Cemetery Man - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Ah, Cemetery Man. You’d be hard-pressed to find another Italian horror film that’s so influenced by the birth, life, and death of the genre. Michele Soavi set out to make Cemetery Man as both a final word and reflection on the roots of the genre, waking the undead and reckoning with them. Hell, Soavi certainly knew this film represented the end of Italian horror, as it took so long to secure financing and the demand wasn’t there to fill theaters. Berlusconi’s Italy was one that greatly affected the film industry, thus fewer of these lower-budgeted genre works were produced.

That isn’t to say that all Italian horror stopped after Cemetery Man, though it serves as a very clear demarcation of what once was and will never be again. Much like Lucio Fulci prioritized themes to create and evoke a mood, Soavi eschewed a clear-cut narrative to produce a witty amalgam of Italian splatter horror and the kind of surreal, fun dime-store comic books that author Tiziano Sclavi was writing. The result was, as said earlier, a huge burst of creativity that somehow didn’t escape the grasp of its makers. 

Cemetery Man follows Francisco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett), the guardian of a little cemetery in the Northern Italy city of Buffalora. Francisco isn’t your normal caretaker, as he’s also responsible for making sure the dead stay dead when the corpses start rising for reasons unknown. Together with his mentally disabled assistant Gnaghi (François Hadji-Lazaro), Francisco spends his days thumbing through phone books and crossing off the names of the deceased, opining constantly that there must be some way he can get out of Buffalora. But if he leaves, who will prevent the dead from walking the earth?

I’d liken Cemetery Man to Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond a bit, in that they’re both functioning as horror dreamscapes for the myriad of influences to play out within. In Soavi’s case, the cemetery offers the capability to pick through what’s dead, reflect and well, yeah, blow some brains out too. To him, Italian horror is one to revel in while speaking to the darker philosophy that pervades throughout the genre. Cohesion and coherence may not be on Cemetery Man’s mind, but it really doesn’t matter when you take each scene, aside, moment, etc. as a piece of Francesco’s own shattered mind. I mean, the character is seen trying to put a skull back together. Don’t know how much clearer the filmmakers could have made that one.

All in all, Cemetery Man has all the blood, gore, and sex you can expect from Italian horror but you’ll be blown back by the incredible production design, black humor, and labyrinthine script that revels in the history of the genre. Tiziano Sclavi was right that Cemetery Man was much closer to an adaptation of his Dylan Dog series than the Brandon Routh-starring adaptation, he was just lucky that he had Soavi’s talent to direct the delicious pulp within that series.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-rays
The dead don’t stay that way in Cemetery Man, presented here as a four-disc set from Severin Films. There’s a UHD100 for the 4K disc, a BD50 for the standard Blu-ray and supplements, a BD25 for extra Blu-ray supplements and a CD of the soundtrack all housed in a thick amaray case. The case is housed in an embossed slipcase that also come with a perfect-bound essay booklet with writing by Claire Donner. All discs boot up to standard menu screens with options to play the film, set up audio and explore bonus features.

“I’d give my life to be dead.”

Alright, Francisco, maybe delay your doomsaying momentarily to listen to this. Cemetery Man has arrived in absolutely stunning 4K Ultra HD with a brand-new 4K scan from the Cinecittà negative presented in 2160p with Dolby Vision HDR. From the opening frames, you’re immediately treated to deep, gorgeous, and texture-filled black levels. As this is a ‘90s production, the film stock has a finer grain field than the previous decade, and that’s presented very well here without obfuscating any details within the frame. Contrast is tuned in very, very well, with much care given to the delicate focus that Soavi uses to show off all that beautiful production design against the characters. Flesh tones are tuned in just right as well and the bitrate is consistently high throughout the presentation. No compression artifacts are found and I only noticed a brief moment of damage in the beginning of the presentation. The source seems to be in terrific condition and rife with the details that make the 4K Ultra HD format so superior. This is without a doubt the best the film has ever looked at home, and thanks to Severin for not pulling any punches on the beautiful presentation.

Get ready to give your home theater system a workout, as Cemetery Man makes its way home with a brand-new Dolby Atmos soundtrack. In addition to the new Atmos track, Severin provides 5.1 and 2.0 English tracks in the DTS-HD MA codec, plus a 2.0 Italian track with English subtitles. I can say with certainty that the soundscape has been discreetly opened up to provide that added height, with effects like falling dirt from above and gunshots making great use of the surround channels. Bass levels are terrific and the source is in great condition. No matter which track you choose, you’ll be treated to a wonderful presentation.

Severin Films didn’t stop at supplying Cemetery Man with a terrific new transfer, they also added a long list of supplements with hours upon hours of interviews with cast and crew, reflections by genre experts and an attached essay booklet with breathless writing on the film by Claire Donner. The interview with Michele Soavi reveals his influences behind the project, his thoughts on the Dylan Dog series and how he convinced Rupert Everett to take the role. Plus, Severin locked Everett down and got a great interview with him, detailing how proud he was to work on the production. There’s even a brand-new interview with actress Anna Falchi that’s a breezy, fun and insightful watch. Bravo to Severin for producing so many supplements to accompany this film.

Disc 1: Cemetery Man 4K Blu-ray Feature & Supplements

• Audio Commentary director Michele Soavi and screenwriter Gianni Romoli
• Italian trailer (HD 2:22)
• English trailer (HD 1:43)

Disc 2: Cemetery Man Standard Blu-ray Feature & Supplements

• Audio Commentary director Michele Soavi and screenwriter Gianni Romoli
• Italian trailer (HD 2:22)
• English trailer (HD 1:43)
• At the Graves – Interview with Michele Soavi (HD 35:47)
• Of Love and Death – Interview with Rupert Everett (HD 20:35)
• She – Interview with Anna Falchi (HD 24:13)
• Archival making-of featurette (SD 18:32)

Disc 3: Blu-ray Supplements 

• A Matter of Life and Death – Interview with Gianni Romoli (HD 57:53)
• Graveyard Shift – Interview with cinematographer Mauro Marchetti (HD 29:15)
• Head Over Heels – Interview with actress Fabiana Formica (HD 23:43)
• The Living Dead Mayor – Interview with actor Stefano Masciarelli (HD 11:14)
• The Music from the Underground – Interview with composer Riccardo Biseo (HD 20:53)
• Resurrection – Interview with special fx artist Sergio Stivaleti (HD 19:22)
• Cemetery Gates – Interview with set designer Antonello Geleng (HD 26:06)
• Grave Encounters – Interview with Alan Jones, author of Profondo Argento (HD 9:18)
• U.S. and International trailers

Disc 4: Soundtrack CD

Blood, guts and sex may pervade through Michele Soavi’s Cemetery Man, but its execution and massive creativity pushes the film into the pantheon of Italian horror. Severin Films is responsible for the film’s US disc debut with a four-disc 4K Blu-ray release that’s simultaneously exhaustive and essential for genre fans everywhere. Don’t walk like a zombie, run and pick up this Must-Own release! 

Order Your Copy Of Cemetery Man on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray