Michele Soavi began his directing career with THE CHURCH, a muddled religious chiller, in 1988. In that film he showed some ability in creating some visually interesting and inventive images (particularly that of the writhing mound of bodies) while possessing a certain artistic style all of his own, inspired by Argento himself. In DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE, Soavi reaches the peak of his achievements in what is most probably his best movie: although it works as a conventional horror film too, this film is primarily a study of the boundaries between life and death, and all that they entitle. It also explores the human mind in its longing for love and the effect that despair and isolation can have on it. While DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE may not always be a straightforward or easy-to-follow movie, its sheer uniqueness and visual scope makes for engrossing viewing.

This offbeat film opens with star Everett nonchalantly shooting a zombie in the head which has climbed in through his door. We learn that this is all in a typical evening's activity for him, as he is cursed with looking after a graveyard which repeatedly spawns the living dead from its graves. Expect no Romeroesque zombie movie here, though, as the zombies themselves - although regularly appearing - are just visual filler, a backbone on to which the rest of the human drama and plot lies. Sergio Stivaletti's special effects are as good as ever, and as the film has a noticeably higher budget than Italian productions have had previously, the SFX of the zombies are quite remarkable; this time they really do look like complex, rotted creatures, treading a thin line between looking funny and looking scary.

There are a few "invasion" scenes in the film in which the zombies attack in hordes and come this close to dispatching Everett once and for all, only for Everett to escape or kill them just in the nick of time. These are nice touches and had me jumping in my seat once or twice. Everett himself is the capable hero of the movie, a pessimist who narrates the various bizarre events occurring in his life; of course, now that he's gone mainstream, his work will never be as interesting or profound. Everett is supported well by a talented cast, especially Francois Hadji-Lazaro who threatens to steal the show with his comic support as Everett's mute but faithful companion. The "charms" of actress Anna Falchi are also thrown into the mix, with the undeniably beautiful woman recurring in a number of roles. Am I the only one who thinks that Stanley Kubrick himself stole some of the couple's chemistry/bizarre relationship for EYES WIDE SHUT?

Watch out for the many bizarre and unexpected moments in this film, from the midnight tryst between Everett and Falchi being interrupted by a hungry zombie to the terrible bus crash in which a load of schoolchildren are massacred. DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE is definitely not for the weak of heart, and its pretty strong stuff with hints of necrophilia and the like, while mixing in sex with gore in a way to most likely offend the censors. Although not explicitly gory, we see many people getting shot in the head, brains being blown out and skulls cloven in two. One of my favourite scenes in the film has Everett visiting a sick friend in hospital; as each doctor and nurse comes in to interrupt him, he offhandedly shoots them in the head until the bodies are piling up on the floor! By the end of the movie, the film has come a long way. It began as a straightforward zombie horror film, turned into a bleak love story and actually moves into serial killer mode in the last half an hour. The final shot has to be one of the most courageous, bizarre and frankly fantastic that I've ever seen in a movie and really tops off what already has been a great film. Surreal, macabre and definitely absurd, DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE is definitely a contender for the best horror film of the '90s.

In Buffalora, Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett) is the administrator of the local cemetery and he lives in a house by the cemetery with the intellectually disabled gravedigger Gnaghi (François Hadji-Lazaro) that is his only friend. The cemetery has a peculiarity since the dead reanimates on the seventh night after their death and Dellamorte and Gnaghi together hunt them down. When a gorgeous widow (Anna Falchi) attends the funeral of her old husband, Dellamorte falls in an unrequited love with her. One day, he shows the ossuary to her stimulating her sex drive, and they make love on the top of her husband's grave. However he awakes and bites her, and when she raises, Dellamorte shoots her. On the next days, Gnaghi falls in love with the mayor's daughter Valentina Scanarotti (Fabiana Formica) but she is beheaded in a motorcycle accident with her friend Claudio (Alessandro Zamattio). Along the next days, Dellamorte meets two women that looks alike his deceased love, but his romance ends tragically. He decides to leave Buffalora with Gnaghi, but their journey abruptly ends.

"Dellamorte Dellamore" is an unconventional, weird, funny and cult black comedy. The surrealistic plot has a great cinematography, direction and performances. Dellamorte is a detached character and Rupert Everett is excellent. Anna Falchi is very sexy and has an amazing body. Unfortunately the dubbing is terrible. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Pelo Amor e Pela Morte" ("For the Love and for the Death")

Judging from the reviews and the price of a used DVD, this movie is a border line cult classic. It is a must see for any Zombie movie fan. The movie is Italian, however this movie, in spite of the reviews, is not to horror movies what Trinity is to Westerns. The movie has a two or three classic scenes which has placed it in this status. Outside of those scenes, the movie is strictly B grade horror, non cult classic. Cemetery man kills zombies in a very nonchalant fashion after the dead become re-animated and sometimes knock on his door. Zombies are killed in the true classic fashion (head shot only).

Cemetery man has a mute side kick who looks like Curly Joe, except is a lot dumber. Like Stan (Southpark) he gets violently ill near a pretty girl. Plot Spoiler? The cult classic scene is when the mute side kick has the head of his zombie girlfriend mounted inside his broken TV set. For some reason she can talk and other zombies are mute. There is nudity as Cemetery man makes love to a woman on her husband's grave, who then becomes re-animated. The bodies of these women are all 10's. They are Italy's answer to Denise Richards.