The Asylum

Background

The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. The company is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and scripts very similar to those of current blockbusters in order to lure customers. These titles have been dubbed "mockbusters" by the press. Its titles are distributed by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, GT Media, and as of 2015, Cinedigm. The studio has created a lot of films such as the Sharknado films and the Syfy original series Z Nation. Since 2016, they've released animated films (likewise mockbusters) such as Izzie's Way Home, Trolland, CarGo (2017), and Homeward.

1st Logo (April 27, 2004-)

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Visuals: On a black background, there is a door with heavy locks on it. The door opens and a shadow casts on the floor. "THE ASYLUM" (with "THE" having an underline) in a grungy font zooms out.

Variant: On most films, the logo is still and in a white rectangle.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: A chainsaw sound, a man screaming, and some other scary sound effects. The still version is silent.

Availability: Seen on films made by them starting with the home media release of King of the Ants. The still version is far more common than the animated version, and can be seen on Titanic 666, among others.

2nd Logo (March 17, 2023-)

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Visuals: In darkness, the shadow-covered metal text "THE ASYLUM" appears in the same font as before, zooming out. Once the text is in place, the same door as before, also metal, opens, shining a light from the unseen room within that brightens the preexisting text and reveals the text "25TH ANNIVERSARY" below.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A 3-note dramatic theme.

Availability: It debuted on Butch Cassidy & The Wild Bunch.