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 Art tips and techniques, reviews and interviews from my studio. Archived here and at World Famous Comics. Comics 101 for 10/14/2004 Movie Review - Dellamorte, Dellamore (a.k.a. Cemetery Man) For all of this month and just in time for my favorite holiday, Halloween, Comics 101 will be featuring articles of the more macabre variety as we focus on the theme of 'horror' (one of my favorite genres of comics and film). So here each week in October, sink your plastic fangs into a horror flavored Comics 101 feature!Zombies seem to be popping up, or rather rising up, left and right at the local cinema these days. Last year's highly enjoyable and frightening 28 Days Later really kicked off the 'New Zombie Revolution' in spades. In the months since we've had a revoltingly rancid renaissance of horror flicks featuring our favorite kind of mindless monster from the superb Dawn of the Dead remake, Shaun of the Dead and even a fourth entry in George Romero's 'Dead' franchise, Land of the Dead (starring Dennis Hopper and John Leguizamo and coming soon to a theatre near you). But for every movie of their caliber we get sucker punched with another lackluster Resident Evil or House of the Dead. But fear not, oh lovers and perverse purveyors of resurrected, shambling corpses and freaky phenomenon. I've come bearing the decayed fruit of a true Italian horror gem of a movie known as Dellamorte, Dellamore (or Cemetary Man as it's referred to for it's American release). It will keep the loathsome depths of your nightmares filled with the morose melodies of incessant incorpreal wailing ... and will also actually enlighten you with it's layered philosophy on life and death and mysitfy you with it's incredibly stunning visuals.  An 'artsy' zombie movie dare you say? As a matter of fact, yes. Directed by Michele Soavi (The Church, The Devil's Daughter) Dellamorte, Dellamore is by far one of the most stylish and beautiful zombie films, or horror films for that matter, ever made. Soavi is the protege' to the Italian "giallo" master, Dario Argento. Argento is the auteur responsible for many an Italian horror masterpiece (also being responsible for 'producing' the lovely Asia Argento) including one of this comic book artist's favorites, the horrifically and hyponotically beautiful Suspiria. While watching Soavi's film one can easily see the influence from one of the masters of great Italian horror but this student of the macabre really comes into his own and excels in true form here. Dellamorte, Dellamore is based on the novel by Tiziano Sclavi and is inspired by the popular Italian comic "Dylan Dog: The Detectives of Nightmares". The film is every bit as violent and gory as any good zombie flick should be but it's the style of direction, the execution of the story and the memorable characters that set this one above the rest in my book. The film stars a ruggedly cool Rupert Everett (yep, the same un-ruggedly cool Rupert Everett from My Best Friend's Wedding) as pistol-packing cemetary night watchman Francesco Dellamore who must kill 'returners' - corpses who, for whatever reason, always come back to life seven days after they are laid to rest. Rupert plays the Francesco character like a horror version of the Spaghetti Western 'Man-With-No-Name' staple made famous by Clint Eastwood even moreso than a Bruce Campbell, zombie butt-kicking, 'Ash' type character that you might expect from this review. He soon encounters a young widow, the insatiably beautiful Anna Falchi (trust me guys, this is the most gorgeous woman to grace a horror movie since the mouth-watering Hammer horror princess Caroline Munro in Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter), visiting the cemetary to say her farewells to her deceased, elderly husband. After humiliating, seducing, and then accidentally murdering this woman known only as 'She', Francesco slowly slips into madness, starting to confuse the world of the living with the world of the dead. His delusions are spurned by his mad love for the woman he accidentally murdered who keeps reappearing as a different character throughout the film. As he ponders the mysteries of love and death in his delerium, Francesco's one true friend, his loyal side kick, the gravedigger Gnaghi, who is, shall we say, mentally challenged and rarely ever says a word, becomes his only constant in the film, his only connection to reality in the maddening dementia that escalates in the second and third acts of the story. But Gnaghi doesn't really adhere to any semblance of reality either as he falls in love with the severed and zombified head of the Mayor's teenage daughter. When Francesco truly arrives at the descent of his downward spiral, he kicks off a murder spree that is both hilarious and frightening in it's absurdity. In fact, not since the original Dawn of the Dead or 28 Days Later has there been a horror movie about zombies this refreshing and unique with its macabre subject matter balanced with an appealing, philosophical approach on life, love and death itself. The film also complements the over the top violence and perfectly staged gore gags with artfully done cinematography and dialogue. It really is levels above your typical zombie-horror fare. The film's exceptional score really enhances the moody characters and twisted plot. I wish I could track down and own this soundtrack on CD, it's that good. Everything in this film is really much deeper than at first glance. It's layers, upon unfolding layers and the final scene should make you go back and watch the opening frames of the film with an even more attentive eye. Do yourself a favor this Halloween and track this movie down. Especially if you're an Evil Dead or Romero fan. It's not to be missed and even if you don't like the plot or get the philosophy there's at least plenty of Anna Falchi throughout to tide you over. And remember, screaming, zombie Hell comes to YOU! -Joe Recent Columns:
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