I wonder who thought a comedy about Britain's most famous graverobbers would be a good idea? A brief look at the credits of the guys who did the screenplay soon reveals that they're the ones behind ST TRINIAN'S 2: THE LEGEND OF FRITTON'S GOLD. That alone speaks volumes.
Of course, the story is doomed to failure from the very beginning, because comedy is so hard to get right. The jokes are either funny or they're not. It goes without saying that I didn't laugh once during the course of this film. The gurning, mugging, getting-crap-poured-over-them gags aren't an example of getting it right. In fact, BURKE & HARE gets it very wrong indeed, which is kind of sad because back in the day John Landis was a great director. Now he's mired in the dreck.
Simon Pegg plays Simon Pegg, with the addition of that Scottish accent he used in STAR TREK. Andy Serkis is Andy Serkis with a similar-sounding accent. Both seem to be in it for the money. Isla Fisher – well, don't get me started on Isla Fisher, and her extensive sub-plot involving some rubbish about the first all-female production of Macbeth. Huh? I thought this was meant to be a film about graverobbing, yet half of it's about bloody Macbeth, and the other half just changes history when it feels like it.
Lots of effort was made in recreating 19th century Edinburgh, and the supporting cast is, frankly, astonishing. Tom Wilkinson, Tim Curry, Christopher Lee, David Schofield, Ronnie Corbett, Hugh Bonneville, Jenny Agutter, hell, even Stephen Merchant, Michael Winner and Paul Whitehouse. And what do all these fine people have in common? They're singularly wasted, either relegated to boring serious roles or blink-and-you'll-miss-em cameos. No, I won't waste any more time on a film I'd rather forget even exists – especially when you have a wealth of minor classics on the same subject (THE BODY SNATCHER, THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS, BURKE AND HARE even DR JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE!).
Of course, the story is doomed to failure from the very beginning, because comedy is so hard to get right. The jokes are either funny or they're not. It goes without saying that I didn't laugh once during the course of this film. The gurning, mugging, getting-crap-poured-over-them gags aren't an example of getting it right. In fact, BURKE & HARE gets it very wrong indeed, which is kind of sad because back in the day John Landis was a great director. Now he's mired in the dreck.
Simon Pegg plays Simon Pegg, with the addition of that Scottish accent he used in STAR TREK. Andy Serkis is Andy Serkis with a similar-sounding accent. Both seem to be in it for the money. Isla Fisher – well, don't get me started on Isla Fisher, and her extensive sub-plot involving some rubbish about the first all-female production of Macbeth. Huh? I thought this was meant to be a film about graverobbing, yet half of it's about bloody Macbeth, and the other half just changes history when it feels like it.
Lots of effort was made in recreating 19th century Edinburgh, and the supporting cast is, frankly, astonishing. Tom Wilkinson, Tim Curry, Christopher Lee, David Schofield, Ronnie Corbett, Hugh Bonneville, Jenny Agutter, hell, even Stephen Merchant, Michael Winner and Paul Whitehouse. And what do all these fine people have in common? They're singularly wasted, either relegated to boring serious roles or blink-and-you'll-miss-em cameos. No, I won't waste any more time on a film I'd rather forget even exists – especially when you have a wealth of minor classics on the same subject (THE BODY SNATCHER, THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS, BURKE AND HARE even DR JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE!).