Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)

Director:

Michele Soavi

Writers:

Gianni Romoli (writer)
Tiziano Sclavi (novel)

Release Date:

26 April 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Romance

Tagline:

Zombies, guns, and sex, OH MY!!!

Plot:

A cemetery man must kill the dead a second time when they become zombies.

Plot Keywords:

Italy | Cemetery | Death | Corpse | Doctor

Awards:

7 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Rupert Everett	...	Francesco Dellamorte
François Hadji-Lazaro	...	Gnaghi
Anna Falchi	...	She
Mickey Knox	...	Marshall Straniero
Fabiana Formica	...	Valentina Scanarotti
Clive Riche	...	Doctor Verseci
Katja Anton	...	Claudio's Girlfriend
Barbara Cupisti	...	Magda
Anton Alexander	...	Franco
Pietro Genuardi	...	New Mayor Civardi
Patrizia Punzo	...	Claudio's Mother
Stefano Masciarelli	...	Mayor Scanarotti
Vito Passeri	...	1st Returner
Alessandro Zamattio	...	Claudio
Marijn Koopman

Also Known As:

Cemetery Man (USA)
Demons '95
Of Death and Love (Australia)
Of Death, of Love (International: English title) (literal title)

MPAA:

Rated R for macabre violence and gore, strong sexuality and some language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Italy | France | Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Australia:MA | Germany:18 | Italy:T | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company:

Audiofilm

Trivia:

When Francesco and "She" are kissing in the crypt with the shroud over their heads, the shot mimics the painting "The Lovers" by Rene Magritte.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the second nurse is shot while Delamorte is visiting his comatose friend, a dramatic blood spatter occurs on the curtain behind her head in the close-up, but vanishes moments later when she is seen from a distance.

Quotes:

Francesco Dellamorte: I can't forgive myself for having lied to you. I don't have a degree in biology. Never even finished high school. I haven't read more than two books in my whole life. One, never finished. And the other is the phone book.

Movie Connections:

References The Unholy Three (1925)

Soundtrack:

Hellraiser

Finally, a QUALITY horror film

I scoured the shelves of my local video store, looking and looking for something in the horror section that might actually fall under the category of "quality horror movie." Well, this movie - out of an offering of what seemed like hundreds - is the only one that seemed to stick out and grab me, so I rented it. And I'm glad I did, I was NOT disappointed.

This movie possesses all those "pluses" that I like in those movies that I give high marks to. Namely, it is absorbing, thick with atmosphere, adroitly filmed, has great location scenery and expertly designed sets, and has compelling, believable characters who actually make you care about their individual fates as the movie unfolds. Yes, this movie has all that, and it is hard to believe that I found all this in a (gasp!) Italian zombie flick.

But it's true, and as you can see from previous comments herein, most other people commenting on this film were also quite impressed with the film.

I also like the ending... I will be the first to admit that the ending is as enigmatic and puzzling as many other segments of the film. Perhaps that's why I like the ending: it's not a slick, hokey happy-ending sort of finish. And by the way, has anybody else noticed that the ending is a clever variation of the proverbial "cliff hanger" ending??

Anyway, I heartily recommend this movie to anyone who is a horror-zombie-gore-fantasy film lover who wants some quality goods. There is gore aplenty, though I never found it to be disgusting or disturbing. Plus, there are some beguiling and wonderfully sexy scenes featuring that most beautiful model/actress from Finland, Anna Falchi. Rupert Everett is captivating as the title character, and the guy who plays his half-wit assistant Gnaghi is wonderfully expressive - it's hard to believe he barely utters a complete sentence the entire film.

Oh, and one more thing... after seeing this film, should the need ever arise, you should be utterly inspired to go out and plug rampaging zombies squarely in the head with dum-dum bullets.