I Sell the Dead (2008)

Director:

Glenn McQuaid

Writer:

Glenn McQuaid (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

Never Trust A Corpse

Plot:

A grave robber reflects on his life of crime.

Plot Keywords:

Grave | Grave Robber | Guillotine | Corpse | Threatened With Knife

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Dominic Monaghan	...	Arthur Blake
Ron Perlman	...	Father Duffy
Larry Fessenden	...	Willie Grimes
Angus Scrimm	...	Dr. Vernon Quint
John Speredakos	...	Cornelius Murphy
Eileen Colgan	...	Maisey O'Connell
Brenda Cooney	...	Fanny Bryers
Daniel Manche	...	Young Arthur Blake
Joel Garland	...	Ronnie
James Godwin	...	Mark 1
Alisdair Stewart	...	Bulger
Heather Robb	...	Myrtle Murphy
Aidan Redmond	...	Jack Flood
Heather Bullock	...	Valentine Kelly
Patrick Bucklew	...	Creature #2

Runtime:

USA:85 min | Argentina:85 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:MA (2009)

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company:

Glass Eye Pix

Trivia:

A graphic novel of the film has been released, with Glenn McQuaid writing and illustrations by Brahm Revel (October, 2009).

Movie Connections:

References Frankenstein (1931)

I've Seen The Dead

I saw this movie as part of the Midnite Madness at Sitges. Set in 18th century England, the plot covers the life of Arthur Blake from his first outing as an apprentice grave robber to his final confession on the eve of his execution.

The plot moves along via a series of misadventures involving Arthur and his partner encountering various unsavory characters and bizarre situations.

The first thing that strikes you about this movie is how accurately they managed to capture the look of the Hammer period horrors, the atmosphere is set with lots of fog laden graveyards, rowdy tavern scenes and excellent set/costume design.

For a movie titled I Sell the Dead, I was expecting the emphasis to be mostly on horror – don't get me wrong there are some jumpy moments and gore, but the tone is very much comedic, driven by the situations the characters get themselves into and their dialog. The closest comparison to the scenes between the two leads (Larry Fessenden and Dominic Monaghan) is the character interaction seen in the classic English comedies Only Fools and Horses, the Two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise.

The acting is strong and the casting of very familiar faces in Ron Perlman and Angus Scrimm lift the movie above many of the others on view in Sitges.

Overall the movie offers something very different to the current crop of mainstream horror and will leave a smile on your face.