‘Mockbuster’ Charts One Director’s Journey Into The Asylum

For decades, The Asylum has built a reputation for producing fast-paced, low-budget genre films that have become a fixture of cult cinema. Now, a new documentary is set to reveal what life is really like behind the scenes, as Mockbuster arrives on digital platforms this July.

Released by Miracle Media on 27 July, the feature documentary follows Australian filmmaker Anthony Frith as he walks away from the security of directing corporate videos to pursue his long-held ambition of making feature films. That decision leads him to an unexpected opportunity with The Asylum, the Hollywood studio behind titles including Sharknado, Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies, Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, Titanic II and King of the Ants.

Frith is handed the task of directing The Land That Time Forgot, a dinosaur adventure produced on a shoestring budget and filmed over just six days in suburban Adelaide. Recognising the unique opportunity unfolding around him, he begins documenting the experience, capturing both the production itself and his own journey as a first-time feature director.

What follows is an unusually candid look at independent genre filmmaking, as Frith balances demanding production schedules, constant creative compromises and the realities of working with one of Hollywood’s most prolific B-movie studios. Alongside the chaos of making one film, Mockbuster quietly becomes another.

The documentary features appearances from The Asylum’s founders David Latt, David Rimawi and Paul Bales, alongside Brendan Petrizzo, Rachel Lee Goldenberg, Michael Paré, Eric Roberts, Danny Philippou and Glenn Campbell.

Written by Frith and Sandy Cameron, Mockbuster is produced by David Elliot-Jones, Cameron and Naomi Ball, with cinematography by Maxx Corkindale, editing by David Scarborough and an original score by Bryony Marks. The project received support from Screen Australia, the South Australian Film Corporation, the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund and VicScreen.

The documentary premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2025, where it won the Feature Documentary Audience Award. It was subsequently acquired for worldwide distribution by Giant Pictures, while Umbrella Entertainment secured Australian and New Zealand rights.

For horror and cult cinema fans, Mockbuster offers a rare opportunity to step inside one of the industry’s most recognisable independent studios and witness the realities of low-budget filmmaking from the perspective of a director learning on the job.

Mockbuster arrives on Digital from Miracle Media on 27 July 2026.

Mockbuster trailer