WFG RATING: B

A production of The Asylum. Directed and lensed by Michael Su. Produced by David Michael Latt. Written by Jacob David Smith; story by Marc Gottlieb. Edited by Cameron Ames and Rob Pallatina.

Stars Fiona Dorn, Gina Vitori, Sunny Tellone, Quentin “Rampage” Jackson, Jessica DeBonville, Narisa Suzuki, Geena Alexander, Liana Ramirez, Samantha Long, Sof Punchley, Mariana Jacazzio, Anthony Jensen, Alex Veadov, and Eric Roberts.

The gang over at the Asylum melds the classic Grimm fairy tale with martial arts action in this modern day action film that is actually not too bad.

When crime boss Joseph Voight is gunned down and killed in front of his daughter Anya, things take a turn for the worse for the young woman nicknamed ‘Snow White’. A will reading results in Anya taking over the family business but as a more legitimate one rather than one full of violence. This not only brings anger from Voight’s business partners, the Four Pillars, but even more mad is Quinn, Joseph’s wife and Anya’s stepmother who feels she should get the business.

Quinn hires a hooded man to kill both Joseph’s lawyer and Anya so she can take over the business for herself. At first, it looks as if the hooded man succeeded. However, Anya is still alive and is nursed back to health by Luna, the leader of a band of female samurai known as the Onna-Musha. When Anya is healed, she learns that the Four Pillars are the sword enemies of the Onna-Musha and knowing her stepmother is responsible, Anya begins to train with Luna and the six remaining samurai so she can get revenge and justice once and for all.

You have to love the Asylum. They have no shame (not that they need to be anyway) in churning out titles that will take characters from classic fairy tales and legends and give them a modern day spin. Some like Headless Horseman and 3 Musketeers are fun while one in particular, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, showed potential but had a failed finale. This film, however, falls in the former, as we see “Snow White” join a band of female samurai warriors to avenge her near demise at the hands of her evil stepmother. 

Fiona Dorn is pretty good as Anya, the “Snow White” of the title, the daughter of a crime boss (played by who else…Eric Roberts), who witnesses his demise but learns he realizes how much she means to him. When we learn that she’s been given the family “business” and go legit, this is when we get an consistency in an over-the-top performance by Gina Vitori as Quinn, the villainess of the film and Anya’s treacherous stepmother. 

Actor and stunt performer Sunny Tellone is a highlight as Luna, the “Doc” of the Seven Samurai if you will. As the leader of the Onna-Musha, she becomes a mentor to Anya with the help of six other female warriors who have beef with the Four Pillars. The other three bosses of the Four Pillars are a mixed bag, as Mariana Jacazzio’s Johanna Schultz is a bit cringeworthy as if she is trying too hard to speak with a German accent. And if that’s not bad enough, despite the marketing revealing his top billing, Quentin “Rampage” Jackson is pretty much there to just grimace and rarely gets to fight as the Hooden Man, Quinn’s mystery assassin. 

The action, choreographed by Shaun Charney, is pretty good for an Asylum title. Tellone shines in a few scenes and once can tell Dorn and Vitori have done some pretty good training as their fight scenes (when not resorting to firearms) is pretty fun to watch. The only lackluster fight seems to be that between some of the Onna-Musha and the Hooden Man. However, it is saved with a two-on-one between Anya and Luna teaming up against Quinn. 

Snow White and the 7 Samurai is an Asylum film where the good outweighs the bad. Despite some over-the-top performances from some villains, the overall film has some pretty decent action scenes and some good performances from leads Fiona Dorn and Sunny Tellone.