Despite being hailed by Martin Scorsese as one of the best Italian films of the 1990s, Cemetery Man is criminally underseen. Also known as Dellamorte Dellamore, the 1994 cult classic has been hard to come by in the US since Anchor Bay’s 2006 DVD went out of print, but Severin Films has revived it with a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray edition.
Dario Argento protégé Michele Soavi directs from a script by Gianni Romoli, based on the 1991 novel Dellamorte Dellamore by Tiziano Sclavi — itself a precursor to Sclavi’s influential Italian horror comic Dylan Dog. Rupert Everett (My Best Friend’s Wedding), on whom the Dylan Dog character was visually based, takes on the lead role as Francesco Dellamorte.
As he explains in the noir-esque opening narration, Dellamorte is the watchman for a small town cemetery wherein “some people, on the seventh night after their death, come back to life.” He and his slow-witted but genial assistant, Gnaghi (François Hadji-Lazaro), are tasked with stopping the so-called returners by splitting open their heads.
While there is somewhat of an overarching narrative involving Dellamorte’s enamorment with a mourning widow (Anna Falchi), the manner in which subplots are introduced and resolved give the film an episodic structure. The collection of ghoulish misadventures range from undead boy scouts, bikers and nuns to a murderous descent into madness.
Soavi clearly took heed of Argento’s visual acumen while serving under the master of horror on the likes of Tenebrae, Phenomena, and Opera. Working with cinematographer Mauro Marchetti, production designer Massimo Antonello Geleng (Cannibal Holocaust, City of the Living Dead), and special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti (Phenomena, Demons), Soavi marries the beautiful and the macabre in every stylish frame.
Comedy is the other predominant factor in the equation. Dellamorte possesses Army of Darkness-era Ash swagger as he disposes of not-quite-zombies, but Soavi’s European sense of humor is more dry than Sam Raimi’s signature style. Soavi is not above splatstick, but it never undercuts the carefully crafted Gothic atmosphere. The blend of horror, comedy, and romance is as masterful as Shaun of the Dead, but it’s decidedly hornier. A hint of nightmarish surreality akin to Phantasm helps to balance the tonal tightrope act.
Cemetery Man has been scanned in 4K from the Cinecittà Studios negative, approved by Soavi, with Dolby Vision. It features English Dolby Atmos, 5.1, and Stereo sound options, in addition to a Stereo Italian dub. Severin’s transcendent efforts are apparent from the FBI warning that precedes the disc menu, which is interrupted by the film’s floating balls of light. The picture is ravishing no matter the format, but the restoration is so clear that previously imperceptible strings used to puppet some of the effects are now visible.
Soavi, Everett, and Falchi sit down for new interviews totaling nearly 80 minutes. They’re not meandering, career-spanning conversations; each key player offers a deep dive into the film. Soavi details the film’s origin, capturing its unique atmosphere, and how the poetic conclusion came to be at the last minute. Everett recalls his excitement to take on the role and work in Italian cinema and expresses his pride in the film. Falchi details her three roles in the film, including the extensive makeup process.
A thorough, archival audio commentary by Soavi and Romoli is presented in Italian with English subtitles. The creatives examine how they got involved in the project, adapting the source material, how they pulled off in-camera effects, and budgetary limitations, among other topics. An archival making-of featurette, featuring some great behind-the-scenes effects footage along with cast and crew interviews, rounds out the extras.
For the mega-fan, Severin Films offers a limited edition set that includes an additional Blu-ray disc with eight more interviews (Romoli, Marchetti, Stivaletti, actors Fabiana Formica and Stefano Masciarelli, composer Riccardo Biseo, set designer Antonello Geleng, and film historian Alan Jones) and trailers, a soundtrack CD, a booklet written by horror scholar Claire Donner, and an exclusive slipcase.
Despite his horror output being limited to a mere four films (although he remains active in Italian television), Soavi is worthy of being in conversation with Italian maestros like Argento, Lucio Fulci, and Mario Bava. His auspicious earlier efforts — 1987’s StageFright, 1989’s The Church, and 1991’s The Sect — built toward Cemetery Man, a crowning achievement that continues to endure after 30 years.
Cemetery Man is available on 4K UHD + Blu-ray now.
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