Cemetary Man

Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 20, 2006

Release Date: June 13th, 2006

Cemetary Man is a rarely seen, recently released Italian horror flick new to DVD here in America. A cemetary worker, Francesco Dellamorte, and his Igor like simpleton assistant, Gnaghi, watch over a cemetary where the recently buried rise again. Francesco calmly puts bullets in their heads as they rise.

From the daughter’s mayor to boyfriends and girlfriends to a boyscout troop, no one who is buried stays dead for long. Until they’re killed again. It’s an unconventional zombie film that has a pretty rabid fanbase of those who have seen it and love it.

The plot basically follows Fransesco’s descent into madness after he kills the woman he loves. Twice. Fransesco goes borderline insane and begins to murder the living by destroying their brains so that they can’t rise again. Normal zombie rules still apply in Italy.

However, I found the artsy nature and the symbolic ending to be a bit confusing. I’m more of a straight up kind of guy that wants to either figure things out from facts presented in the movie, or just be told. This movie doesn’t give you either. You’re up in the air on what the ending means. There’s a lot of symbology and airy talk and in the end you’re left questioning just what happened. There are few places on the internet where someone can explain it to you, but really you never know and if someone has to explain it to you, is it worth it in the first place?

But, it’s a decent flick if you ignore that will zombies, bullets, and boobs. There are a few laughs too. If you’re a fan of Italian horror or zombies in general, give it a rent.

The Upside: Watching zombie boy scouts get slaughtered makes you feel warm and fuzzy.

The Downside: I didn’t want artsy philosophy with my zombie massacre.

On the Side: This is the first time the film is available on DVD in America. It was originally released in 1994.

Final Grade: B-