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The Cemetery

Name: The Cemetery
Director: Adam Ahlbrandt
Released: 2013
Duration: 85 min

Representation Score

5.5/10

Fair

2013

Director

Adam Ahlbrandt

Runtime

85 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The Cemetery is a genre-driven horror film that prioritizes transgressive storytelling and institutional skepticism over demographic breadth. Its narrative strength lies in its subversion of religious sanctity, questioning whether historical atrocities were real or a cover-up for clerical sins. However, the film lacks significant representation across most identity categories. The contemporary plot appears to follow traditional structures, and there is no evidence of diverse racial, LGBTQ+, or disabled characters being centered in the narrative.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Cemetery have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film does not feature any explicit LGBTQ+ characters or narratives. The story revolves around paranormal investigations and historical atrocities, focusing more on traditional roles.

How does The Cemetery portray gender?

Fair

The plot centers on an investigative team including a male character named Bill. Historical victims include women and children, but the contemporary narrative follows a traditional ensemble structure.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Cemetery?

Limited

The setting uses a Western historical framework centered in the Pennsylvania hills. There is no indication of a non-white or non-Anglo-Saxon majority in the contemporary cast.

How does The Cemetery represent religion and culture?

Fair

The film critiques Western institutions by framing the Church's history as a potential cover-up for systemic corruption. It disrupts the portrayal of religious authority as inherently moral.

Does The Cemetery include disability representation?

Limited

There is no specific evidence regarding characters with physical or neurodivergent disabilities. The themes of possession risk using mental health as a plot device without further detail.

Present on Screen

Challenges the sanctity of traditional religious institutions and authority.
Offers a skeptical, subversive view of historical and institutional narratives.

Limited or Absent

Lacks visible representation of LGBTQ+ identities or queer narratives.
Shows little evidence of racial or ethnic diversity in the contemporary cast.
Provides no clear inclusion of characters with physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Deep in the Pennsylvania hills, a cemetery for those who died during exorcism remains a dark secret for the church. In 1671, hundreds of men, women, and children suffered in bloody, torturous rituals at the hands of priests unable to contain the evil of the possessed. Were these possessions real, or is the story a hoax to cover up the sins of the deranged priests thirsty for human blood? Bill and his team of cynical paranormal investigators plan to find out the truth. Armed with the church's historical record, they set out into the wilderness to uncover this series of forgotten atrocities. Alternately gut-punching hilarious and brutally violent, The Cemetery takes the best elements of the old-school slasher film and pushes them to the edge.

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