VIDEOGASP!: Adam Chaplin Is No Charlie

Directors: Emanuele De Santi, Giulio De Santi Writers: Emanuele De Santi, Giulio De Santi Stars: Emanuele De Santi, Valeria Sannino, Chiara Marfella Country: Italy Language: Italian Release Date: 31 October 2011

From the get go of Adam Chaplin (such a fitting name for a possessed superhuman maniac killer) you feel like you are inside an abattoir where the meat-mongers are having fun by playing football with the pig heads (this have really happened).

(A pig’s head, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 6 shallots, 2 heads garlic, 6 parsley sprigs, 6 thyme sprigs and, 2 cups Chardonnay and ½ cup brandy)

In the fictional city of Heaven's Valley things are far from heavenly when a psychotic mob boss called Dennis (such a fitting name for a deformed psychotic super-villain), decides to burn alive a poor woman in order to collect her whatever debt. Unfortunately for Dennis (fortunately for us), his two psycho sons and the corrupted police department that he owns, the poor lady's lover-boy is a beefcake, a beast, a very pissed-off vengeance thirsty Conan look-alike who will not hold back any punches (that's funny considering this movie) to collect the debt of his sweetheart's death from everyone responsible (or not, lets say from everyone that gets in his way). Plus he makes a deal with a cool little demon straight out of Ghoulies (what a ghoul little flick), who nests into a reversed cross-shaped wound in his back, gives him super strength and shows up when he wants to make fun of Adam's victims (as if their fate wasn't horrible enough).

"I got a killer joke"

The bad guy (the other bad guy) has superhuman powers too! Not granted from a demon but from a chemical cocktail he injects from a young age, cause of an accident he had that deformed him in such degree that he has to wear a creepy black mask with a reversed white cross on it (both antagonists have a reversed cross on them. It's a deeply religious film) to make him look more attractive. Not very original but still bad-ass nevertheless.

"The kids in school were making fun of my face! Now they just make fun of my name"

Adam starts to interrogate every damn soul he crosses paths with to learn the whereabouts of Dennis and whatever response he gets from them, he makes their face look like an expired steak tartare dish. In the best-case scenario bones are breaking like twigs, jaws are ripped off and skulls are cracked open. In the worst-case someone will have to pick up the pieces from the walls with a tea-spoon. Like the scene where he lets the cops arrest him so he can interrogate a guy in the police department and literally transforms him into a human wall-tapestry.

(A smart and cheap way to decorate your living room wall and impress your friends)

When Dennis starts to feel Adam's breath on the back of his neck (that's gay) he sends his big gun to finish him off (that's even more gay), a lunatic hobo ninja-butcher who dresses up like the Ultimate Warrior (?!). Adam has to go through him, the S.W.A.T team and Dennis' two sons to reach Dennis himself for the final stage boss fight, in which you'll need an umbrella, a raincoat and a pair of wiper glasses if you wanna be able to watch what's happening through this blood tsunami that will hit your screen.

"Sit in or take away?"

Adam Chaplin is a revenge horror film that surpasses any other of its kind in violence and gore. When I first watched it I was completely unaware of what it's about and I couldn't believe my eyes, it was such a pleasant surprise! An Italian body builder wrote, directed and starred (like another Stallone) in this fighting gorefest that looks like the baby between Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky and The Crow. The fighting sequences are influenced by Japanese Anime and Manga while the characters and their weird faces resemble more to western comics. The production team responsible for this little gem is Necrostorm (you'll probably know them already if you're a gorehound), they have a long list of insanely gory films and they've made quite a name of themselves in this sub-genre. The other films that I've watched from their catalogue are Hotel Inferno, Taeter City, Infidus and The Milden From Planet Xonader. In my opinion Adam Chaplin is the best of them and Hotel Inferno comes second, however I have high hopes for Hotel Inferno 2 : Cathedral Of Pain. I highly recommend this for some braindead entertainment.