Pelo Amor e Pela Morte

I scoured the shelves of my local video store, looking and looking for something in the horror section that might actually fall under the category of "quality horror movie." Well, this movie - out of an offering of what seemed like hundreds - is the only one that seemed to stick out and grab me, so I rented it. And I'm glad I did, I was NOT disappointed.

This movie possesses all those "pluses" that I like in those movies that I give high marks to. Namely, it is absorbing, thick with atmosphere, adroitly filmed, has great location scenery and expertly designed sets, and has compelling, believable characters who actually make you care about their individual fates as the movie unfolds. Yes, this movie has all that, and it is hard to believe that I found all this in a (gasp!) Italian zombie flick.

But it's true, and as you can see from previous comments herein, most other people commenting on this film were also quite impressed with the film.

I also like the ending... I will be the first to admit that the ending is as enigmatic and puzzling as many other segments of the film. Perhaps that's why I like the ending: it's not a slick, hokey happy-ending sort of finish. And by the way, has anybody else noticed that the ending is a clever variation of the proverbial "cliff hanger" ending??

Anyway, I heartily recommend this movie to anyone who is a horror-zombie-gore-fantasy film lover who wants some quality goods. There is gore aplenty, though I never found it to be disgusting or disturbing. Plus, there are some beguiling and wonderfully sexy scenes featuring that most beautiful model/actress from Finland, Anna Falchi. Rupert Everett is captivating as the title character, and the guy who plays his half-wit assistant Gnaghi is wonderfully expressive - it's hard to believe he barely utters a complete sentence the entire film.

Oh, and one more thing... after seeing this film, should the need ever arise, you should be utterly inspired to go out and plug rampaging zombies squarely in the head with dum-dum bullets.

There was a distinct lack of truly great horror in the nineties; but this film, Dellamorte Dellamore, tops the list of what little good ones there were. It's actually quite shocking that this came out during a huge depression for horror cinema, because it's easily one of the greatest horror movies I ever saw. Dellamorte Dellamore is a rather strange mix of horror, romance, twisted fairytale and comedy that isn't quite like anything else in cinema; horror or otherwise. The film knows that it's not the usual sort of film, and revels in this fact throughout. Dellamorte Dellamore buys itself a licence do whatever it wants through the fact that it so weird, and therefore no matter what the film throws at you; it's easy to just back and enjoy it. The film is directed by Dario Argento's talented understudy, Michele Soavi and finds an unlikely lead in Rupert Everett. The story follows Everett; the keeper of a cemetery in a small Italian town called Buffalora. He lives there with his assistant; the deformed Gnaghi, but this isn't quite the normal cemetery, however, as here the dead come back to life and it's up the cemetery man to put them back to sleep. When he meets the most beautiful woman he's ever seen in his cemetery, however, it appears that his luck is starting to change.

The atmosphere presented in this film is truly brilliant, and one of Dellamorte Dellamore's main assets. A cemetery is always going to present a macabre location for a film's characters to inhabit, but the Gothic design in this film ensures that Buffalora's cemetery is more than the horror film norm. The way that the smoke protrudes from the graves, along with several little special effects that director Michele Soavi has seen fit to implement all help to give the film that unique ambiance that it portrays so well. Soavi has given this film it's own style throughout, and even the zombies adhere to it. Soavi's zombies, like the rest of the film, don't stick to convention and rather than being covered with blood, falling to pieces of screaming "brains!", these zombies really look like they've been underground, and also manage to tie in with the downbeat tone of the rest of the movie. A lot of imagination has gone into Dellamorte Dellamore, and almost every sequence is soaked in it. It's things like the way that the cemetery man's assistant takes the mayor's daughter's head from her grave and puts it in the television that makes Dellamorte Dellamore what it is, and not just any other zombie movie.

Horror movies aren't known for great acting, but Dellamorte Dellamore breaks convention once again on that front. Rupert Everett puts in a performance that goes over and above what audiences have come to expect from him given his earlier roles. Like the rest of the film, he just fits in; and if you'd never seen Everett in anything before, you would think that he made this kind of movie all the time. The fact that he isn't essentially a horror film actor only makes the performance even more impressive. Anna Falchi stars opposite him in three different female roles, and looks absolutely great in all of them. The rest of the cast is made up of lesser-known actors, with the very odd François Hadji-Lazaro standing out most among them. Director Michele Soavi started out working under the great Dario Argento, but the few films he has directed himself show that he is a bigger talent than his resume lets on. Here, for example, he has created a film that absolutely stands on it's own. Dellamorte Dellamore goes beyond the title 'horror film', and comes out in a sub-genre all of it's own. Films like this don't often come to the attention of the mainstream; and that's a shame because originality like this should be praised to high heaven. Dellamorte Dellamore is a film that is impossible to ignore and, providing you can find a copy, ignoring is definitely not the recommended action!

From the land that spawned probably the most zombie films to this date, ranging in quality from excellent to exremely dull, comes one film that rises above nearly all the rest. DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE (aka CEMETERY MAN) is that film, and if you haven't seen it yet, you are seriously missing out. The story is about lonely cemetery attendant Francesco (Rupert Everett (!?) in one of his very early roles)and his mute, Igor-like assistant Gnaghi. Every seven days, the dead rise from their graves (for no real apparent reason...) and it is Francesco and Gnaghi's job to dispatch them. The 2 live a pretty solitary existence until a mysterious woman comes along and into Francesco's life. Cut to the chase- Francesco and the woman have sex on her newly buried husband's grave, and when he returns from the dead, everything goes haywire from there...

DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE is several films rolled into one...zombie gore film, dark comedy, romance story - similar in some ways to perhaps DEADALIVE (not nearly as silly or gory), but this is a hard film to make a comparison on. It really is it's own unique experience and should definitely be viewed by anyone into horror/zombie films. Again, one of my all-time zombie favorites...Highly Recommended 9/10

Rupert Everett plays a cemetery caretaker named Francesco Dellamorte.He and his mute sidekick Gnaghi spend most of their evenings shooting zombies in the head,or splitting their skulls in half with the shovel,having to dispatch them again when they tend to rise from the grave after seven days.Rupert falls for a mysterious beautiful young widow(the breathtaking beauty Anna Falchi).After the two of them have sex on her husband's grave,her husband wakes up and takes a bite out of her,sending her to the grave."Cemetery Man" is one of the best Italian horror movies ever made.It's so wonderfully stylish that it truly blew me away.There is plenty of gore to satisfy fans of Italian horror.Highly recommended.Michele Soavi is a genius!

If you don't mind horrific, grotesque comedy that mixes the gore of George Romero and Dario Argento with the quixotic irreverence of Monty Python and Delicatessen, Cemetery Man provides the opportunity for a funny, strange time at the movies. Moreover this is a highly atmospheric film and Soavi's love for the horror genre shows in the composition of almost every scene. Soavi uses the time not spent on raucous action to cultivate a sense of atmosphere and craft surreal beauty in the limited setting of the graveyard and that in my opinion is as good as any to see this film.