Apocalypse Pompeii is a 2014 American disaster film produced by The Asylum and directed by Ben Demaree. The film stars Adrian Paul, Jhey Castles, John Rhys-Davies, Dylan Vox, Dan Cade. It was filmed in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Pompeii, Italy.
The film was released direct-to-DVD on 8 February 2014. In the tradition of The Asylum's catalog, Apocalypse Pompeii is a mockbuster of the Paul W. S. Anderson film Pompeii.
Contents
Premise
When a former Special Ops commando visits Pompeii, Italy, his wife and daughter are trapped as Mount Vesuvius erupts with massive force. While his family fights to survive the deadly onslaught of heat and lava, he enlists his former teammates in a daring operation beneath the ruins of Pompeii.
Cast
Adrian Paul as Jeff Pierce
Jhey Castles as Lynne Pierce
Georgina Beedle as Mykaela Pierce
John Rhys-Davies as Colonel Carlo Dillard
Dylan Vox as Kal
Dan Cade as Cade
Constatine Trendafilov as Gianni
Assen Kukushev as Naveen
Alexandra Petrova-Emisti as Rashida
Yordam Yositov as Rosso
Harry Anichkin as Italian Colonel
Vrunda Patel as Christina
Jonas Talkington as Paul
Ralitsa Paskaleva as Alita
J.R. Esposito as Smith
Michael Straub as "Herricane"
Ivan Panayotov as Soldier
Malin Marinov as Police Officer
Owen Davis as Pilot
Plamen Petkov as Man 1
Deyan Tsuyathov as Man 2
Boris Vashev as Man 3
Lolita Nikolova as Woman
Iveta-Luis Contreras as Mother
Velislav Pavlov as Little Girl's Father
Elayah Roth as Little Girl
Ivo Tonchev as Businessman
Production
This film marks the directing debut for Ben Demaree. Previously he had been a cinematographer on numerous films, including the Sharknado franchise. Shooting took place for 12 days in Sofia, Bulgaria during the month of September, and then a few splinter unit days at the real Pompeii in Italy.
Most of the crew were local hires, with only a handful of people flown in from the US, including the sound mixer and steadicam operator. The cast was a mix of US, UK, and local Bulgarians. There were financial advantages to filming in Bulgaria, allowing the film to do bigger stunts including full body burns, setting cars on fire, and using cork bombs for explosions from 'flying volcanic rock'.
Reception
Reviewer Frank Veenstra gave the film 4 out of 10 stars saying "The writing isn't all that great and to be honest, it's a very ridiculous movie but at the same time, it's also a pretty creative one."
Martin Hafer of Influx gave the film one out of five stars, citing that "the plot is stupid and the characters are shallow—often coming off as caricatures."