Expected more

Absolutely amazing

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This movie turned out to be well worth the watch.One of the hobbits from Lord of the Rings Trilogy, teams up with the legendary Ron Perlman, to bring us a humorous Gothic tell of two grave robbers who sell bodies they dig up to mad scientist types. Sounds like a strange business to be in, but apparently their are a few movies about this particular subject set during the Victoria era of Britain, where this may have been a common way for the medical profession to get corpses to study, which makes the story even more Erie than it already is.I did not have any expectations when I watched the film, but I ended up being well entertained by the whole thing. It's a fun movie to see.

19th century England. Eager young Andrew Blake (a fine and engaging performance by Dominic Monaghan) and his seasoned mentor Willy Grimes (splendidly played with lip-smacking rascally relish by Larry Fessenden) make a living stealing corpses from coffins and cemeteries: The dastardly duo encounter vampires, zombies, and even an alien throughout their fiendish exploits. Writer/director Glenn McQuaid offers a flavorsome evocation of the period setting, does an ace job of crafting a deliciously macabre tongue-in-cheek mood, and ably mines a wickedly funny line in spot-on twisted gallows humor. However, McQuaid's key triumph for sure is the quirky, colorful, and cinematic live action EC Comics-type style and sensibility he brings to the playfully ghoulish material. The natural and likable chemistry Monaghan and Fessenden in the leads really keeps the picture buzzing; they receive sterling support from Ron Perlman as hearty Irish priest Father Duffy, Angus Scrimm as the corrupt and demanding Dr. Quint, Brenda Cooney as gutsy'n'sassy apprentice Fanny Briers, and John Speredakos as the fearsome Cornelius Murphy. Richard Lopez's sumptuous widescreen cinematography provides an impressively handsome and baroque look. Jeff Grace's robust score hits the spirited spot. A real treat.

This film is a poor attempt at comedy and horror. It has mild frights and even milder humor.The movie drags on for far too long and really is not very well cast.The most annoying thing about this tripe is the accents that some of the actors attempt to put on. Especially Monaghans character as a kid. The majority of Irish accents are laughable apart from the odd actual Irish person who got a role in the movie(you can spot the real accents very easily).Some scenes look like they where thrown together after the movie was finished to fill in the time.Please save yourself a few quid and rent/buy something else.

I would never have watched this if it wasn't for the title.Is it a good thing that I did? Not really. I hardly want my 80 minutes back but after I click on "Submit Post" I don't think I will be referring back to ISTD much in future in my everyday existence.It is the 17 or 18 hundreds: Ron Perlman in priestly robes is being led in to meet a doomed Dominic Monaghan, playing convicted grave robber and murderer Arthur.They commence chatting and while Arthur openly admits to the grave robbing side of the charges, he claims innocence to the murdering part of the allegations.Why? We flash back to earlier in his "career", where a young fresh faced Arthur is driven by poverty and his parent's desperation to become the apprentice to a more experienced grave robber named Willie, as time goes by they form an alliance and start robbing graves and selling the corpses to a local shonky doctor, who is not fussy about how they arrive... Or how they are sourced.The next twenty minutes is basically taken up by further flashbacks of various supposedly funny situations that Arthur and Willie encountered while robbing graves, the undead, vampires, an alien etc. They are not necessarily important to the plot but give an idea of the dynamic between the two and what they are willing to do, (and they fill over a quarter of an 80 minute running time).Things are going well, business is good and the dollars are flowing more steadily, they even put on a young female apprentice that Arthur immediately latches onto for himself. Willie is happy to keep business stable so as not to encroach upon the bigger business affairs of the rival Murphy gang, a hardened group of grave robbers who stop at nothing to protect their turf.So of course the boys hear about a jackpot in grave robbing circles, a package of undead corpses has washed ashore on a nearby island, and there are two more crates unaccounted for with contents that will garner a pretty penny and make them big leaguers in the "industry". Over a drunken night of celebration the apprentice chickie talks the boys into grabbing the crates for themselves, despite the Murphy menace.The thing about I Sell The Dead, is that once you understand and come to terms with the odd subject matter, this is more a recounting of Arthur's last few week's work than a plot driven story, culminating with what is essentially an argument between two competing firms over a job.I Sell The Dead is not particularly clever, not very funny and really not even very original. It would have been more ideal in a 30 minute Twilight Zone or Amazing Stories type deal, as strung out over 80 minutes just left everything looking a little thin.Final Rating – 5.5 / 10. A few unmemorable tales that don't really build into anything of substance.If you liked this review (or even if you didn't) check out oneguyrambling.com