In case you missed it … ‘Cemetary Man’

Alright class, here’s today’s equation … What do you get when you add George Romero to Sam Raimi then multiply by Tim Burton? The answer is Michele Soavi. [Yes, its Mr. Soavi, if anyone was confused.] What’s that? You’ve never heard of him? Well, that’s OK … most people haven’t. To be honest, as a director he doesn’t have a large body of work. Beginning as an actor in Italian film, he took a stab at directing Italian horror in the 80’s with Deliria (1987) followed by Demons 3 (1989) and Demons 4 (1991) before creating a small but incredibly good film called Dellamorte, Dellamore also known as Cemetery Man (1994). This Italian-French cinematic collaboration went on to win seven awards of a total of nine international nominations.

Unfortunately, and for reasons unbeknown to myself, Soavi hasn’t directed anything but television work since this film. However, I say if you’re going to end something good … end it while its good. Cemetery Man is definitely good. It is a horror film, but also combines a healthy dose of comedy and fantasy as well, with a distinct Italian accent. Rupert Everett (Stardust) plays Francesco Dellamorte, a cemetery keeper who finds himself amidst a strange outbreak of the dead rising from their graves. The movie opens with Francesco abruptly disposing of an undead resident as his narration of the life he lives misses not a beat. We are quickly introduced to Francesco’s assistant Gnaghi, played by Francois Hadji-Lazaro (Um… several foreign films, but he is a French rock musician, seriously.), a developmentally challenged, overwieght mute who performs most of the grunt work.

In Cemetery Man, the story revolves around both characters together. At first, it appears to be about Francesco and his melancholy life, but just as he finds his true love, tragedy strikes. From here, the story begins to shift towards Gnaghi and his finding of true love, but this becomes more of a sub-plot to Francesco’s continuing story. Francesco sees Gnaghi as his brother and must protect him, but also wants to make him happy in life. Because of this, Francesco decides to allow Gnaghi his true love despite circumstances which would suggest poor judgement. As the story continues, the element of fantasy increases, leading to a truly surreal ending of which is trademark to many great Italian horror films. That, my friends, you will have to experience for yourselves.

During the day, the small town is quaint and peaceful. At night, however, is when the film truly takes its artistic form. Cemetery Manis a remarkable combination of outstanding dark and beautiful gothic cinematography and a superb score, reminiscent of many earlier Italian horror soundtracks. Earlier I mentioned Tim Burton, which was only to point out the similar style of dark and creepy, yet playful set design and overall visual style that also is just a tad over-the-top while maintaining its own seriousness. The movie is over ten years old, I know. I only wanted to give it some attention because it never really got mush here in the States. In fact, I had difficulty finding a copy on DVD for a while, until Anchor Bay decided to re-release it a few years ago. So, enjoy … and kudos to Mr. Soavi.