The author with David Latt, Paul Bales and David Rimawi

In the mid-nineties I was given the opportunity to write a screenplay for a low-budget feature film. The eventual title would be ‘Killers,’ directed by and produced by . Who knew that fifteen years later The Asylum would become a studio with an impressive catalog of more than one hundred films with titles like ‘Mega Piranha,’ ‘Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus’ and the inevitable ‘Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus’? Seriously, those are the titles. But wait, there’s more. They also make horror, drama and heartwarming family movies (be sure to check out the trailer for ‘Golden Winter’).

If I had to summarize The Asylum in one word it would be awesomely amazing—okay, two words. These guys have built a business model for creating low-budget movies that look fantastic, attracting name talent like , and , and getting the movies to market fast. Honestly I don’t know how they do it.

How It Began

When I started with these guys way back in the nineties, The Asylum was just getting ramped up. The Davids—Latt and Rimawi—definitely had a dream. And in a way I got to see that dream come together. Up until this time I had written a number of screenplays, none of which was ever produced. I had the good fortune to be introduced to these guys—Paul Bales would join the company later—through a mutual friend at New Line Cinema. He told me they were looking to shoot a feature film and they needed a screenwriter.

After meeting them I learned that there was no outline or even a hint of an idea—at least nothing they wanted to share. What they were looking for, they said, was to make a movie that had elements of horror and could be shot in one location. That was it.

The ‘Killers’ Story

After a short time I presented them with a synopsis for a story about a group of motorcycle-riding twenty-somethings that was planning to purchase drugs from an outrageously repulsive dealer who can’t count. So they all meet up in a creepy building somewhere in LA. We soon learn that the drugs were in fact stolen from a local mobster.

Before they can consummate the deal and get out, the mobster’s crew shows up, locks down the building and proceeds to pick off these star-crossed losers one by one. It’s essentially And Then There Were None with big guns, drugs and a twisted killer who thinks he’s having heavenly visions.

The story is seen through the eyes of Heather (), a rich girl who wants to be bad. Her nemesis is Nicky (), a good-looking psychopath who would rather kill than breathe. Unfortunately for Heather, Nicky discovers her after he shoots her boyfriend Ray, and he becomes obsessed.

As the story progresses Nicky ends up dispatching everyone—including his own crew—just so he can have Heather for himself. But in the course of the violence Heather actually transforms and instead of becoming just another victim, she does real damage of her own and ends up facing Nicky in a final showdown.

It’s been years since I’ve seen ‘Killers.’ I decided to watch it a while back. Actually we don’t watch movies in LA—we screen them. Well, I liked it. Maybe it was because of the memories it evoked or maybe because I’m still a sucker for horror mixed with slapstick.

I recall that the script went through seven drafts followed by more rewrites during shooting. There were times late at night listening to Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower” that I felt that I would never get it right. Which leads me to what I really wanted to talk about—how I was treated as a screenwriter.

I cannot say enough good things about the Davids. During the entire process they were respectful of my work and completely collaborative. This is not to say we didn’t argue. I can still remember some very lively coffee-fueled conversations at Aroma and Priscilla’s. But we did it with mutual respect and we always found a way to work things out.

These are the Good Guys

To promote ‘Killers,’ the Davids went on the road to horror and fantasy festivals both here and abroad where it seemed to do well. Eventually it came out on DVD and for a time could be found at Blockbuster alongside the ‘Chucky’ series. I’m hoping for the twenty-year anniversary rerelease on Blu-ray. We’ll see.

We have a saying in LA when something isn’t completely horrible or completely great—It is what it is. Could the writing have been better? Of course. But it was still worth doing. Happy anniversary, guys! Here’s to another fifteen years! Oh, and I’m really looking forward to ‘Sharknado.’

To see photos from The Asylum’s fifteenth anniversary party, go here.