I SELL THE DEAD (2009)
Stars: Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman, Angus Scrimm, Larry Fessenden | Written and Directed by Glenn McQuaid
On the eve of his execution for his ghoulish crimes, Arthur Blake (Monaghan), a successful grave-robber, decides to tell his story and confess his sins to local priest Father Duffy (Perlman). Recounting the dark tale of his fifteen years in the grave-robbing business, Blake recalls how he met and teamed up with veteran grave-robber Willie Grimes (Fessenden) and how they came to be the chief suppliers of fresh corpses to Dr. Vernon Quint (Scrimm). The duo’s adventures include a feud with a rival gang of grave-robbers and discovering that there’s a more lucrative business than selling the dead… selling the undead. But finding, capturing and delivering vampires, zombies and other ghoulish creatures proves more difficult than they imagined.
Structurally similar to an anthology, I Sell the Dead is a three act tale of the bumbling adventures of our grave-robbing protagonists, played with great aplomb by Monaghan and Fessenden – Monaghan in particular is a perfect fit for his role as both storyteller and hero, and he brings all of his charm and wit to the role. It’s his central performance that provides such a solid base for the movie, he holds your attention during the “interludes” with Perlman’s priest like any good commanding storyteller should, yet he also plays the everyman “hero” during the films more outrageous grave-robbing scenes – especially when the undead turn up!
Stylistically the film’s looks fantastic, despite a low budget writer/director Glenn McQuaid manages to make the most of what he has. It’s obvious money hasn’t been scrimped on the creature effects though – the zombies look more ghoulish than normal, and McQuaid seems proud of his monsters. letting the camera linger on them for longer. I especially liked the comic book elements used throughout the film – they’re reminiscent of those found in the Creepshow movies, and they work just as well here as they did in those films.
I Sell the Dead is a surprising movie. Sold as a take on Hammer-style horror, the film more than that, it’s a fun movie in the 80’s sense – similar to that era’s Night of the Creeps or Fright Night, with plenty of laughs to be had and a story that is a fresh take on the old ‘Burke and Hare’ style tale. A lot of the film’s success can be attributed to the actors, the entire cast seem to have loads of chemistry and it shows on screen, so much so that I’d be interested in seeing them again in a sequel. Altogether I Sell the Dead is a witty, fun and bloody good Halloween ghost story that I thoroughly recommend.
I Sell the Dead is out on DVD now, and is out on Blu-ray November 2nd.
DVD EXTRAS:
Audio Commentary by director Glenn McQuaid
Audio Commentary by stars Dominic Monaghan and Larry Fessenden
I Sell the Dead Visual Effects featurette
The Making of I Sell the Dead
***** (4/5)
