Movies You Should See (But Probably Haven't): Cemetery Man

Take the unsettling weirdness of David Lynch, the black humor of the Coen Brothers, the surrealist nature of Dario Argento, some slapstick and grossness of Sam Rami, and add in a touch of Groundhog Day, and you have Cemetery Man.

This 1994 Italian horror movie (original name Dellamorte Dellamore, literally Of Death, Of Love) is amazing, beautiful, and just plain weird.

This is semi-based on the paranormal comic book Dylan Dog, with the screenplay by the same writer. The main character Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett) is an alter-ego of Dylan Dog, and not actually him. Although, there are a ton a similarities, nonetheless the appearance of the main characters (the original drawings of Dylan Dog are actually modeled after Everett). A new, allegedly horrible, Dylan Dog movie was just released in the states, so this may interest you if you saw that. Of course, nobody saw it, as it opened at #16 at the box office.

Anyway, Dellamorte is a depressing hopeless romantic who works at a cemetery alongside his fat and mentally handicapped sidekick Gnaghi. Recently, the dead have been coming back to life, seven days after they are buried. Dellamorte can't tell anyone, because he'll be out of the only job he is good at. So he kills the zombies routinely every night.

He eventually falls in love with a grieving widow. They have a great relationship, but then she dies, and it is over. Or is it? As others have found out, this cemetery gives people a second chance at love.

This film's greatest strength is how beautiful it is. So much attention goes into every shot, and there are plenty of unique and foreboding camera angles. This is easily some of the best cinematography I've ever seen, and I've seen Children of Men.

The story changes speed on a whim. One minute, he is killing Boy Scout zombies, and the next he is pondering existence.


One thing I always appreciate in a movie is when you can view it different ways and get something different out of it. Not counting the ending, you can watch this as a pure zombie movie, or you can interpret it as an allegory of life and death. Both are here, and much more. It is an unbelievably deep film, without being over pretentious. And no matter how you view it, the ending will confuse you regardless. It is as ambiguous as you get.

Everett (best known for the Shreks and My Best Friend's Wedding. What?) is great as the lead. He can dispatch zombies without even thinking, which is good because whenever he starts thinking he gets into quite the melancholy mood. My favorite quote from him: "I'd give my life to be dead right now". He pulls off the isolated and tormented soul to perfection, as his character is very quickly driven to madness.

The supporting cast are all ripped straight from a Coen Brothers film. Everyone is weird in their own little way, and completely displaced from the world around them. One of the better representations of Death eventually shows up, and he asks Dellamorte why kill the dead when it is so much easier to kill the living. This should give you an idea how the last act plays out.

This is a brilliant and beautiful movie. I'm sure the talks of existentialism will turn some people off, but if you feel like you can handle it, you must give this unique film a watch or two. And if you have any interest in  filming or photography, then you have to watch this so you can really appreciate how much effort went into the actual filming. Regardless of how you view it, have fun trying to explain the ending.