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Cemal (Ahmet Rifat Sungar) is a hearse driver - and truth to be told, he feels anything but job fulfillment. So when his friend Ekrem (Orhan Eskin) suggests to him that he lets the body of Zeynep (Cansu Türedi) disappear for a month or so as it would otherwise be an object of contention in a family feud, Cemal listens - and the money that Ekrem offers is just too much for Cemal to turn down. So when Zeynep is duly loaded onto his hearse, he instead of driving it to the funeral home he takes a trip to the countryside, Zeynep's body always by his side which he tries to keep fresh, usually in cold water in whichever motel's bath tub. However, after a few days, it turns out that Zeynep isn't quite as dead as she's supposed to be - not that I'm saying she's alive, she's just ... un-dead. And she craves for human flesh - not in vast amounts mind you, only a nibble once or twice a day. And Cemal has big enough of a heart to let her take the occasional bite out of his body ... it's just that after a time, this becomes unsustainable (for obvious reasons) and to keep her undead, he starts to cruise the countryside looking for people who actually deserve to be zombie food. This leads to all sorts of awkward situations though, including with his own sister (Gizem Erdem), but on the other hand, having Zeynep to look after gives Cemal maybe the first time in his life the feeling to be whole - so when Ekrem calls him to tell him the coast is clear and he can deliver Zendaya's body to her family, he's anything but ready to do just that ...

Zombie films are by now a dime a dozen, and with few exceptions all follow the same basic formula that has pretty much been established with Night of the Living Dead in 1968 already, inasmuch as it's an existential fight humans versus the flesh-eating undead over and over again - and The Funeral is the more than welcome exception to the rule here, a film that adds an emotional layer to the proceedings, gives its (sole) zombie plenty of empathy, so far as to make her almost the good guy. And while Cemal's actions sure are objectively wrong, they're also completely relatable. And to further set this film apart from your usual, over-hectic zombie cinema, this film moves along as a deliberately slow pace, takes its time to build up its story, and puts an emphasis on lyrical storytelling and rather impressive imagery. Now all of this might make it a film that's not for everyone - but those who look for a little change from their usual genre fare will be richly rewarded.

If this has gotten you at all interested, The Funeral is available from screambox.com.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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