In a scene from Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, a computer-generated plane soars 20,000 feet above the earth, surrounded by periodic flashes of obviously fake lightning. The interior of the plane is real, however; it is a soundstage illuminated with flourescent lights and intermittent flashes from out the windows. All seems well until a giant shark leaps from below and drags the plane to its watery grave.

It’s been said by many film snobs that great moviemaking starts when there’s a story to tell. But what happens if the story is less than original? That’s exactly what one production company is determined to find out. The Asylum churns out “mockbusters,” knock-off films clearly made to cash in on the wave of interest generated by the latest Michael Bay epics.

Since its creation in 1997, The Asylum has built a catalog of 300 such films, including oh-so-creatively titled movies “Snakes on a Train” (very loosely based on Samuel L. Jackson’s Snakes on a Plane”), “Transmorphers” (“Transformers”), and a reimagining of “Cloverfield” entitled simply “Monster.”

The ideas on display range from decent (“Transmorphers”: “A race of alien robots has conquered the Earth and forced humanity underground”) to downright bat-guano crazy (“Sherlock Holmes”: “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective faces the ultimate challenge when enormous monsters attack London”). The movies are cast with unknown actors and shot in less than two weeks.

On paper this may sound like a recipe for disaster and bankruptcy, but The Asylum manages to do pretty well for itself, bringing in a reported five million dollars in revenue per year. In addition to a distribution deal with Blockbuster, the company showcases its new films on the cable network SyFy (formerly SciFi, name changed to bring science fiction to a hipper demographic). How did such a terrible idea result in such bizarre success?

One thing that must be considered is the accidental rental potential. People hear about the craze for that new “Pirates of The Caribbean” movie, see “Pirates of Treasure Island” on the new releases shelf, and rent it . It’s no small accident that The Asylum’s cover art is of relatively high quality; indeed one of the company’s owners says that they have “always been in the pretty-box business.”

Don’t let the boxes fool you, though; the movies are utter crap. But the Asylum knows exactly what they are doing, and so do most people who rent these schlockbusters on purpose. There’s something to be said for the pure geeky joy of watching a terrible movie and looking at all the elements of it that go horribly wrong. This so-bad-it’s-good factor is what led to the cult success of movies like “Troll 2” and “Plan 9 From Outer Space.” None of these movies are good by any measure, but the awkward pauses and bottom barrel special effects are kind of awesome. So next time you’re perusing the video store racks for a late night movie, pick up one of The Asylum’s films. They’ll make you laugh, cry, and want to punch someone in the face.