Attila from the get go was always going to be a movie to not take seriously, and despite The Asylum having a mostly terrible track record Attila also deserved a fair chance. If the execution was at least passable it could have been fun. Unfortunately Attila was too inept that it was not easy at all to enjoy it, one of those movies where you have to look long and heard to detect a redeeming value. Attila is a low-budget movie but also an example of one where visually no real effort seems to have been made. It is very choppily edited and the special effects look rushed and look 10-15 years at least out of date. The music is too obtrusive, is not sympathetic to what's happening and it sounds generic too, while the sound is on the muddied side. When the music wasn't drowning out the dialogue, it was really painful to hear how mind-numbingly, inanely corny it sounded and also how it makes no attempt to develop the characters or make the story or the goings on understandable. The story was a ridiculous one to start with but it is told so messily that it comes across often as incoherent, it's also rather dull with the tension and fun levels next to nil. The characters are little more than stereotypical ciphers, and there was no point in calling the villain Attila the Hun, because the villain here is the complete opposite to what Attila stood for. For all we know, he could have been any low-budget creature, acting like a zombie and looking like a mummy, and to make things worse he exudes no personality or sense or threat, completely forgettable. The acting in Attila is not good at all, in fact it's laughably bad. Steve Hanks is the best actor in the movie and he still overeggs the pudding, and Chris Conrad when we are eventually introduced to him has the opposite problem in that he's wooden and plays it far too straight. Lastly, the fight scenes and stunts are very repetitive, tiredly choreographed and clumsily edited. Summing things up Attila is an ineptly terrible movie all round, one to see once and forget. 1/10 Bethany Cox
14 Reviews
Save yourself some time and skip this piece of crap.
lee337915051 March 2014
Would give this a zero if it was possible. I knew this was crap in the first 5 minutes when I saw the title sequence. VFX is amateurish, looks like someone thought by watching Video CoPilot tutorials would be enough to work on a movie. Blood splatter effects straight out of Action Essentials. I mess around with After Effects for fun/hobby and I could easily do a more professional job and that's pretty sad. Fight scenes are repetitive, boring and cheesy. Story is boring. Editing is boring with pacing issues. Boring characters you don't care about. I can usually find something redeeming in the crappiest movies that I can appreciate, but this didn't have anything. Just all around bad. Avoid at all cost.
And just when you thought you had seen everything...
paul_haakonsen26 April 2014
Alright, well what can be said, this is definitely not one of the finest moments in the movie-making history of The Asylum. When I saw their logo on the screen as the first thing, I sort of lost motivation to watch this movie. And had I checked IMDb first and seeing how the movie has been rated, I would have stopped dead in my tracks and spent my time on something else. But then again, from time to time (rare as it might be, though), The Asylum do manage to put out a movie that surprises and turns out to be great. "Attila", however, was definitely not one of those rare instances.
The storyline in the movie was adequate, take it for what it is; supernatural nonsense without any coherency towards realism. This movie is a no-brainer; the type you could watch during a really bad hangover.
The acting in the movie was wooden and rigid, and that really did nothing to help lift up the movie. But the acting wasn't the main detraction against the enjoyment of the movie. It was the effects and the stupidity of it all.
This movie failed on so many occasions and accounts. First of all, what scientist with a significant discovery in the staff of Moses, would examine it so carelessly and without protective devices, such as gloves, brushes, etc. to preserve the found and not contaminate it? And the scene itself where he cuts his finger on the unnaturally ragged and sharp teeth of the corpse was so forced and staged, it looked like he wasn't even trying to make it look like an accident. And what happened to those fangs once the corpse resurrected, they just turned into normal teeth, right...
As for the subject of the found piece of the staff, sure I can buy into blood resurrecting the long dead Hun warrior, given the supernatural storyline, but where did his pristine outfit come from? And why was it only his face that was a decayed zombie-like visage, while the rest of his body was ordinary whole and without a trace of decay?
Proceeding with the awakened Hun warrior; bullets fired against him produce sparks upon impact with his person. Wait, what? Seriously? So the guy is made of metal? It was just ridiculous. And how would a person from the period of Attila know how to roll under a moving car, directly under the chassis to break the car and take it out of commission? I was laughing so hard when I saw that scene.
The movie's cover looks alluring and interesting, but it is so far from the actual contents of the movie as it could almost physically be. Do not get suckered in by the cover, because you are setting yourself up for a most horrible disappointing.
If you enjoy super campy and cheesy movies with horrible story lines and even worse effects, then you might find some perverse enjoyment in watching "Attila". Otherwise, then I wouldn't really recommend that you spend your time on this particular movie.
The storyline in the movie was adequate, take it for what it is; supernatural nonsense without any coherency towards realism. This movie is a no-brainer; the type you could watch during a really bad hangover.
The acting in the movie was wooden and rigid, and that really did nothing to help lift up the movie. But the acting wasn't the main detraction against the enjoyment of the movie. It was the effects and the stupidity of it all.
This movie failed on so many occasions and accounts. First of all, what scientist with a significant discovery in the staff of Moses, would examine it so carelessly and without protective devices, such as gloves, brushes, etc. to preserve the found and not contaminate it? And the scene itself where he cuts his finger on the unnaturally ragged and sharp teeth of the corpse was so forced and staged, it looked like he wasn't even trying to make it look like an accident. And what happened to those fangs once the corpse resurrected, they just turned into normal teeth, right...
As for the subject of the found piece of the staff, sure I can buy into blood resurrecting the long dead Hun warrior, given the supernatural storyline, but where did his pristine outfit come from? And why was it only his face that was a decayed zombie-like visage, while the rest of his body was ordinary whole and without a trace of decay?
Proceeding with the awakened Hun warrior; bullets fired against him produce sparks upon impact with his person. Wait, what? Seriously? So the guy is made of metal? It was just ridiculous. And how would a person from the period of Attila know how to roll under a moving car, directly under the chassis to break the car and take it out of commission? I was laughing so hard when I saw that scene.
The movie's cover looks alluring and interesting, but it is so far from the actual contents of the movie as it could almost physically be. Do not get suckered in by the cover, because you are setting yourself up for a most horrible disappointing.
If you enjoy super campy and cheesy movies with horrible story lines and even worse effects, then you might find some perverse enjoyment in watching "Attila". Otherwise, then I wouldn't really recommend that you spend your time on this particular movie.
nope
jerymid3144 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Nope. That's all that should have been said when the idea for this movie was pitched. It is beyond terrible. I only finished it because I was watching it with a friend. We kept laughing and thinking it must get better at some point but again, nope. If you like horrible movies this could be for you but I doubt it even then. I haven't actually watched "Birdemic" but i can't see how it could honestly be worse than this. I actually made this account just to warn people about this filth. The plot make no sense at all, the continuity problems are the only consistent thing, and the action scenes are ridiculous. The acting is worse than that of an "actual doctor" for an infomercial. Small spoiler... if you do watch it, the villain will be your favorite character because he never actually speaks.
All in all, don't watch it sober at least...
All in all, don't watch it sober at least...
Where was the oversight on this film?
suite9214 March 2014
Warning: Spoilers
According to IMDb, this picture was shot in Los Angeles, CA, USA. According to the beginning of the film, the main action occurs in Eastern Europe. Considering the number of Eastern European and Middle Eastern actors in the film, I was surprised that it was not filmed in Eastern Europe for the cost savings.
The Huns, by many accounts, were even shorter than the Romans, were light of weight, and perfectly suited to life on horseback. In the opening sequence, the Huns were shown with zero horses, traveling and acting only as infantry. They were depicted in the film as heavily muscled, tall in stature, and reliant on brute strength to win one-on-one battles. This is in strong opposition to their usual description as light but agile, with exceptional skill in archery and fighting from horseback with swords.
The back story of re-assembling the Staff of Moses is just bovine scatology.
Given the matters above, the terrible dialog, the stupid acting, and the PC clichés, I was ready to give up on this one at 27 minutes in. I watched the remaining 58 minutes just to see whether I missed something.
So, in this ridiculous setup, part of the Staff has been found in Eastern Europe. Blood fallen on the case of the Staff re-animates Attila the Hun (well, maybe), who is seven feet tall and stronger than Thor. This is more nonsense.
Will Vito recover the staff segment before Attila really fouls things up?
------Scores------
Cinematography: 6/10 Odd filtering was employed that was strong on blue, green, grey, while weak in red, yellow, orange. Also, among the cast there were way too many faux blondes, and way too much time spent on the art of gum chewing with one's mouth open. The random distribution of saliva is so attractive and sanitary; I'm surprised it was not spotlighted in slow motion.
Sound: 0/10 The actors were miked well enough. Unfortunately, they spoke. The incidental sound and music were almost always jarring or inappropriate.
Acting: 0/10 All the actors were terrible at acting in this film.
Screenplay: 0/10 Absurd, a complete failure. I really could have done without the vile hallucinations of the 'effective' commander Vito. Why would General Thadeus trust the Professor? I would have liked an explanation of that. The military fights the supernatural without knowing any rules of engagement? This seems unlikely. Even better, there seems to be little understanding of chain of command. During one segment, the number of survivors in Vito's command seems to go up and down like a yo-yo from one scene to the next. The movie gets stupider and less believable with each passing minute. The real motivations seem not to be clear until quite late.
SFX: 2/10 Pretty poor. Some 1980s SFX were as good.
The Huns, by many accounts, were even shorter than the Romans, were light of weight, and perfectly suited to life on horseback. In the opening sequence, the Huns were shown with zero horses, traveling and acting only as infantry. They were depicted in the film as heavily muscled, tall in stature, and reliant on brute strength to win one-on-one battles. This is in strong opposition to their usual description as light but agile, with exceptional skill in archery and fighting from horseback with swords.
The back story of re-assembling the Staff of Moses is just bovine scatology.
Given the matters above, the terrible dialog, the stupid acting, and the PC clichés, I was ready to give up on this one at 27 minutes in. I watched the remaining 58 minutes just to see whether I missed something.
So, in this ridiculous setup, part of the Staff has been found in Eastern Europe. Blood fallen on the case of the Staff re-animates Attila the Hun (well, maybe), who is seven feet tall and stronger than Thor. This is more nonsense.
Will Vito recover the staff segment before Attila really fouls things up?
------Scores------
Cinematography: 6/10 Odd filtering was employed that was strong on blue, green, grey, while weak in red, yellow, orange. Also, among the cast there were way too many faux blondes, and way too much time spent on the art of gum chewing with one's mouth open. The random distribution of saliva is so attractive and sanitary; I'm surprised it was not spotlighted in slow motion.
Sound: 0/10 The actors were miked well enough. Unfortunately, they spoke. The incidental sound and music were almost always jarring or inappropriate.
Acting: 0/10 All the actors were terrible at acting in this film.
Screenplay: 0/10 Absurd, a complete failure. I really could have done without the vile hallucinations of the 'effective' commander Vito. Why would General Thadeus trust the Professor? I would have liked an explanation of that. The military fights the supernatural without knowing any rules of engagement? This seems unlikely. Even better, there seems to be little understanding of chain of command. During one segment, the number of survivors in Vito's command seems to go up and down like a yo-yo from one scene to the next. The movie gets stupider and less believable with each passing minute. The real motivations seem not to be clear until quite late.
SFX: 2/10 Pretty poor. Some 1980s SFX were as good.
Terrible Costumes
stevechams19 April 2015
Here's my take on the movie. Story...okay. Acting...so-so. The US Army uniforms are a joke. They looked like slobs and no one was in the same uniform. White t-shirts, green t-shirts and black t-shirts on the same base. Doesn't happen. If you're going to make a movie with soldiers in it, at least do some research. It killed me to look at the Army General's uniform. He had a Navy Achievement Medal and a Combat Action Ribbon (Marines) but no Army medals... once again do 2 minutes of research to make it a bit more believable. I started to tune it out when the CPT said, it happened at zero twelve hundred (01200?). When is that? If they would have at least got actors with military haircuts and the right uniforms, I may have watched it all the way through. I only watched as much as I did because Mikayla Campbell is pretty dang hot.
the poor Attila
Vincentiu17 February 2015
a bad movie ? not exactly. only awful. small ordinaries tricks, blood and fake history's use. and a film about nothing with ambition to became a series. absurd, illogical but useful like each bad movie for a strange form of fun who has not the status of irony but only surprise. it is not original, only clone of clone of clones of many stupid movies who are not sense, not script, not actors and represents just a small place near hard pornography. because the source, maybe the purpose are the same. only problem after its end is the choice of Hun leader. which is his huge sin for be victim of this form of cultural garbage ? so, only mercy for the poor Attila saves the film for few days after the meeting. but it is far to save it in real sense.
SLEEP IS A DOORWAY, DEATH IS A DREAM
nogodnomasters11 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The first six minutes of this Asylum adventure gives us a pseudo history of Attila the Hun, who found Moses' staff that will raise the dead, give riches, and grant immortality. After he finds the staff, he breaks it in three pieces and hides them because...he can. The U.S. military finds the third piece in Eastern Europe guarded by Attila's dead son. When push come to shove, the SON who is depicted on the DVD cover, comes to life and grunts and kill things. He is capable of withstanding CG bullets, CG grenades, and a CG bazooka. Much of the film is consumed with a group of military men hunting said son in the woods getting themselves killed. The ending was as f-upped as the rest of the film with the final battle of grunting warriors causing me to scratch my head. I would venture to say the film is called "Attila" because it marketed better than "Revenge of Attila's Dead Grunting Son."
This is not a film for series or semi-series viewers. Asylum fans might like the silliness of the film. In one scene they pry open a wooden crate. Once they pop it loose, they open the lid and you can hear old hinges squeak. There were no hinges.
Parental Guide: F-bombs. No sex or nudity.
This is not a film for series or semi-series viewers. Asylum fans might like the silliness of the film. In one scene they pry open a wooden crate. Once they pop it loose, they open the lid and you can hear old hinges squeak. There were no hinges.
Parental Guide: F-bombs. No sex or nudity.
Laughable
Leofwine_draca23 August 2018
Warning: Spoilers
ATTILA is another cheesy and laughable sci-fi/horror movie from The Asylm. At least this isn't one of their 'mockbusters', but rather an original slice of programming. After an amusingly poor opening, we cut to the usual bunch of soldiers and scientist types who unearth the body of the evil Attila the Hun and bring it back to the laboratory for experimentation. What follows is a typical killer-on-the-loose story, with some bad CGI effects and gore and plenty of worse acting and contrived plotting. The script is the worst thing here, which is always the case in an Asylum movie, and it's a hard film to get any enjoyment from.
Standard Asylum Quality Flick!
Max_Lucas17 March 2014
I have never seen anything good come from Asylum. I gave them at least 20 chances to prove their name to me. But lets face it, Asylum movies = 1-2 star rated movies. It's an insult to us to think we would enjoy these. My question is, even with such poor ratings and name stealing titles how do they stay in business!? I for one would like to see them gone. I wish actors would realize that doing an Asylum movie is actually bad for their career.
This movie is just another typical Asylum Movie. Low budget, poor acting and directing. Boring. Special effects are a joke. Maybe if I lived in a state where pot was legal and I was high as a kite, I might find a movie like this or any Asylum movie entertaining? Probably still not.
This movie was their last chance to show me something good. They failed. I will no longer watch anything made by Asylum. I hope others who feel the same way do the same thing and not support them in any way.
This movie is just another typical Asylum Movie. Low budget, poor acting and directing. Boring. Special effects are a joke. Maybe if I lived in a state where pot was legal and I was high as a kite, I might find a movie like this or any Asylum movie entertaining? Probably still not.
This movie was their last chance to show me something good. They failed. I will no longer watch anything made by Asylum. I hope others who feel the same way do the same thing and not support them in any way.
A great 'film' to laugh along with
svenhumber25 March 2021
I mean... they tried. If you're looking for a night of laughs with the boys, press play on this gem. Acting, script, and plot points aside, the guns are halarious; no stocks on most, no magazines in some, muzzle flashes coming out of the wrong part of the guns sometimes, and keep an eye on the RPG, it's floppy as all get out.
"Attila"..reminiscent of movies made in the 1950's.
rcarterphotography12 January 2014
"Attila" contains action, plot and story-line reminiscent of movies made in the 1950's. The easy- to-follow story, fast paced action and of course..lots of blood reminded me of my youth sitting in a small-town theatre on a Saturday afternoon. If "Attila" were done in black and white I would have questioned the filming date. Under the direction of Emmanuel Itier I believe "Attila" hits it's mark. Cheik Kongo shows his incredible athleticism as the Nomad and scares the bejesus out of you without the utterance of a single word. Chris Conrad's portrayal of "Vito" makes him a believable hero and Mikayla Campbell's "McVee" the perfect heroine. Stunts were all too prevalent and often made you wonder "How'd they do that?". Xin's martial arts work was true artistry. Other strong performances came from Hossein Mardani as "Fleetwood" and Poncho Hodges as "Bulldog". Would like to see more from the screen writing team of Anthony Ferrante and Emmanuel Itier.
Passion project
gacsogergely15 February 2022
Yes, it is a bit underfounded, especialy lacking on the monster-design. But you can feel somebody (I suspect the director) cared for this film.
I'm not sure if it'd worked better as Scorpion King-like muscle-film, or this way, but it is decent either way, way more than what I expected seeing the coolness of the poster.
I'm glad The Asylum bother to scrap the bottom of the budget barrel to make a great-for-parties film. I wish the big studios would do the same, and the mid-budget films would come back to fashion.
I'm not sure if it'd worked better as Scorpion King-like muscle-film, or this way, but it is decent either way, way more than what I expected seeing the coolness of the poster.
I'm glad The Asylum bother to scrap the bottom of the budget barrel to make a great-for-parties film. I wish the big studios would do the same, and the mid-budget films would come back to fashion.
awful. or less
Kirpianuscus15 November 2016
one of films about nothing. or only a bad joke, cocktail of popular culture, action scenes, American army and a character who lost his status for become a form of garbage for flies. so, it is not easy to define it. sure, it is only an example of films empty of sense, near hard core pornography, who propose only a kind of terror, using a historical character for a crazy game with different crap details. but , in fact, this is far to be a mistake. each film has its public and the target of this film is so precise than each stone becomes mud ball. and this does it useful. for discover its fans profile. for amusing and lost the patience. for be horrified. or for ignore the film and remain in the refuge of yours thoughts. so, Attila. or, more exactly, an awful portrait of him as pretext for blood, terror and great American soldier in cheep package.
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