Dellamorte Dellamore Review

23rd Feb 2012

Quite how this one slipped by me I will never know. Dellamorte Dellamore (also known as The Cemetery Man) was released in 1993 and became something of a cult film over the years. It is really easy to see why this is on first viewing. This is an often barmy, yet brilliant horror tale of the titular character who lives and works at the local cemetery; burying the deceased and then cracking the skulls open of the dead that come back from the grave.

Yes you heard it; it’s kind of a zombie flick and apparently the dead rising is a common thing. Our resident hero, Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett) one day falls in love with a local widow, but the couple’s passion for one and other gets taken a step too far one evening and from here on in it’s anyone’s guess as to where the story may go. And boy does it go off on some odd tagents.

Michele Soavi some may know from Dario Argento’s back catalogue as a production assistant and sometimes background actor (His most prominent role is perhaps that of the metal masked villain from the original Demons film). He since became a director in his own right. He begin with the 80’s stalker thriller Stagefright featuring a giant owl masked murderer, offing the cast of a play when they get trapped in the theatre one evening. He has also gone on to direct cult film The Church which blends horror, fantasy and religion in one place and features some bizarre imagery.

Dellamorte Dellamore is no stranger to the world of the bizarre. It’s also a highlight of Soavi’s skills as a director. His sets are beautifully dressed, wonderfully lit and often involve some key camera angles that would make even David Fincher envious back in the day.

But if Soavi pays homage to any director then it is clearly Terry Gilliam. The bizarreness of the tale and the black humour sewn within are clear. You won’t find a better horrormovie night complemented better than with this film.

The extras on the DVD are fairly light. There is a trailer, a booklet with writing by horror critic Alan Jones and an audio commentary by director Michele Soavi and writer Gianni Romoli in Italian (with English subtitles). It is worth mentioning that Shameless have done a good job with the release in terms of its sound and picture. Even just for DVD it’s a vast improvement.