Bile Fascination: There's a devoted cult following of people who watch The Asylum films to see just how bad they really are. Though in many cases they turn out to be So Bad, It's Good.
Franchise Original Sin: The 2005 Direct to Video adaptation of The War of the Worlds made a surprising amount of money, mostly through serendipity that it was a very faithful adaptation that happened to coincide with a far more lavish one. Seeing quick dollar signs in their eyes, video rental stores bought The Asylum's cheaper movie in bulk, hoping to make a quick buck from moviegoers who couldn't tell the difference (Blockbuster Video alone purchased a quarter of a million copies), which brought The Asylum enough money that they started seeing quick dollar signs in their eyes, quickly leading to their current notoriety for intentional mockbusters.
Hilarious in Hindsight: In response to the movie Iron Sky, they released Nazis at the Center of the Earth, where instead of the moon, the Nazis are hiding in the Hollow Earth. Guess what the sequel to Iron Sky is about?
Memetic Mutation: Aside from all the usual mockery reserved for the company. Sharknado has become a big Internet sensation in and of itself.
Moment of Awesome: YES, The Asylum has had one moment of these: Their film 100 Feet got good reception and those who hate The Asylum will acknowledge this is their most original of their films.
No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: After Universalsued them over their Battleship mockbuster American Battleship (which was later renamed American Warships and given new cover art), The Asylum responded by thanking Universal for the press... after mocking and insulting Universal's movie. One must admit, for all their lack of class and talent, The Asylum certainly doesn't lack balls.
“The timing of Universal’s recently filed lawsuit coincides with mixed reviews of its big-budget film, Battleship — the first movie based on a board game since Clue. Looking for a scapegoat, or more publicity, for its pending box-office disaster, the executives at Universal filed this lawsuit in fear of a repeat of the box office flop, John Carter of Mars. The Universal action is wholly without merit and we will vigorously defend their claims in Court. Nonetheless, we appreciate the publicity.”
A few months later, this was subverted when Warner Bros. sued The Asylum, with similar results to Universal's suit, over The Hobbit mockbuster Age of the Hobbits. The Asylum film had to be renamed Clash of the Empires and would not see the light of day for more than two months. An Unexpected Journey got far more critical respect and was a major box office hit vis-à-vis Battleship.
Questionable Casting: There's a number of past singers who have headlined these movies. Tiffany has been in more than one.
Special Effect Failure: The standard quality for these movies, but it really says something when both the director and VFX provider of Transmorphers (Leigh Scott and Synapse FX, respectively) admit the effects are garbage.
Stock Footage Failure: In some films you could make a drinking game out of how many times they reuse stock footage. American Warships is a prime example.
It's even better if you watch certain movies back-to-back, as stock footage reuse is done across movies as well. The Terminators main control building is a Japanese government building in Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus; not to mention the sonar/radar/space GPS screens being exactly the same.
Stunt Casting: If you know about Tiffany and Debbie Gibson being considered as fierce rivals just because their singing careers took off at the same time, you'll know why Mega Python vs Gatoroid qualifies. Likewise, Bigfoot got alot of press by starring Danny Bonaduce and Barry Williams, both stars of musical sitcoms of decades past (The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch, respectively). Bonus points for Alice Cooper appearing as himself.
over their Battleship mockbuster American Battleship (which was later renamed American Warships and given new cover art), The Asylum responded by thanking Universal for the press... after mocking and insulting Universal's movie. One must admit, for all their lack of class and talent, The Asylum certainly doesn't lack balls.“The timing of Universal’s recently filed lawsuit coincides with mixed reviews of its big-budget film, Battleship — the first movie based on a board game since Clue. Looking for a scapegoat, or more publicity, for its pending box-office disaster, the executives at Universal filed this lawsuit in fear of a repeat of the box office flop, John Carter of Mars. The Universal action is wholly without merit and we will vigorously defend their claims in Court. Nonetheless, we appreciate the publicity.”