I don't to do a plot summary here and do my rating directly! Finally my UK DVD from Scanbox of this movie arrived i was eagerly waiting for! I have heard a lot about it and also saw material on YouTube and was dying to see it. Emanuele de Santi's Debut is a Hell of a Movie that was made on a shoestring of a budget. Ultra Violent,Blood Drenched,Body Ripping & Head Splitting! One of the best Low Budget Movies i have seen in years,and trust me that i have seen a lot! ADAM CHAPLIN is far away from Splatter campiness. You can see that de Santi had a Vision of his Movie and he was able to realize it like he wanted! You also can notice that the Production Company NECROSTORM gave him the freedom to make decision and that they trusted him to make the right decisions for his Movie. You see that he is a Fanboy who is influenced by Movies like FIST OF THE NORTH STAR,STORY OF RICKY,BRAINDEAD,THE CROW etc. But instead of just copying parts and patterns of his favorite movies he uses the influences as a nutritious food for his own movie. Emanuele de Santi is a One Man Army; he directed,was involved in the Special FX,wrote & composed the Score,wrote the script and also plays Chaplin. For the movie they extra invented a new technique for the Special Effects called H.A.B.S. (Hyperrealistic Anime Blood Simulation) and this technique makes the SFX very unique. I love the fact that they used mostly handmade FX instead of making them all on the PC and only used the H.A.B.S. as enhancer for the FX. But the Digital FX that are in the Movie are great too, a few realistic looking Bullet Time FX, downpouring Rain and Digital FX in the End Sequence could be from a Hollywood Blockbuster Movie! The plot of the movie isn't anything that hasn't been told yet and maybe isn't very surprising,but in the year 2012 there are not many stories that haven't been told anyway. But what makes this movie recommendable is how the Story,the Effects,the Score and the Atmosphere add up and make ADAM CHAPLIN complete and highly entertaining! I think de Santi's story is influenced by THE CROW and also GOETHE'S FAUST. Personally it also reminded me on Jim van Bebber's DEADBEAT AT DAWN in which the Gang Leader wants to avenge his killed Girlfriend. Also the setting of Heaven Valley reminded me on DEADBEAT AT DAWN;wasted and trashed houses,an environment so cold,grim and dark nobody wants to live in or can survive in without going crazy. The whole setting also reminded me on all the 80's Italian Post- Apokalyptic Movies like BRONX WARRIORS or METROPOLIS 2000. The hazy blue filter they used in the movie is a great enhancer to make this whole scenario more believable and dismal. Now just mix in some Japanese Comic influences and gallons of gore and you can imagine how ADAM CHAPLIN looks like. Have you ever watched the Live Action Adaption of FIST OF THE NORTH STAR with Gary Daniels(1995,Tony Randel)? Do you still remember how disappointed you were while and after watching it? Don't worry, things gonna be okay again now , cause ADAM CHAPLIN looks like the FIST OF THE NORTH STAR Live Action Movie SHOULD HAVE looked like! The whole cast of the movie is well chosen, there is no single actor that makes you think you are watching a porn with cheesy dialogues when they speak. Sure, some of the Actors are overacting, but on purpose cause each single character is kinda crazy & freaky. Almost all of the Characters look like degenerated mutated freaks. The only person who looks normal is Adam. I think the reason for this is : there is not a single person in this country who is kind-hearted except Adam. There is also symbolism in the movie: The name of the country is Heaven Valley, but there are upside down turned crosses everywhere,everyone is corrupt and under the control of a Gangster; it is paradoxical and the name of the Country should be something like Hell Hole instead of Heaven Valley. A lot of Low Budget Movies from all over the world just look cheesy,stupid and totally cheap but De Santi was capable to get away from this path and delivered a Movie that does NOT look like it is filmed on Digital Video for a Direct-to-DVD release at your next Blocksucker Video Store! Believe it or not, but ADAM CHAPLIN makes your jaw drop while watching it. I plead to give Emanuele de Santi more money to make another movie. Just imagine what he and his enthusiastic Crew around him will come up with when they have a Big Budget! ADAM CHAPLIN is highly recommendable and i am sure this Movie will become a Cult Classic as soon as the word spreads! Get your DVD now and have a hell of a time in Heaven Valley! Support the Creators & Producers with your purchase of the DVD that they can deliver us more of their cinematic visions in the future! The DVD has clean & crisp video and same for the audio. The Picture Format is 16 x 9 Anamorphic Widescreen and the Audio Track is Dolby Digital 2.0 in Italian with English Subtitles. You can purchase it as UK DVD from Scanbox,who put out a great release. But I personally suggest to order it from the Production Company NECROSTORM directly cause their Disc has some additional Bonus Material that is not on the DVD from Scanbox and includes a Comic Book too. The Necrostorm DVD is written on DVD-R support with a special procedure that permit to create unique copies (digitally different from customer to customer). This procedure even improve quality, risistance, longevity of DVDs.You can order the Scanbox DVD usually on Amazon(where i ordered mine) or you buy the Necrostorm DVD
Review of Adam Chaplin
