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| Mark R. Leeper... |
 Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 12:54 am |
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I SELL THE DEAD
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: In the 19th Century in the British Isles a
grave-robber tells his story in the last hours before
he is guillotined. Superficially this film looks
like a reprise of the sort of horror film made in
Britain in the 1960s by Hammer and their imitators.
As such it is a lot of fun, but rather than a single
good story, it is broken into short episodic pieces.
Glenn McQuaid writes and directs (and edits!).
Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10
One of the staple elements of the Gothic horror films of the 1960s
was the professional grave robber (or "resurrectionist" or "body
snatcher"). The most notorious grave robbers were William Burke
and William Hare who plied their trade in Edinburgh in 1827-28.
They turned to murder when the supply from the local graveyards
could not meet the demand from the local medical school. Burke and
Hare inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Body Snatcher" and
Dylan Thomas's "The Doctor and the Devils", both adapted into
films. But the 19th century setting for horror stories almost
seems to be a thing of the past. That made I SELL THE DEAD with
its body snatchers particularly nostalgic and welcome. The score
under the opening credits is gleefully macabre with the right touch
of dark humor. An opening reminiscent of CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN
follows it with one body snatcher, Arthur Blake (played by Dominic
Monaghan) ready to be taken to a guillotine to pay for grievous
crimes committed in partnership with Willie Grimes (Larry
Fessenden). Also as in CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN he is confessing his
sordid story to a priest. However, unlike how a Hammer film would
do the film, it is not one coherent story but three or four short
stories almost unconnected. The stories end with the film frame
fading into a nearly identical panel of comic book art, more or
less as was done in the CREEPSHOW films.
Little Arthur Blake agrees reluctantly to do work for Willie
Grimes. He does not know what the work is but is not very shocked
when he finds out it is stealing the bodies of the dead. A job is
a job to young Arthur Blake. But the thing is that Blake has a
talent for this line of work, stealing a body from right under the
weeping eyes of the deceased's relatives. Blake and Grimes begin a
partnership that continues for years.
The real heroes of I SELL THE DEAD are art director Beck Underwood
and set decorator Devin Febbroriello who take a leaf from Hammer
Films' book and make what is probably a tiny budget look like a
much fancier one. A little in the look is made to seem like a lot
more. For surprisingly long this film seems to be doing everything
right, pitting the boys against a gamut of supernatural horrors.
In the second half, however, the film jumps the shark by putting a
decidedly late-20th century visual joke in as the punch line of a
story. That one joke seriously damages the atmosphere and it does
not get better when the story takes a turn for "Pirates of the
Caribbean" territory.
Larry Fessenden who plays Grimes as well as co-producing the film
should have a better feel for the mood. Fessenden has a deft hand
for disturbing horror as he proved in writing and directing WENDIGO
and THE LAST WINTER, two very effective horror films. Dominic
Monaghan is probably best known as Brandybuck in THE LORD OF THE
RINGS. But stealing the show from him at every opportunity in the
confession scenes is Ron Perlman making the most of a role that
could have otherwise gone unnoticed, that of Father Duffy, the
priest hearing the confession. To drag attention to himself
Perlman really chews the scenery in a role that really requires him
to do little more than sagely nodding.
In the end, I SELL THE DEAD is just a collection of comic book
stories with continuing characters rather than the horror opus it
could have been. Rather than a serious attempt to resurrect the
Gothic horror of the 1960s it is more just a reverential nod or
even a send-up. It is not a bad film, but it is one that failed to
meet its potential or fulfill its promise. But to rate it for what
it is, a fun film, rather than the horror film it could have been,
I rate it a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 6/10.
Film Credits: <http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0902290/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_sell_the_dead/>
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper at (no spam) optonline.net
Copyright 2009 Mark R. Leeper |
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