Cemetery Man

Francesco Dellamorte is the cemetery caretaker in Buffalora, living in a ramshackle house on the premises and surrounded by death. His only companion is his mentally disabled assistant Gnaghi, who can only say one word. In his spare time he reads outdated telephone directories and tries to assemble a skull-shaped puzzle, clinging to small rituals of order in a world of loss.

The gate bears the inscription RESURRECTURIS, and soon some people rise as aggressive zombies within seven nights of death. Dellamorte takes on the role of protector, destroying these Returners to keep Buffalora from being overrun. The town's authorities ignore his warnings, deepening his isolation.

Buffalora's mayor is obsessed with reelection and dismisses Dellamorte's pleas for investigation. He refuses to register any response, and the cemetery caretaker remains an outcast. Dellamorte fears losing his job more than addressing the town's dead.

At a funeral, Dellamorte meets the young widow of a rich elderly man and is drawn to her. He discusses the ossuary, which she adores, and their romance begins amidst the graves. The moment hints at life returning from the dead as a new kind of companionship grows.

While consummating their relationship by the late husband's grave, the undead partner rises and bites the widow. She seems to die, though the coroner later attributes it to a heart attack. Dellamorte remains by her side, haunted by the possibility that she might return.

Fearing a second rise, Dellamorte shoots the widow as she rises again. The act unsettles him and deepens his sense that violence may be the only way to contain the Returners. He begins to doubt the line between killer and caretaker.

Gnaghi becomes infatuated with the mayor's teenage daughter Valentina. She dies in a motorcycle accident, yet her severed head survives and begins to return to life. Gnaghi digs up the head and pursues an innocent, peculiar romance.

Valentina's reanimated head and Gnaghi's affection continue until the mayor discovers the affair. Valentina's head kills Gnaghi by tearing at his throat, forcing Dellamorte to shoot her again to stop the threat. Dellamorte's grip on reality continues to slip.

Death visits Dellamorte and urges him to stop killing the dead and consider saving the living instead. The encounter unsettles him further and deepens his existential doubts. The line between life and death becomes increasingly blurred in his mind.

Two unnamed women identical to Dellamorte's lost lover appear in town. The first is the mayor's assistant, who confesses fear of sexual penetration. Dellamorte then asks for the removal of his own penis, but the local doctor refuses and instead administers a temporary impotence injection.

The assistant, after being raped by and falling in love with her employer, plans to marry him and discards Dellamorte. Dellamorte watches as the relationship moves toward marriage, leaving him feeling further isolated. The town's fragile moral order continues to unravel around him.

The third manifestation of the lost love appears as a prostitute. Dellamorte spends the night with her, but upon learning her status, the relationship ends in tragedy as he sets fire to her house, killing the prostitute and two other women. The violence escalates beyond any ordinary mourning.

Franco is accused of the murders and later kills his wife and child, then attempts suicide. Dellamorte travels to Franco's hospital, where he sits by Franco's bed and casually murders a nun, a nurse, and a doctor. Franco claims not to recognize him in that moment.

Dellamorte and Gnaghi pack their car and leave Buffalora. The head of Gnaghi is injured when Dellamorte slams on the brakes, and the road drops into a chasm. Gnaghi begins to seize and collapse, but Dellamorte cannot bring himself to shoot his friend.

Gnaghi wakes, asks to be taken home, and speaks clearly for the first time: Gna. The camera then zooms out to reveal the two men standing inside a snowglobe as the credits roll, signaling a surreal, final fate beyond Buffalora.