I Sell the Dead (2008)

I confess, I only watched this because I enjoy Ron Perlman, but I stayed with it because it is a hoot! It is neither excessively gory nor bloody, but it keeps its horror creds kinda side-wise, and kept me chuckling throughout. I find it hard to categorize this odd flick, but if you have the 90 or so minutes, give it a try - it is fun! The story line allows you to expect a bigger payoff than you get, but the actual story more than makes up for it. First you meet the apparent villain and his church appointed accuser. It rapidly becomes apparent that the real issues are not mundane but seriously supernatural!Vampires, zombies, grave robbers. The world is not as simple as you might wish. Oh MY - laugh and enjoy - it is worth the visit!

If you're looking for scary horror or stomach turning gore, you've got the wrong movie. If you're looking for macabre humor, this is it! Tongue in cheek jokes,totally camp moments in graveyards and all sorts of devilish ghouls and the like to interest the twisted at heart. I gave this movie 10 stars to make up for the morons who don't get it. If you smile and laugh when you read Lovecraft over and over again, this is the film for you. The actors are a-one, the plot interesting and somewhat fresh and the scenery, costuming and live settings give the viewer a sense of "being there". The score is lively and really sets the tone. OK, I loved it, but I am particularly fussy when it comes to the horror genre and I want my mind entertained as well as my eyes. I Sell the Dead really brings it all together.

I hadn't heard of this film before seeing it and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't terrible. I must say that a cast that included both Dominic Monaghan and Ron Perlman did work in its favour somewhat. As some may know I'm not particularly big on comedy films… they just don't make me laugh these days (a sign of old age I guess), but I liked the dark humour in this. Here's a brief summary before I give you my thoughts.It is the Eighteenth century (that's the 1700's for those that don't know), and Arthur Blake is due to be executed in the morning. He has been accused of being a grave robber and a murderer. His partner, Willie Grimes has already met his maker under the scaffold of the guillotine earlier that day. A priest, Father Duffy, comes to see Blake, he wants his story so it can be published in order to put off those tempted to go down a similar path. And so, for a supply of whiskey, Blake begins to tell his tale, having first denying any hand in any murder. He was a grave robber, no more, no less. Apprenticed to Grimes at an early age, Blake soon got a taste for the work. The only problem was that there was no way out. The doctor they worked for, Quint, just threatened them with arrest if they didn't come come up with the corpses he wanted. Eventually they have to go out of the town to get bodies and this is where the tale gets weird… The undead are to be found out there and this causes more than one problem to the pair. Add to that a rival gang of grave robbers and they have more problems than they can cope with. The Quint problem was nicely solved though, with the help of… I'll leave it here, I don't really want to be dug up by them Spoiler 'grave robber' Police.This film put me in mind of the early Hammer films. They weren't all that well made, but there was an edge to them that hadn't been seen before. Decent performances all round, particularly from Dominic Monaghan as Arthur Blake, Ron Perlman as Father Duffy and Larry Fessenden as Willie Grimes. Honourable mentions go to; Angus Scrimm as Dr. Vernon Quint, John Speredakos as Cornelious Murphy, Brenda Cooney as Fanny Bryers and Joel Garland as Ronnie.Although the accents are all over the place, particularly Father Duffy's, and some of the situations the pair get into are totally ridiculous, I kind of liked this film. It had quite a low budget, and it showed, but even so, I see some promise in this work. Over all, not a bad effort, it could have done with a little more polish, but I liked it!... Recommended (for at least one watch).My Score: 6.3/10.IMDb Score: 6.0/10 (3,770 votes when this review was written).Rotten Tomatoes Score: 74/100 (42 reviews counted when this review was written).

'I Sell The Dead' has an interesting concept, a fine cast and is made with style. However, it is mainly let down by the writing. The script is inconsistent and lacking in focus. Plenty of intriguing ideas are presented but not much is done with them. The story seems to jump from one idea to another without a clear focus or direction. While the story is lacking in development, the pacing felt slow.'I Sell The Dead' is more of a comedy than a horror flick. The characters are quite amusing but some of the situational humour felt out of place and overdone (for example, the sequence with the alien). Glenn McQuaid also succeeds in creating a tense atmosphere with an air of humour. It looks like it's mocking horror flicks but there's also something enchanting in the way it looks.The cast is impressive. Larry Fessenden, Brenda Cooney and Dominic Monaghan are quite good but Ron Perlman and Angus Scrimm are simply awesome.'I Sell The Dead' does get better as it gets funnier towards the ending. Overall, I didn't mind it for a one-time watch. It's a refreshing film that manages to draw some laughs but could have been a better film.