Written by: Michael Den Boer on October 24th, 2013
Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 2011
Director: Emanuele De Santi
Writer: Emanuele De Santi
Cast: Emanuele De Santi, Valeria Sannino, Paolo Luciani, Alessandro Gramanti, Wilmar Zimosa
DVD released: October 8th, 2013
Approximate running time: 85 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo Italian
Subtitles: English, French
DVD Release: Autonomy Pictures
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $24.99
Synopsis: A man summons the powers of a demon to help exact his revenge against those who murdered his wife.
If someone were to combine Japanese Amine with Italian splatter films of the late 1970’s and the 1980’s, then you would end with the film Adam Chaplin: Violent Avenger.
From a plot stand point not much going on, man’s wife murder, man then proceeds to annihilate those responsible by bashing them into tiny little pieces. Pacing is never an issue as there is rarely a moment to catch ones breath is this body part exploding extravaganza. The gore and effects are actually really well done. The CGI effects are another story all together.
From a visual stand point one would be hard pressed to find another film that looks exactly likes this film. If I had to venture this film’s look like other areas of this production is a melting pot of its creator’s influences which he wears boldly throughout the film.
Adam Chaplin: Violent Avenger is the brainchild of Emanuele De Santi, who besides directing and writing the screenplay; he also stars in the role of this film’s protagonist. The performances or should I say chess pieces are all just good enough to move one bloody moment of mayhem to the next.
In closing as much as I enjoyed this film, it is not an easy to film to recommend. And how much any perspective viewer is going to like this film comes down to two things, are you a fan of Japanese Anime and Italian splatter films?
The DVD:
Autonomy Pictures presents Adam Chaplin: Violent Avenger in an anamorphic widescreen that retains this film’s intended look. This is a film with a very deliberate look and this transfer does a great job retaining said look. Also there are no issues with compassion and DNR is kept in check.
This release comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital stereo mix in Italian and English and French subtitles options have been included with this release. Range wise things are much better than expected, especially considering the limitations of this films budget. Dialog comes through clearly enough to follow and everything sounds balanced. And most importantly when bones get crushed and heads explode the audio sounds robust.
Extras for this release include a trailer for the film, four brief PR segments that highlight the gore featured in this film and a segment titled ‘Scene Autopsy’. Overall Adam Chaplin: Violent Avenger gets a strong audio / video presentation from Autonomy Pictures.