bensonmum2 Review of The Flesh and the Fiends

The Flesh and the Fiends (1960)

"We are students of Hippocrates, but some of us are hypocrites."

[7/10 · 23 April 2006]

From what I've read, this movie comes as close as any to featuring a reasonably realistic and true-to-life presentation of the Burke and Hare story. For those unfamiliar with the story, Burke and Hare were grave robbers in 19th Century Scotland. The bodies they stole were sold to a doctor to be used in anatomy classes. Burke and Hare discovered that murder was a much easier and a more profitable way of filling the doctor's demand for fresher bodies. The movie features two horror icons – Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence – in performances that I consider to be among the best of their careers. The movie may be a little slow and "talky" for audiences used to the MTV style editing, but this only added to the atmosphere as far as I'm concerned. Burke and Hare's total disregard for human life effectively adds a "nastiness" to the movie that I often find missing from British movies from this period.