Official Synopsis:
Rupert Everett (My Best Friend's Wedding) stars as Francesco Dellamorte, a cemetery watchman whose job it is to slaughter the living dead when they rise hungry from their graves. But following a tragic tryst with a lusty young widow (stunning Anna Falchi in one of three sexy roles), Francisco begins to ponder the mysteries of existence. Is there long-term satisfaction in blasting the skulls of 'returners'? Will his imbecile assistant find happiness with the partial girl-corpse of his dreams? And if death is the ultimate act of love, can a psychotic killing spree send Dellamorte to the brink of enlightenment? Italian horror master Michele Soavi (Stage Fright) directed this brilliantly bloody black comedy - also known as Dellamorte Dellamore - that Gore Score calls "a deliciously demented, delightfully surreal stew of sex, death, splatter, male-bonding, barfing, zombies and nothing less than the Ultimate Meaning of Life!"
Our Take:
For those of you who are tired of the same old storyline of the Zombie genre film, don’t fret. Every now and then, a film comes along that possesses the exact ingredients for success, those ingredients being a great storyline, imaginative special effects, edgy cinematography, inspired make-up, halfway decent acting, and plenty of sex. The Michele Soavi directed film, Cemetery Man, delivers on all these counts.
Cemetery Man, originally titled Dellamorte Dellamore in Europe, derives its name from a graphic novel of the same title. It stars Rupert Everett as a cemetery caretaker who is forced to kill the living dead seven days after they are buried. It sounds like a pretty clichéd storyline, but I assure you, it is much more involved on many levels.
The film carries many themes of introspection and existentialism; the main theme being, “What is the difference between being dead or alive?” Francesco Dellamorte, the main character played by Everett, gives a haunting, sometimes comedic performance as he struggles with his place in the world while saving the town, night after night, from flesh eating zombies. There is a voiceover asking all the right questions, and it can be considered a commentary on today’s society much like Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.
Coming from a long line of Italian horror directors, Michele Soavi was once a protégé of the great Dario Argento. In fact, many similarities can be seen between the styles of both directors. This film is most enjoyable due to the fact that the director really embraces the story and unveils it in an almost graphic novel-style format. Everything from the lighting to the point of view of the camera draws you closer and closer into this morbid world.
The casting of Rupert Everett is ideal, as well, with his gaunt features and brooding physique. The supporting cast is just as enjoyable, with a gold star on the actress Anna Falchi, who plays the mysterious love interest known as “She.” She is hands down one of the most beautiful women alive.
Considering that this film is filled with juicy tidbits like special effects and gore, I was very disappointed with the special features on the DVD. There is one documentary called Death is Beautiful (28 minutes) that goes more into why the film was made rather than the film itself. Being a special effects make-up artist myself, I was way more interested in the actual making of the film, but I was left hanging in the wind.
Cemetery Man is a wonderful and beautiful film that deserves wider recognition, and its style is only matched by its substance. With every gunshot to a corpse head, the director has been able to encapsulate a genre in a wonderful package that you will look forward to unwrapping with each viewing.
Overall Picture:
Movie: A
DVD: C+
- Stan Nowak
Staff Writer
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