I Sell the Dead

Anchor Bay

R4 DVD

The world of grave robbers has been well documented in horror cinema, but what if a grave robber decided to trade in the bodies of the undead ? That is the premise of this startling and amusing horror comedy by Irish filmmaker Glenn McQuaid.

This is marvellously funny horror comedy which is a bit like The Twilight Zone, Fright Night and Creepshow with a dash of Hammer horror. It uses the traditional archaic look and feel of a body snatcher tale to evolve a different story involving all manner of beings from vampires and zombies to an alien baby ! It matches superb cinematography with great character acting and regularly cuts to comic book style scenes.

The tale is that of Arthur Blake (played by Dominic Monaghan) who is apprenticed to an older body snatcher Willie Grimes (Larry Fesssenden). Together they only just make a living stealing bodies for the terrible Dr. Vernon Quint, played perfectly by Angus Scrimm of Phantasm fame. They are advised of a body located out on the Moors near a cross roads and get the shock of their lives when it they end up being a vampire. They use the vampire body to dispose of Quint and enter a new career as body snatchers of the undead. It seems there are lots of “discerning” occultists and magicians eager to get their hands on unique bodies.

However, it is not all easy going, they not only have to face the perils of the otherworld but compete with the “House of Murphy” a rival gang of body snatchers who will do anything to get their corpse, even stealing them from other criminals. A showdown occurs on an isolated island where House of Murphy ends up being slaughtered by a rogue zombie. Sadly, Willie is bitten by the zombie and when they are caught by the authority Willie is sent to the guillotine, the scene which opens the films.

The tale of their escapades is told by Blake as he awaits his fate in a cell. Soon he is met by the strange Father Duffy (Ron Pearlman) who plies him with scotch in return for his life story. When it becomes clear to Blake that the father is actual the patriarch of the Murphy clan, a fight ensues and a surprise ending unfolds.

This is a witty, amusing and creative horror comedy. It offers a new and innovative spin on the grave robber genre and brings in all manner of quirky creatures as well as lots of suspenseful and horror moments. At the same time it sustains a high level of humour with excellent dialogue and superior character development. This is a film which really required superior performances to carry it off and all of the chosen actors excel in their tasks. It is a visually stunning film which uses various forms of animation and comic book presentation to make the graveyards, crypts and environments seem both dark and strangely amusing at the same time. This really is a great surprise and I loved it.

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This review will appear in Volume 2 No.6 (2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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