There's this low budget direct-to-DVD company called The Asylum that specializes in releasing so-called "mockbusters" that they put out within days of certain big screen movie releases. For example, TRANSMORPHERS, SNAKES ON A TRAIN, ALLAN QUATERMAIN & THE TEMPLE OF SKULLS, ALIEN VS. HUNTER - you get the idea. The titles they come up with are generally far more entertaining than the actually movies.

Well there's a remake of DEATH RACE 2000 simply called DEATH RACE opening in theaters next month. The Asylum is countering with one called DEATH RACERS. DEATH RACE has Jason Statham. DEATH RACERS has the Insane Clown Posse and Raven (who looks like a burntout merchant seaman from what I've seen of him in the trailer). The plot: "In this grim vision of the future where brutality is a virtue and mercy will cost you your life, contestants participate in a cross-country death race where killing is how you win the game." The Asylum's knock-off seems to have more in common with the original plot to DEATH RACE 2000 than the remake.

DEATH RACERS was meant to be released to DVD the same week DEATH RACE hit big screens; that all got mucked up when DEATH RACE had its release date bumped up a month. DEATH RACERS blazes its bloody trail to DVD shelves on September 23rd.

Then October 7th, CYBORG SOLDIER (originally saddled with the equally generic title WEAPON) hits DVD shelves. It stars Rich Franklin as I.S.A.A.C. (Intuitive Synthetic Autonomous Assault Commando), the first prototype of a confidential "human weapon" program. Once a death-row inmate, he is now a genetically reconstructed, highly trained, deadly assassin whose body and mind have been modified to become a physically regenerative, intellectually superior human being. Pursued by secret military agents and his unscrupulous inventor, he ends up on the run with a lonely border patrol deputy played by Tiffani Thiessen of "Saved by the Bell" and "Beverly Hills 90210".

But before either of those, on August 16th, Dana White's new favorite movie SCORPION KING 2: RISE OF THE WARRIROR starring Randy Couture as, presumably, the villain. Set before the events of THE MUMMY RETURNS spin-off prequel, this Rock-less prequel (the title role is now played by Blue "Time Force" Power Ranger) chronicles how the Scorpion King became the Scorpion King even though I thought that's what the plot of the previous SCORPION KING was supposed to have explained. So in a nutshell, it's a prequel to a prequel to a sequel and the Scorpion King wasn't yet "the scorpion king" by the end of THE SCORPION KING but he will become "the scorpion king" by the end of THE SCORPION KING 2 that's set before the events of THE SCORPION KING. Sounds like a real winner. {plug}