Rupert Everett (MY BEST FRIEND?S WEDDING) stars as Francesco Dellamorte, a cemetery watchman whose job is to slaughter the living dead when they rise hungry from their graves. But following a tragic tryst with a lusty youn... more »g 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!"« less
In this surreal, comedic Italian horror flick, Rupert Everett is the caretaker of a small village cemetery. A big part of his job consists of putting the dead back into their graves when they inevitably rise as zombies. As if that's not enough to keep him busy, he also falls in love with a lusty widow (Anna Falchi, in one of three roles - HOT!), has occasional chats with the Grim Reaper and wonders if killing living people would be easier than killing dead ones.
An artsy, atmospheric and utterly weird flick that honestly stopped making a lick of sense to me by around the halfway point. I don't mind weird, but after awhile this movie went beyond weird and into the realm of "totally random." Giving credit where it's due, it was a very nice looking film (the director, Michele Soavi, is an associate of Dario Argento's and like Unca Dario he definitely knows how to set up artful scenes) but as a narrative, it was about a cohesive as a bag full of marbles. It had some good gore and nice gratuitous nudity but aside from that I really didn't "dig" (pun not intended) "Cemetary Man" much at all.
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Movie Reviews
Loads of fun.
Robert P. Beveridge | Cleveland, OH | 06/28/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Dellamorte Dellamore (Michele Soavi, 1994)Soavi, who got his start as an assistant director to Italian horror god Dario Argento, spent his time making obscure B-movies until he stumbled upon Dellamorte Dellamore (Of Love and Death, but released in America under the title Cemetery Man), Giovanni Rimoli (Trauma)'s adaptation of Tiziano Sclavi's novel of the same name (one of the highly-praised and popular Dylan Dog novels that have made Sclavi a household name in most countries that are not on this side of the Atlantic). Set in Dylan Dog's hometown of Buffalore, Dellamorte Dellamore is the story of Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett, who should need no introduction), the caretaker at a cemetery infected by a plague that causes the dead to come back to life seven days after being interred. Dellamorte (whose name translates as "St. Francis of the Dead") takes it all in stride, keeping around a variety of inventive weapons with which to re-dispatch the dead. After all, all that gravedigging means a lot of overtime pay, right? Dellamorte's sole companion in life is his sidekick, the seemingly mentally challenged Gnaghi (Francois Hadji-Lazaro, recently in Brotherhood of the Wolf, but probably best remembered for his unforgettable role in City of the Lost Children). Until, that is, he spies the most beautiful woman (Italian supermodel Anna Falchi) he's ever seen at a funeral. Immediately, you know you're not watching your everyday horror film; Dellamorte becomes a bumbling romantic-comedy film star around her. And yes, that's what you've got here--a romantic comedy. With zombies.The comedy/horror blend works extremely well, and in the process doesn't keep the viewer from seeing that there's a lot more underneath the hood than the surface would convey. (This is hinted at throughout, but becomes obvious in the final scene thanks to a startling trick Soavi hands us; watch closely, because you may not catch it unless you do. It's brilliant.) Dellamorte and Gnaghi are complex characters on the surface, but there are clues throughout the movie as to their deeper motivations and understandings of the things going on around them. To me, this is living proof that Rupert Everett is a better romantic comedy lead than Hugh Grant, but that's just me. (Hugh Grant hasn't worked with zombies!)Dellamorte Dellamore is one of those movies you can't really believe was made in the nineties. Intelligent, beautifully-shot, low-budget horror/comedy that looks as if it came out of Dario Argento's salad days (or out of Japan; there's more than one aspect of this film that reminds me of the brilliant My Left Eye Sees Ghosts). I can't recommend this wonderful film highly enough. Go as far out of your way as you need to to catch this one. **** ½"
The one and only art house zombie movie!
Robert P. Beveridge | 11/21/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you're looking for geniuninely funny, creepy and beautiful horror film look no further.Cemetery Man (aka Dellamorte Dellamore) tells the tale of unlucky in life cemetery watchman Francesco Dellamorte. Watching over the Buffalora cemetery is no easy task, particularly when the dead come back to life after seven days. And these are no ordinary zombies folks. The "Returners" truly embrace that at one with the earth bit that you hear some people saying they wish to be when they die. Perhaps if they see this movie first, they'll think twice about that. Poor Dellamorte can't seem to get along with anyone, not his mentally slow assistant, Gnaghi, not the beautiful "She", nor anyone in town. He even seems at odds with the old Grim Reaper himself.The humor is decidely black and hilarious. Of the many times I've seen this movie since 1994, it gets funnier all the time. Rupert Everett is marvellous as Francesco, as is the teenage actress who portrays the Re-Animator-like zombie Valentina.The FX are great, the zombies awesome. The plot chaotic and very fun. This has got to be the best horror film of its type this decade. A note: Some people may find the tone of the film a bit harsh toward women, (I don't. Particularly when compared to most Italian/Spanish zombie/horror films).This should have ushered in a new era of zombie films, but sadly did not.Don't miss this...and remember No Deposit, No Returner!"
Lots of Atmosphere
Mark A. Kintzley | Phoenix, AZ | 12/24/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Here's another one of those films which doesn't get the notice it deserves. I have only seen the Dellamorte Dellamore uncut version so I can only comment on what I've seen. This film is one of my favorite horror films. It has so much to offer and it is offered with quite a bit of style. Not to mention Anna Falchi is in the film. She is a beautiful Italian model who, by the way, acts much better than most of her American counterparts. There is almost a romantic feel to this film. I hate to use the word romantic at all, but since this is a horror/zombie flick I guess I can. This cemetary seems to exist on a plane level with the Twilight Zone. It is a very strange cemetary where the dead come back to life and are again put back to rest by the "Cemetary Man". He longs for a better life, but accepts his condition until one day... I recommend this film to those of you who like dark comedy, horror, romance etc...I personally hate romance movies, but it worked well in this film...Frightening!"
A True Gothic Parody
Jill Traynor | 03/21/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Some say that goths have no sense of humor...this is not so if you loved Cemetery Man (Delamorte, Delamore) the way I do. It is a predominantly light hearted story of a cemetery watchman (played by then unknown Brit actor Rupert Everett...and the movie in which I first noticed him) and his slow but sweet assistant Gnagi who must fight the undead who seem to pop up in greater frequency every night in the Buffalora cemetery. In it Gnagi falls for the mayors daughter, Everett's character Delamorte tries to get the town doctor to chop off his...problem, Delamorte falls in love with three women who look identical, becomes the chief suspect in a murder case (a murder he committed), and realizes that no matter what he does, his life is almost completely futile. This movie obviously has darker elements in it and a definite overall existential theme. But it always remembers not to take it self TOO seriously. The cemetery is one of the most beautiful in all of history (for those of us who love cemeteries) and the filming of this movie is incredible. Enjoy this movie, because there is no movie even remotely like it...and probably never will be. "Without beginning, without end, evermore. Amen.""
Fantastic!
Amy | outer space | 06/29/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A movie with zombies, that's not about zombies. Go figure. It's more focused on the nature of love and the nature of death, as evidenced in the original Italian title Dellamorte Dellamore (the title "Cemetery Man" is a bit of a travesty).
The zombies fail to be horrific, since Francesco sees them as commonplace things. Which is probably the element that makes me say it's not horror. One of the few main elements in a [zombie] horror film is that the zombies must be scary! And sure they seem to unnerve Gnaghi a bit, but Francesco disposes of them as if he was stepping on cockroaches. They don't scare him, they're merely a nuisance. And horror movies are mostly based on the conflict between the humans/good guys/whatever and the zombies/axe murderers/monsters/whetever. Cemetery Man is based on Francesco's experiences with and feelings about people and the world around him. In the beginning it seems like horror, with the zombies rising on the seventh day and all that. But once you see the way Francesco reacts to the zombies (as just part of his job, etc.) you know that they aren't the focus of the film. The main things I like about this movie are the claustrophic atmosphere, and the fact that it can be interpreted in an endless number of ways. Was the first woman a zombie or just unconscious when Francesco shot her? If she was only unconscious, were the other women just his mind's way of punishing him? Why was it that no one could concieve of blaming him for his own crimes? Was he insane? Why did the dead come back? And so on. My favorite scenes in the movie: When Gnaghi unearths the mayor's daughter and her head floats along the ground. Somehow, I just loved the impact this scene had. The way the head can really get around on its own lends a very surreal quality to the movie. Second, the scene with Francesco in the hospital. When he talks to his "friend," it's a real turning point in the movie. It really changes the atmosphere and the pace. An adjacent scene, where someone says to the fleeing Francesco "You have a gun? Good." is particulary great. The next would be the ending, but I won't give that away"