Sharon Desiree | Through the Shattered Lens

Bless the Asylum and their love of giant monster movies!

In 2021’s Megaboa, a group of college students accompany Dr. Malone (Eric Roberts) a field trip to a remote island. They’re on the island specifically to explore some caves and study some drawings. It’s time to have some fun with anthropology! But when Dr. Malone gets bitten by a venomous spider, a group of students go off in search of an orchid that can neutralize the venom. This eventually leads to them discovering that they’re not alone on the island. There’s also a giant snake, a megaboa if you will.

This is pretty much a typical Asylum film. Giant snakes, tank top-wearing heroines, and Eric Roberts hamming it up in his usual delightful fashion. “Far out!” Dr. Malone says when he first sees the giant snake and how can you not agree with him? Those who complain that the Asylum makes cheap movies are missing the point. The film may be cheap but they’re almost always fun as well. This one features a giant snake that is actually kind of cute and it also features a scene of someone shouting, “Get me out of here!” after being swallowed by the snake and how can you not enjoy that? It’s like a much more honest and self-aware version of Anaconda and, best of all, it’s got Eric Roberts delivering his lines with a twinkle in his eye. He knows better than to take any of this too seriously and hopefully, you do as well.

Megaboa is fun. It’s like the type of films that I used to look forward to watching on the SyFy channel. Get together with a group of your wittiest friends and watch it. Don’t be afraid to talk back to the movie. Don’t be afraid to laugh when the snake first shows up. Tell the characters when they’re doing something dumb, that’s the point of the film. Megaboa is pure entertainment.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

In 2023’s DC Down, Washington D.C. is hit by an earthquake!

It’s a 6.3 on the Richter scale, which means the aftershocks are going to be even worse. The Washington Monument now has a big crack on it. The Potomac is threatening to flood the city. And even worse, both the President (Sean Young) and the Vice President are trapped underneath a bunch of White House rubble. (Fortunately, the main White House is still standing and actually looks remarkably sturdy. The President and the Vice President were touring a new wing of the White House that was under construction.)

General Harris (Terry Woodbury) is determined to head up efforts to dig up the chief executive and hopefully find either her or the Vice President alive. However, Speaker of the House Terry Wilder (Eric Roberts) has other ideas. First, Wilder invokes the 25th Amendment and takes over as temporary President. Then he suggests that a militia group be brought in to search through the rubble and rescue the president. General Harris thinks that’s an odd idea but, in the end, he goes with it. Needless to say, Wilder does not have the president’s best interests at heart. For him, this earthquake is the perfect opportunity to take over. He orders the head of the militia to kill the president when she is found. Can Wilder be stopped?

(For that matter, do we want to stop Wilder? Eric Roberts seems like he would be a much more entertaining president that Sean Young.)

D.C. Down is another Asylum mockbuster, the type that I used to love to watch on the SyFy network. It’s cheap and it’s ridiculous and it’s self-aware enough to be entertaining despite all of that. You have to appreciate any film that can not only work in an earthquake and a flood but also a political coup. Add to that, Eric Roberts actually gets a few more scenes than usual in this film. I have to admit that I laughed out loud when he first appeared, casually walking up to the ruins of the White House extension as if it was just another day in the nation’s capitol. But, again, that’s a part of the charm of DIY, almost-punk rock charm of the Asylum and their mockbusters. They defy the conventional definitions of good and bad and they create a unique cinematic world all their own, in this case a world where both Sean Young and Eric Roberts can be President over the course of a day. Good for the Asylum! I hope they never stop making movies.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed: