I Sell the Dead (2008)

A grave robber reflects on his life of crime.

Director:

Glenn McQuaid

Writer:

Glenn McQuaid

Stars:

Dominic Monaghan, Larry Fessenden, Angus Scrimm

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dominic Monaghan	...	Arthur Blake
Larry Fessenden	...	Willy Grimes
Angus Scrimm	...	Dr. Quint
Ron Perlman	...	Father Duffy
Brenda Cooney	...	Fanny Briers
John Speredakos	...	Cornelius Murphy
Daniel Manche	...	Young Arthur
Eileen Colgan	...	Maisey O'Connell
James Godwin	...	Old Man
Joel Garland	...	Ronnie
Aidan Redmond	...	Jack Flood
Alisdair Stewart	...	Bulger
Heather Bullock	...	Valentine Kelly
Chris Shaw	...	Executioner
Martin Pfefferkorn	...	Howling Man

Storyline

18th century justice catches up with a pair of grave robbers. With only a few hours to go before his date with the guillotine, Arthur Blake tells his life story to Father Francis Duffy. Before long, Arthur spills the beans on how he got started in the grim corpse peddling business with seasoned ghoul Willie Grimes.

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Plot Keywords:

grave | grave robber | corpse | guillotine | told in flashback | 

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Taglines:

Never Trust A Corpse

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Sell the Dead - Kuoleman kauppamiehet

Filming Locations:

Caumsett State Park, Lloyd Harbor, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$3,529 (USA) (7 August 2009)

Gross:

$7,066 (USA) (14 August 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Glass Eye Pix

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 85 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

A graphic novel of the film has been released, with Glenn McQuaid writing and illustrations by Brahm Revel (October, 2009).

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Goofs

Supposedly set in the 12th century, Fanny pulls out a modern-day pocket knife.

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Crazy Credits

"A good cast is worth repeating!"

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Connections

References Hellboy (2004)

User Reviews

I've Seen The Dead

I saw this movie as part of the Midnite Madness at Sitges. Set in 18th century England, the plot covers the life of Arthur Blake from his first outing as an apprentice grave robber to his final confession on the eve of his execution.

The plot moves along via a series of misadventures involving Arthur and his partner encountering various unsavory characters and bizarre situations.

The first thing that strikes you about this movie is how accurately they managed to capture the look of the Hammer period horrors, the atmosphere is set with lots of fog laden graveyards, rowdy tavern scenes and excellent set/costume design.

For a movie titled I Sell the Dead, I was expecting the emphasis to be mostly on horror – don't get me wrong there are some jumpy moments and gore, but the tone is very much comedic, driven by the situations the characters get themselves into and their dialog. The closest comparison to the scenes between the two leads (Larry Fessenden and Dominic Monaghan) is the character interaction seen in the classic English comedies Only Fools and Horses, the Two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise.

The acting is strong and the casting of very familiar faces in Ron Perlman and Angus Scrimm lift the movie above many of the others on view in Sitges.

Overall the movie offers something very different to the current crop of mainstream horror and will leave a smile on your face.