Dellamore Dellamore (1994)

Dir: Michele Soavi

Absurdist horror stuck somewhere between genius and madness, this one involves a cemetery keeper called Francisco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett, in a genuine star turn) who (along with his assistant, Gnaghi) handles the nasty business of disposing of returners - dead people who come back to life a week after being buried. The film crosses the genres skillfully, weaving goofball splatter with stony-faced nuggets of philosophy and even a smattering of romance into its artfully surreal tapestry. Taken scene by scene, this is a beautiful piece of work. The photography is magnificent, the direction assured, the dialogue fantastic. It's perhaps too abstract to work entirely as a whole but it has admirable ambitions and, if you're looking for something different, you really can't get much weirder than this one. ***1/2