For a while now, I have heard about “Cemetery Man” (as Dellamorte Dellamore) but was never really able to get my hands on it. I had no clue that when Anchor Bay sent a copy my way, that it Cemetery Man, was in fact the same film, until I did my research. Well after years of letting this film pass me by, I must say that it was a real treat and was in a weird way kind of worth the wait. I say that, because the film is very good, however it ends on a very weird note, that kind of leaves the viewer wondering what just happened.
In a l aspects of filmmaking, Cemetery Man is a gem, it has brilliant shots, great dark scenery and an array of wacky and gory effects. Did I mention that it has one hell of a plot as well? Well it does. And that’s what kept my interest. Normally with a film as odd as this one, my attention span sometimes can’t handle it. However, this film is just as much of a black comedy, as it is a horror film.
The plot takes place in a graveyard, where it seems no matter who you bury there, the dead always come back to life. Francesco Dellamorte, the cemetery grounds keeper of sorts, lives in the graveyard. His main responsibility is to not only make sure the place is run professional, but rather kill the dead when they decide to come back to life. However after meeting a women in the graveyard whom is grieving her husbands death, Francesco fall in love with her and pursues her, she then falls in love with him, but is then killed during a zombie attack. From that point in the plot the film starts to get weird, as over the coarse of the film new women show up that look just like this chick. There is also a grave digger who falls in love with the Mayors dead daughter’s head. Yes I said head. From there the story spirals into one hell of a ride, filled with death, love and a lot of dark humor.
The acting is very, very good in this film, Rupert Everett is great in this film, and to be honest, in my opinion I think it’s his best film to date. Ok well that he appears in at least. Unless your a big Inspector Gadget fan. However one must not pass up the performance given by François Hadji-Lazaro as Gnaghi. What a performance that reminded me a lot of Karloff’s Frankenstein. The whole cast of this film is for the most part outstanding, and is one of the main reasons for this films successfulness.
In terms of effects, we get so good old 1990’s based CGI and make-up effects. I mean there not bad, but compared to today’s CGI standards as it gets better, you can’t compare. Still though the effects hold there own.
Overall, I really liked this film. The dark humor along with the gory love story, toped off with a few zombies. How can it go wrong. We do get an odd an strange ending however which leave the film open to interpretation, I for one have my theories. But while doing my research on this film, and reading though multiple reviews and posts, it’s pretty much up to the viewer. So check out Cemetery Man, have a good time watching it and draw your own conclusion when your done watching it.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
