a major studio is preparing to release a huge blockbuster film, The Asylum will inevitably beat them to the punch with their own “mock-buster” – a movie that is similar in style, story and even title, yet different enough to keep them out of legal trouble.  The copycat studio now has their sights set on the upcoming alien invasion flick Battle: Los Angeles with their own offering – direct-to-video of course – Battle of Los Angeles.

Like most of their previous films, Battle of Los Angeles will star a couple of former big name entertainers who audiences thought had dropped off the map. In Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus it was Lorenzo Lamas (Snake Eater) and Debbi Gibson. In Transmorphers: Fall of Man it was Bruce Boxleitner (TRON: Legacy) and in The Day the Earth Stopped is was Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club).

For Battle of Los Angeles director Mark Atkins (Dragonquest) was able to procure the acting talents of Nia Peeples and Kel Mitchell. Peeples can usually be seen acting overly dramatic in the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless, while most people will remember Mitchell as one half of the once popular Nickelodeon show Kenan & Kel. The film also stars Asylum film constant Stephen Blackehart, who can also be seen next year in James Gunn’s Super.

The synopsis for Battle of Los Angeles differs slightly from Battle: Los Angeles:

Battle of Los Angeles takes place in present day, almost 70 years after the failed attack on Earth in February 1942. Karla (Nia Peeples) is an officer with a super secret fighting force created to combat the threat of alien invasion. Lt. Tyler Laughlin (Kel Mitchell) is an Air National Guardsman who is reluctantly recruited to battle the extraterrestrial threat.

No trailer for Battle of Los Angeles has been released, but there are several production stills to look at below. You can see the rest on The Asylum’s official Flickr stream:

I certainly do not have high hopes that Battle of Los Angeles is going to be a very “good” film but I will still be in front of my TV watching every minute of it with my buddies. To maximize your enjoyment while watching a film made by The Asylum, it is highly recommended to bring along a group of friends.

Battle of Los Angeles comes to video and VOD February 22nd, 2011.

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