DVDecoys

I was strolling through the video store today and saw this.

Gosh, I wonder why this is being released this month? Surely the timing has nothing to do with this film, currently playing across the country.

San Andreas Quake is of course from our friends at The Asylum studios. Asylum's made a fortune released low budget, direct-to-video copycat  films like this one. In fact their entire business model is based on bamboozling easily confused grandmothers and aunts into mistakenly buying their films instead of the real thing.

Here's the official synopsis for San Andreas Quake: 

When a discredited L.A. Seismologist warns of an impending 12.7 earthquake, no one takes her seriously. Now on her own, she races desperately to get her family to safety before the earthquake breaks Los Angeles apart from the mainland.

Sounds pretty close to the real thing.

I also saw this, from the BBC. Again, I wonder why this particular film was released this month. I just can't figure it out.

Don't be fooled by the cover though-- this one isn't an actual movie, but a documentary about quakes.

According the official release:

Investigate the looming possibility that there is a more serious threat to the West Coast than the San Andreas Fault as San Andreas: The Next Megaquake introduces us to a “megathrust” quake that has the potential to be ten times bigger than anyone has dared to imagine. Most earthquakes last for a minute, but a “megathrust” earthquake can last for five—powerful enough to trigger a cascade of smaller earthquakes and even reignite extinct volcanoes. Join leading geologists and discover why America’s northwest may be in imminent danger.

Really? A "megathrust earthquake?" Is that really a thing? I fully admit I've not kept up with the world of seismology, but that sounds made up to me.

I'm also intrigued by that cover. Either several square miles of real estate have dropped into the earth, and the two sides of the fault have been jammed nearly together, or else in LA business districts are separated from residential areas by a single street.

I also saw this in the store. Again, can't figure out why this is being released in June of 2015. It's a mystery.

I'm eagerly looking forward to the release of Jurassic Burg, Jurassic County, Jurassic Municipality, Jurassic Metropolis, Jurassic Town, Jurassic Precinct, Jurassic District, Jurassic Suburb, Jurassic Village, Jurassic Hamlet, Jurassic Neighborhood, Jurassic ah, you get the idea.