A longtime Italian exploitation veteran both as an actor (City of the Living Dead) and directorial protégée of both Joe D'Amato (Stagefright) and Dario Argento (The Church), Michele Soavi earned the long overdue respect of both genre fans and international critics with this outrageous mishmash of gothic thrills and comic-book exaggeration, leavened with a witty sense of humor rarely found in European horror after the 1970s. A disciple of Terry Gilliam as well (from The Adventures of Baron Munchausen to The Brothers Grimm), Soavi includes some sly nods to his mentors (particularly an animated skeleton instructing Francesco in one particularly striking scene) while maintaining his own unique visual style. From the first moonlit rendezvous between Everett and Falchi to the haunting and rather beautiful, final existential twist, Soavi never relaxes his grip on the viewer's imagination and delivers a rare Italian horror outing easily capable of crossing over into mainstream accessibility.
Much of the credit must also go to Everett as well; the stoic, handsome actor uses his elongated features to perfect effect as the lovelorn, intellectually-deprived protagonist who reads the phone book for entertainment value. Though he would soon become more of an international name thanks to a handful of romantic comedies, he never had a better role than this. Soavi claims the actor was cast because he had served as an inspiration for Tiziano Sclavi, author of the source novel and creator of the popular Dylan Dog comic books. Perfect in her role, Falchi became an instant fanboy favorite with her captivating performance (and unabashed nudity); though she never had another role worthy of her haunting presence, she will always be remembered for this one. Euro-cult veteran Mickey Knox also gets a juicy role as the clueless head inspector, whose inability to see the big picture becomes an incredibly depraved joke during a no-holds-barred massacre in the third act.
Released in Europe and most other countries as Dellamorte Dellamore ("Of Death, Of Love"), Soavi's film first appeared on DVD in a lackluster German PAL edition, then in a beautiful Italian release with the sharpest and most colorful transfer it has yet received. The English and Italian audio tracks are included with optional subtitles in both languages. Meanwhile in America, the film was marketed as a midnight movie under the title Cemetery Man by October Films, with Fox getting the home video rights. After a hideous VHS and laserdisc full-frame release with distracting cropping on all four edges of the frame, the film lingered in American video limbo until Anchor Bay finally snagged the rights to release it. Their version is more film-like in appearance but less crisp and vivid than the Italian one, so die-hards might want to hang on to or track down the Italian release for comparison. The Anchor Bay disc contains the original (and preferable) English audio only in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 surround; the former is a bit more dynamic and has a few split-surround effects, but it isn't the most spectacular sound mix in the first place. By default the Anchor Bay disc wins the extras competition thanks to a welcome new 30-minute featurette, "Death Is Beautiful," in which Soavi (who has finally emerged into the professional spotlight again), the lovely Falchi, FX artist Sergio Stivaletti, and writer Gianni Romoli talking about their involvement with the film both from a production standpoint and a reflective view as one of the highlights of their careers. Other extras include the European theatrical trailer and an illustrated 8-page booklet of liner notes.
For more information about Cemetery Man, visit Anchor Bay Entertainment. To order Cemetery Man, go to TCM Shopping.
by Nathaniel Thompson
