Cemetery Man (DVD)

Cemetery Man (aka Dellamorte Dellamore) is an Italian zombie movie. That's enough for some horror fans. Add to that it's a flick with a big reputation but has been relatively little-seen (it hardly ever airs on TV, and it's just now coming to Region 1 DVD), Cemetery Man has practically reached legendary proportions.

So, does it live up to the hype?

Yes, and no. The farce is a bit too goofy and the story plays out more like a series of sketches than a start-to-finish rivet. However, director Michele Saovi (a protégé of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulchi), puts together a compelling composite of art film, sex romp, heartfelt drama, zombie gore-fest, and dark comedy. It's a true cult classic: A little off-kilter, but certainly worth seeing again and again.

Moody, handsome Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett) is the keeper of crypts at Buffalora Cemetery, and assisting him is the voracious, oafish Gnaghi (Francois Hadji-Lazoro), a childlike mute with a strong physique and a weak mind.

All Francesco wants is true love, but what he gets is the walking dead. No one buried in the grounds of Buffalora stays in the ground for long. Usually, there is no reason whatsoever for these murderous nocturnal rampages; but sometimes the dead are provoked to seek blood… like when Francesco has sex with a willing widow (Anna Falchi) on her husband's newly-turned grave. The beautiful and buxom Falchi dies, lives, dies, and lives again in multiple roles throughout the film. Each time, Everett's Francesco is convincingly captivated.

The zombies are quite a cast of characters — everything from a bitchy high school girl to a badass biker — and true to form, the only thing that can really kill them dead is a blow to the head. Francesco favors a handgun, while his trusty sidekick Gnaghi grabs whatever's heavy and handy. Laugh with delight and cover your eyes as this spaghetti splatter flick goes way over the top, then swings back to the most basic of human emotions.

Based on an Italian comic book called Dylan Dog (by Tiziano Sclavi), this film really brings to life the vivid colors and unreal situations of fantastical fiction. Some of the makeup effects are pretty iffy, but no worse than other films of this nature. The costume design is superb, and so is the general look and feel of sets and locations.

The DVD includes a theatrical trailer and a short featurette about the making of the film called Death is Beautiful. The documentary takes a brief but informative look at the history of the movie and moviemakers, featuring interviews with Soavi, Falchi and special effects ace Sergio Stivaletti. Oddly enough, Rupert Everett did not participate in the proceedings, and his perspective is missed.

Buying the DVD is a no-brainer: If you're a fan of Italian horror, or zombies, be first in line on June 13, 2006.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson