I have been looking forward to Glen McQuaid's I Sell The Dead for quite a while. Yes, I know it was on IFC on Demand but stupid AT&T doesn't offer it. If it did my life would be so, so happy because IFC is releasing quite a lot of horror at the moment. So I wait. And wait. And finally! It arrives (thanks Netflix) and then sits on the coffee table for two weeks because I am too tired to watch it. Or, there is a new Gossip Girl on. Heaven help me when Glee starts next week because I will never see anything. Really, when I get home from work now-a-days I have one good hour before I am passed out like frat boy on St. Patrick's day.
I Sell the Dead, besides having an awesome title, is a pretty enjoyable little yarn about two Victorian Grave Robbers. Dominic Monaghan (my second favorite Hobbit) plays Arthur Blake, a young man who grew up in the grave-robbin trade. His mentor and BFF is Willie Grimes, played by Larry Fessenden. I have no idea who Larry Fessenden is but I want him in every movie STAT. The two eke out a pretty miserable existence, virtual slaves to the evil Dr. Quint, played by the Tall Man himself, Angus Scrimm, who I kind of want as my Grandpa. When they stumble upon a corpse wrapped in garlic with a stake through it's heart, they find the means to get out from under Quint's thumb and make a pretty penny themselves.
All of this is told to Father Duffy (Ron Perlman) by Blake, who is about to be executed for his crimes. Father Duffy has a particular interest in Blake and Grime's dealings with the Murphy Gang, a rival clan of body snatchers. The Murphy gang also deals with "unusual" corpses, and a final showdown with them leads Blake and Grimes to their ruin.
I Sell the Dead is beautifully shot and the acting is impeccable. It is also, at times, laugh out loud funny. The pacing is a bit uneven, and the ending left me thinking "is that all?" The episodic nature of the story suggests it would have made a kick ass TV show, which would have gotten canceled after one season as all good TV shows do. Nevertheless, I Sell the Dead is a pretty good time. It has zombies, vampires, ghouls, lots of fog, grave-robbin, and gore. What more could you ask for?
And yes, I do watch Gossip Girl and Glee. Alongside horror I love trash and showtunes. Got a problem with that?
And yes, I do watch Gossip Girl and Glee. Alongside horror I love trash and showtunes. Got a problem with that?
3 comments:
I love trash and show tunes, too. Why do you think I read this?
I will get this movie! You had me at, "My second favorite hobbit..."
This is one of those films I keep hearing a lot about...I will have to pick it up, its got a decent cast and the fact that it has a Hammer films feel to it draws me in. Gotta get it soon!
Cellar Door- Maybe I will call my autobiography "Zombies,Trash, and Showtunes." The title will be the most interesting part of the book. We have already talked about our love of our FAVORITE hobbit.
Film Connoisseur- It does have a hammer feel to it-not a perfect film but you can appreciate what it is trying to achieve.
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