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

Early in the film, the bartender in the pub says "there would be no Burke without the little Hare here." This refers to William Burke and William Hare, the famous body snatchers that operated in Edinburgh, Scotland in the early 1800s. Much of the plot for the movie is inspired by their story.

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Goofs

During the drinking contest, the flagon that Fanny uses to signal the start of the contest changes between the time that she picks it up and the time she begins to drink from it.

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Crazy Credits

"A good cast is worth repeating!"

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Connections

Features The Resurrection Apprentice (2005)

User Reviews

No Hobbits Here, Just Grave Robbers

What's this? Another recent title? It'd be ridiculous for your fellow ghoul not to keep current with today's releases. I'll try to keep this one brief because I'm still unsure of my opinion in terms of the outcome.

I Sell the Dead is about a man by the name of Arthur Blake (played by Dominic Monaghan, commonly recognizable as Charlie from Lost and also a hobbit in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) who confesses his grave robbing crimes to a priest named Father Duffy (your neighborhood friendly Ron Pearlman). Set in the Victorian era, Blake goes into detail concerning the exploits of his misadventures with his partner Willie. They soon come into contact with a rival grave-plundering gang led by the vicious corpsegrinder Cornelius Murphy.

Several twists and turns are contained within peppered by obvious comedic elements. Unfortunately, I've seen better attempts at black comedy on BET. As I mentioned earlier, rating this film is not an easy task. Part of me thoroughly enjoyed the artistic approach and silly premise. On the other hand, I had a difficult time interpreting the pace. Several scenes felt disjointed and out-of-place, leaving me to ponder whether or not it was intentional. The acting is solid, of course. If you enjoy the mixture of comedy and horror (which, to be honest, I'm touchy about) then I would recommend checking this one out. Shut your brain off and enjoy the show...just don't expect anything groundbreaking.