Reality TV is HOT right now, but you don't need me to tell you that now do you? You can take you're Bachelor, Meet the Parents, Fear Factor, Survivor, Real World, Dog Eat Dog throw them into a blender and have yourself one hell of a protein drink. It's good for ya don't you know! Tempe now hits the silver screen (in your living room that is) with the SOV reality based shocker Hell Asylum. Once again Tempe strikes with an impressively loaded special edition DVD, so dig in folks cause it's gonna be a really long night.

The story here is pretty simple so let's just sum it up fairly quickly shall we? Five gorgeously super hot model types are picked to star in "Chill Challenge", a reality type TV show in which they have to face their ultimate fears in a haunted house. They all convene in the "safe" room and when instructed, one by one they enter the house (with radio and camera) and experience their darkest fears (now that's good television). What our contestants don't know is that something is lurking in the darkness and apparently it's extra hungry for intestines (aren't we all?). One by one the crew and contestants are viscously murdered while the remaining victims err I mean contestants are forced to fight for their lives. Reality TV has never been so deliciously naughty!

One thing that really struck me about Hell Asylum is how the subject matter is handled. The films intro in which our down on his luck producer pitches his idea to the network is hilarious. Nobody really thinks it's a good idea (should they?) and the set up is handled quite well. Our female contestants are also introduced in creative ways and despite the fact that these gals are all walking talking stereotypes, character development (which is key in a film like this) works.

I'll be honest here, I wasn't expecting much but it turns out that I wound up really enjoying Hell Asylum (imagine my surprise). While not without its flaws mind you, Hell Asylum stands as a well-crafted horror flick that was obviously built by true fans of the genre. The script is oddly enough... smart, acting is quite impressive and the blood flows freely (impaling, torn off heads and intestines everywhere). Shot on DV, the film has a look (much like other Tempe titles) that far exceeds its actual budget. Creatively directed by Danny Draven, Hell Asylum has a unique editing style and cinematic look all its own. For a cheapo DV production, the film looks good plain and simple. Hell Asylum certainly won't be winning any charm awards in the near future and many of the ideas within are not wholly original (the whole thing wreaks of MTV's FEAR). But, what we do have is a tight little no budget film that manages to retain a very cool look of its own. There's definite talent here and Hell Asylum plays off as a fun little treat. It's weird because I didn't like the movie because it was scary. As a matter of fact, I didn't think it was scary at all (although there are some creepy visuals mind you). For some odd reason I took to the film as a whole, and I'm still not quite sure why. I dug the look of the film, quick pacing, characters and the creative presentation. Simply put, all of these factors stood to make the experience that much more enjoyable.

Hell Asylum is presented in a 16X9 widescreen transfer and the result is quite pleasing. Aside from some minimal artifacting, the image is nice and clean with solid color definition. The widescreen framing looks really comfortable and adds tremendous production value to an obviously low low budget film.

Much like other recent DV Tempe titles, Hell Asylum features an excellent 5.1 sound mix. Sound just oozes from the speakers with crisp dialogue and nice separation. There are some effective directional effects and the cool synth score just fills the room. The audio mix is really impressive, it's evident that a lot of work went into it.

The money shot here is in the extras department, it's crazy! There's quite a lot to go through and as the kids say, it's all good (is that what the kids say?). There are a bunch of little behind the scenes features that are all very cool. First up is a director's diary that runs about 18 minutes (Draven and camera) followed by on set cast and crew interviews that runs about 14 minutes. Moving along we find an interview with genre vet Joe Estevez that runs about 4 minutes entitled Cup O' Joe. Next up are about 11 minutes of bloopers and outtakes. Keep in mind that all of these bits include some awesome behind the scenes footage, more gore and cool candid moments with the cast and crew. Other extras include a still gallery (with sexy results and then some even sexier results) and assorted trailers for other Tempe titles. Oh, and did I mention the feature length audio commentary track with director Danny Draven and music composer Josephine Soegijanty? This disc is just packed with behind the scenes footage, it's pretty damn cool.

Hold onto your hats folks cause it ain't over yet. Also included is a short film that runs no less than 45 minutes entitled Mulva: Zombie Ass Kicker. This film needs to be seen to be believed. It's cheap, it's stupid and it's a hell of a lot of fun. I really dug it. If you like stupid comedy, overacting and cheap yet oddly effective gore effects you'll probably dig Mulva. Not to mention the fact that the film features a cameo by the ultra hot Debbie Rochon and the equally hot Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Studios. Still more... there's an introduction to the film that runs a few minutes and also an optional commentary track as well with crew and the luscious Ms. Debbie Rochon. Should I have enjoyed Mulva as much as I did? No, probably not. It's not gonna charm the pants off ya, that's for sure. I guess I'm just a sucker for cheap gore, admirable attempts at low budget filmmaking and Bill Cosby jokes, sue me.

This is a great freakin' disc that's just packed up to the brim with very cool extra features. I had a great time working my way through this disc the other night (more so than I thought I would). Hell Asylum is a solid genre flick and the Mulva short blew my freakin' mind (I suspect you'll either love it or hate it… I loved it). You can find this disc online for about 15 bucks and it's easily worth that price and more. If you're looking for some low budget madness and some great extras for dessert, Hell Asylum is definitely the way to go.