I Sell the Dead

This one is an easy-going story. It's a tale, told first hand, of two friends in England who make their, ahem, living, by Grave-Robbing.

As it is with British-type humor, the funny is in the dialogue and the setting without the usual blunt-nosed set-up that Hollywood sets you up for. Laid back, because the humor is the type that makes you smile afterward as opposed to guffawing out loud -- but funny just the same.

And here and there, throughout, the touches of the Macabre are incidental set pieces that are just 'A funny thing happened on the way to the Graveyard the other night. . .' rather than the central horror of the movie. All in all, very well done, and ALL the characters are engaging and likable.

Give this one a try if you and your friends are in the mood for some light horror with a side of funny. Pick this one for a slow Saturday Night with some good beer & chips.

This movie totally surprised me; I was expecting your run-of-the-mill zombie apocalypse, with the usual who's-gonna-get-killed-first gamble, but I was wrong: It is about the lives and times of two grave robbers in the mid 1800s England. It is horror in a blasé way, and a comedy by circumstance more than by design.

It is by no way a summer blockbuster; There are no spectacular explosion and CGI, nor there is any romancing "for the female crowd"; It is an old-fashion, hand-made movie with lots of love.

This love is apparent in the actors' play, which is a testimony to their great direction: The two main characters have a synergy that works very well (they look as if they played together for ages) and every other actor in the movie are characterized and unique, even the background and silent ones. The music score, robust and in the right tone, adds to the grim ambiance.

It may not have a spectacular development or a intricate storyline, but it is easy listening due to the anecdotal way it is told and the smooth camera work. I still have pleasure re-watching it, even more-so with a couple of brews under the belt.

7 out of 10: Not a true classic in the cinematographic sense, but certainly worth a try.

Great cast, great idea and stylish.... but it was missing something. It was neat to look at, but I never really connected to it.

There were a whole lot of good ideas, but not enough was done with them. The movie would have been better if it were longer to expand on the ideas or more focused. Most of Arthur's apprenticeship could have been cut for instance.

The horror wasn't particularly scary and the humor snicker worthy at best. Combined with the slow pacing, it's just too many strikes against the movie. It's a shame, because this movie has the cast and ingredients to be a genuine cult classic.

What's this? Another recent title? It'd be ridiculous for your fellow ghoul not to keep current with today's releases. I'll try to keep this one brief because I'm still unsure of my opinion in terms of the outcome.

I Sell the Dead is about a man by the name of Arthur Blake (played by Dominic Monaghan, commonly recognizable as Charlie from Lost and also a hobbit in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) who confesses his grave robbing crimes to a priest named Father Duffy (your neighborhood friendly Ron Pearlman). Set in the Victorian era, Blake goes into detail concerning the exploits of his misadventures with his partner Willie. They soon come into contact with a rival grave-plundering gang led by the vicious corpsegrinder Cornelius Murphy.

Several twists and turns are contained within peppered by obvious comedic elements. Unfortunately, I've seen better attempts at black comedy on BET. As I mentioned earlier, rating this film is not an easy task. Part of me thoroughly enjoyed the artistic approach and silly premise. On the other hand, I had a difficult time interpreting the pace. Several scenes felt disjointed and out-of-place, leaving me to ponder whether or not it was intentional. The acting is solid, of course. If you enjoy the mixture of comedy and horror (which, to be honest, I'm touchy about) then I would recommend checking this one out. Shut your brain off and enjoy the show...just don't expect anything groundbreaking.

I went to see Glenn McQuaid's "I Sell The Dead" in it's North American premiere at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. Seeing as this is the second showing worldwide I didn't quite know what to expect of this film, especially having not seen the short film that inspired this big screen adaptation.

I'll start off with a slightly more elaborate plot synopsis, without giving away any spoilers.

This movie is about Arthur Blake, how he became a grave robber and the interesting and supernatural discoveries that both he and his mentor discovered.

The costume and set design in this film were excellent. I was amazed to hear that the entire film was shot in and around New York. The costumes were very accurate to the time, really bringing you as a viewer into the mindset of the time. This movie works just as well as a period-piece as it does a horror-comedy.

The interaction between the two leads was very fluid. They played off each others acting with ease. The dialogue between the two was very well written, with Glenn adding his comedic touch even in tense situations.

The story is very encompassing and the ball gets rolling from the very start. I'd compare it to a visual page turner, always wondering just what will happen next. The characters themselves are all very vivid and unique adding different emotional layers to the film itself.

All in all, I recommend this film for anyone in the mood for some dark humour, with a bit of horror mixed in.

9/10