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One of the first films to fall victim to the writer’s guild strike last fall was director Sylvain White’s (Stomp the Yard) big screen adaptation of Castlevania. The movie was set to be a big budget action/fantasy flick full of vampires, Belmont whipping and castle-exploring antics until production was halted last December (2007).
Kotaku recently posted a supposedly leaked version of the film’s screenplay, presenting a rare opportunity to get a sneak peak at the game-to-movie adaptation process, right at the beginning stages. Of course, if you’re looking to avoid spoilers for the film (should it ever escape development limbo and actually get made), you should turn away now.
Everyone else should keep reading for impressions on Castlevania’s potential close-up.
The story, setting, and characters are remarkably true to the franchise, and the progression of the story actually feels correct to the pacing of the games. Unfortunately, the series has always borrowed fairly heavily from gothic horror archetypes, and the clichés flow faster than the blood. Sprinkled throughout the 30-ish pages of cinematic goodness, one can find some seriously campy dialogue. A sample:
Basically, the script reads as your average, action-filled, sword-swinging action/fantasy, perhaps a cut or two above the level of Van Helsing: Not exactly A Dungeon Siege Tale, but certainly no Lord of the Rings, either. Considering the fidelity to the Castlevania series, however, this might be good enough for fans.
The script certainly contains the seeds of a decent (though possibly campy) action flick, provided strong direction and acting were thrown in to the mix. After all, a few bland lines have never killed an otherwise good action/fantasy film. Many genre films have done well without Shakespeare-caliber writing talent: The original Star Wars trilogy certainly had its share of lame dialogue and clichéd characters, features that never hurt the films. Likewise, the screenplay for Terminator 2 was never going to win a Pulitzer for fine writing, but no one can deny it was a cool film.
It also helps that director Sylvain White seems to *get* Castlevania. From an interview in Variety:
Reportedly, the director (who took over the project when Paul W.S. Anderson, he of Alien Vs. Predator fame, stepped down to take on a remake of Death Race) actually played the early titles in his youth, another good sign.
If the writer’s strike gets resolved soon, and the film ever goes into production, it’ll be interesting to see if Castlevania can break through the usual negatives associated with videogame films. Despite some roughness, the leaked screenplay appears to have some potential, and the project actually had a competent director (and a Castlevania fan!) at the helm, something that can’t be said about very many game films.
Read [Kotaku] Also Read [Variety]
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