His obsession with death drives him into his own mind where he contemplates the nature of the dead and of the living. He never attempts to make any type of real sense of why they come back to life — he just accepts that they do, and does his job of putting them back in the ground. This dealing with death, and subsequent failure in love pushes his sanity to the brink, and he goes on a murderous rampage.
Cemetery Man has this magical blend of black comedy, gore, sexuality, and surreal mood that comes together perfectly. There are layers to be peeled back that I have yet to explore, yet the layers are not necessary to enjoy this. It has an absurdist nature that just flows along and sucks you, while you're wondering where it is going to go. When it gets to the end, you will be left scratching your head, wondering what you just saw. The realization comes that no one can escape their destiny, no can escape death. Plus there is an interesting foreshadowing of the end very early in the film that I just noticed. Will you see it?
Cemetery Man was directed by Michele Soavi, student of the maestro, Dario Argento. While there are definitely comparisons to be made, Soavi moves to the beat of his own drummer, and has crafted a horror classic. Not to be left out, Gianni Romoli wrote the screenplay, successfully weaving these themes of life, love, and death into an entertaining zombie film. I would be remiss if I did not mention the score by Manuel De Sica, it is a wonderful non-traditional score that blends strings, guitars, and an odd arrangement of sounds to add to the surreal nature of the film.
Rupert Everett stars as the droll Francesco, bringing a tired charisma to the character. You can't help but be drawn to his presence on the screen. At his side is Francois Hadji-Lazaro as the sweet soul of Gnaghi. Lastly, Anna Falchi plays three roles, each one sexier than the last.
Article comments
1 - rykarreolacr
Awesome review!!!
Just to add some details: the script was written by Tiziano Sclavi, the creator of one of the most famous Italian comics ever: Dylan Dog.
In fact, many consider this movie an adaptation of Dylan Dog.
How do I know this? I'm Italian. XD
2 - shuler
Well, rykarreolacr, if you are Italian, can you tell me, what song was playing on Francesco's radio in the middle on the film?
Why do I ask it? I'm Russian )))
3 - Olga
Shuler, it's the song called "Hadi Bakalim" by Sezen Aksu, a popular Turkish singer and songwriter.
p.s. - i'm Russian too :-)