Introduction

Nazis at the Center of the Earth is a direct-to-video Naziploitation sci-fi film produced by The Asylum that stars Dominique Swain and Jake Busey.

It was released on 24 April 2012 on Blu-ray Disc and DVD. The Lexikon des internationalen Films considers the film a rip-off (mockbuster) aimed at exploiting the “hype” surrounding the film Iron Sky.

It is also known as Nazi Zombies, Nazi Sky (Germany), SS Troopers (US reissue title), and Bloodstrom (UK DVD title).

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Outline

On 10 May 1945, in a secret airport near Wurtzberg, Germany, Nazi scientist Dr. Josef Mengele, along with fellow doctors and soldiers, prepare to depart to an unknown location with a mysterious package in their possession. They are soon ambushed by the Allied forces, but successfully escape.

In the present day, a group of researchers in Antarctica, Dr. Paige Morgan among them, are abducted by a platoon of gas-masked soldiers wearing swastika armbands and dragged into a hidden environment in the centre of the Earth. There, they discover that Dr. Josef Mengele and a group of surviving Nazi soldiers are plotting an invasion of the surface of the Earth to create a Fourth Reich.

Cast

• Dominique Swain as Dr. Paige Morgan.
• Jake Busey as Adrian Reistad.
• Joshua Michael Allen as Lucas Moss.
• Christopher Karl Johnson as Dr. Josef Mengele.
• Lilan Bowden as May Yun.
• Trevor Kuhn as Brian Moak.
• Adam Burch as Mark Maynard.
• Marlene Okner as Sije Lagesen.
• Maria Pallas as Angela Magliarossa.
• Andre Tenerelli as Aaron Blechman.
• Abderrahim Halaimia as Rahul Jumani.
• Michael Schwab as Adolf Hitler.

Production

Lawson received the directorial assignment after reading the script and pitching himself as director in the fall of 2011. The film took less than four months to make. On Asylum, Lawson said “They are a low-budget film studio,[…] I knew pretty much going in that this was going to be a B movie. We had a 12-day shoot and a budget well south of $200,000.”

The entire movie was storyboarded by the director shot for shot before production began in November 2011.

Locations for the film included Willow Studios in Los Angeles (underground in the Nazi bunker and Nifleheim Station), Blue Cloud Ranch in Santa Clarita (opening war night scenes and the cavern), and the Asylum Studios (hallways, labs, medical rooms, rappelling scenes and green screen virtual sets).

The film features one of the highest visual effects shot counts in an Asylum film, 379, and the effects were completed in just four weeks.

In his commentary, director Joseph J. Lawson cites as his visual influences Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Sam Raimi, John Carpenter, John Landis, David Lean, J. J. Abrams and Robert Rodriguez.

Release

Critical and audience reaction to the film has been mixed.

Trivia

• The four files that the Doctor points to in his laboratory quite clearly read: “Essen Babys”, “Dreisehn”, “ich Liebe es, Drogen zu tum” and “gross esel, junge dame”.
  • Which translated mean: “Eat Babies”, “Thirteen”, “I love doing drugs” and “Big ass, young lady” (although the German says “donkey” instead of “ass” for the last, and the others are misspelled as well).
• The weapons used by the Nazis are all repainted and customized Nerf Blasters. Namely the Maverick, Raider/Rampage and Deploy.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s): Joseph Lawson.
• Producer(s): David Michael Latt, David Rimawi, and Paul Bales.
• Writer(s): Paul Bales.
• Music: Chris Ridenhour.
• Cinematography: Alex Yellen.
• Editor(s): Rob Pallatina.
• Production:
• Distributor(s): The Asylum.
• Release Date: 24 April 2012.
• Running Time: 90 minutes.
• Rating: R.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

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