IMDb >
I Sell the Dead (2008)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsI Sell the Dead (2008) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (see all 11 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 10 NEW) |
Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
7 August 2009 (USA) moreTagline:
Never Trust A CorpseAwards:
1 win moreNewsDesk:
(130 articles)
DVD releases for Oct. 27 - Nov.3, 2009 (From QuietEarth. 3 November 2009, 2:56 PM, PST)
Girls and ghouls for Halloween on Fangoria Radio tonight!
(From Fangoria. 30 October 2009, 9:28 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Big, Sloppy Horror Comedy is Funny but Lacks Ambition more (13 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
USA:85 min | Argentina:85 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorFilming Locations:
New York, USAFun Stuff
Trivia:
A graphic novel of the film has been released, with Glenn McQuaid writing and illustrations by Brahm Revel (October, 2009). moreFAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (13 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for I Sell the Dead (2008) moreRecommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Trick 'r Treat | Doghouse | The Salton Sea | Resident Evil: Extinction | Kiss Kiss Bang Bang |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Comedy section | IMDb USA section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |















I Sell the Dead is a big, sloppy horror comedy that refuses to take itself too seriously. This has advantages and drawbacks. The 85 minutes of the film breeze by and the film is full of bits sometimes funny, sometimes scary, sometimes gory, occasionally all three at once, but the individual bits are much better than the sum of the film's parts.
The story, such as it is, follows professional grave robber Arthur Blake (played by Dominic Monaghan). Arthur's partner-in-crime Willie Grimes (Larry Fessenden) has just had his head chopped off for murder and Arthur has one night left before his own head is forfeit for the same crime. Arthur insists that he is innocent of murder, but there are plenty of other crimes that he is willing to confess to when bribed with Irish Whisky by a Catholic priest (played by Ron Perlman).
Since the movie is a series of grave-robbing anecdotes confessed by Arthur, it becomes a sort of horror anthology - a series of disjointed tales, all linked by a similar cast (Arthur and Willie) and a similar theme (grave robbing). Like most horror anthologies, there is no consistent mythology, because all mythologies are true and happening simultaneously even when they contradict one another.
It probably didn't help that I saw this film the same night as Trick 'r Treat, a horror anthology that avoids all of the traps that I Sell The Dead falls into. In fact, Trick 'r Treat, designed as an anthology, tells a more unified, consistent story than I Sell The Dead which is intended to be a united narrative.
The other problem with the film (and I recognize that this is insane nit-picking) is the way the film plays fast and loose with history. Grimes is killed with a Guillotine. We might be able to stretch a point and say that he is killed by a Scottish Maiden, a precursor to the French Guillotine, but the Scottish Maiden was abandoned in 1709 and this film is set a good hundred years later since Burke and Hare are mentioned and they were executed for murder in 1829. Grave robbing as an industry became obsolete with the passage of the Anatomy Act (1832) so the film must take place before then.
I know that bringing this up is the ultimate in historical nerdiness and we are clearly dealing with a universe where all sorts of dead, undead and legendary dead are possible, but the easiest way to anchor a fantasy, to convince the audience to suspend their disbelief is to use something real and authentic to bounce the fantasy off of. And it's not like the history of grave robbers or body snatchers or resurrectionists (call it what you like) is a boring story.
The most frustrating thing is that writer.director Glenn McQuaid clearly does know the history, especially the good bits. As an example, when Grimes first takes on Arthur as his apprentice he correctly explains to Arthur that as resurrectionists, they don't steal the clothes from the dead, because stealing corpses is a misdemeanor, punishable by a small fine, while stealing clothes is a felony, punishable by deportation or possibly even death. So you would expect Wille and Arthur to strip the corpse at this point (and for the rest of the film) but of course they don't. You could accuse the director of ignoring his writer's script, but not when the writer and the director are the same person.
My point isn't that there should have been a lot of buck-naked corpses in the film, my point is that if you are going to bring up this quirk in the law and make it clear that Willie and Arthur will follow the law no matter how silly it is, than you do have to pursue that thought to its logical conclusion, even if that means that Willie and Arthur wind up chasing a zombie through a graveyard trying to rip his or her clothes off and stuffing them back in the empty coffin, so that they don't get deported for stealing the walking corpse's clothes, otherwise don't bring up the matter at all.
Historical nerdiness aside, I Sell The Dead is worth a rental as a slight but funny horror film that could have been much more.