A grave robber reflects on his life of crime.A grave robber reflects on his life of crime.A grave robber reflects on his life of crime.
- Awards
- 1 win & 5 nominations total
Joel Marsh Garland
- Ronnie
- (as Joel Garland)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
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Featured reviews
"I Sell the Dead" is a horror comedy about a duo of sympathetic grave-robbers.Grimes(Larry Fessenden)and Blake(Dominic Monaghan)rob graves and sell the corpses in Victorian England.Things change when they unearth a body that refuses to stay dead."I Sell the Dead" is narrated by Blake who is waiting in prison for the date with Mrs.Guillotine.The monk played by Ron Perlman listens to his last confession.Pretty funny low-budget horror comedy with Gothic atmosphere and few lovely twists.The characters are entertaining and the film oozes of the E.C. Comics vibe.I am not a fan of horror comedies,but this one kept me quite entertained.6 grave-robbers out of 10.
I confess, I only watched this because I enjoy Ron Perlman, but I stayed with it because it is a hoot! It is neither excessively gory nor bloody, but it keeps its horror creds kinda side-wise, and kept me chuckling throughout. I find it hard to categorize this odd flick, but if you have the 90 or so minutes, give it a try - it is fun! The story line allows you to expect a bigger payoff than you get, but the actual story more than makes up for it. First you meet the apparent villain and his church appointed accuser. It rapidly becomes apparent that the real issues are not mundane but seriously supernatural!Vampires, zombies, grave robbers. The world is not as simple as you might wish. Oh MY - laugh and enjoy - it is worth the visit!
I went to see Glenn McQuaid's "I Sell The Dead" in it's North American premiere at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. Seeing as this is the second showing worldwide I didn't quite know what to expect of this film, especially having not seen the short film that inspired this big screen adaptation.
I'll start off with a slightly more elaborate plot synopsis, without giving away any spoilers.
This movie is about Arthur Blake, how he became a grave robber and the interesting and supernatural discoveries that both he and his mentor discovered.
The costume and set design in this film were excellent. I was amazed to hear that the entire film was shot in and around New York. The costumes were very accurate to the time, really bringing you as a viewer into the mindset of the time. This movie works just as well as a period-piece as it does a horror-comedy.
The interaction between the two leads was very fluid. They played off each others acting with ease. The dialogue between the two was very well written, with Glenn adding his comedic touch even in tense situations.
The story is very encompassing and the ball gets rolling from the very start. I'd compare it to a visual page turner, always wondering just what will happen next. The characters themselves are all very vivid and unique adding different emotional layers to the film itself.
All in all, I recommend this film for anyone in the mood for some dark humour, with a bit of horror mixed in.
9/10
I'll start off with a slightly more elaborate plot synopsis, without giving away any spoilers.
This movie is about Arthur Blake, how he became a grave robber and the interesting and supernatural discoveries that both he and his mentor discovered.
The costume and set design in this film were excellent. I was amazed to hear that the entire film was shot in and around New York. The costumes were very accurate to the time, really bringing you as a viewer into the mindset of the time. This movie works just as well as a period-piece as it does a horror-comedy.
The interaction between the two leads was very fluid. They played off each others acting with ease. The dialogue between the two was very well written, with Glenn adding his comedic touch even in tense situations.
The story is very encompassing and the ball gets rolling from the very start. I'd compare it to a visual page turner, always wondering just what will happen next. The characters themselves are all very vivid and unique adding different emotional layers to the film itself.
All in all, I recommend this film for anyone in the mood for some dark humour, with a bit of horror mixed in.
9/10
This movie totally surprised me; I was expecting your run-of-the-mill zombie apocalypse, with the usual who's-gonna-get-killed-first gamble, but I was wrong: It is about the lives and times of two grave robbers in the mid 1800s England. It is horror in a blasé way, and a comedy by circumstance more than by design.
It is by no way a summer blockbuster; There are no spectacular explosion and CGI, nor there is any romancing "for the female crowd"; It is an old-fashion, hand-made movie with lots of love.
This love is apparent in the actors' play, which is a testimony to their great direction: The two main characters have a synergy that works very well (they look as if they played together for ages) and every other actor in the movie are characterized and unique, even the background and silent ones. The music score, robust and in the right tone, adds to the grim ambiance.
It may not have a spectacular development or a intricate storyline, but it is easy listening due to the anecdotal way it is told and the smooth camera work. I still have pleasure re-watching it, even more-so with a couple of brews under the belt.
7 out of 10: Not a true classic in the cinematographic sense, but certainly worth a try.
It is by no way a summer blockbuster; There are no spectacular explosion and CGI, nor there is any romancing "for the female crowd"; It is an old-fashion, hand-made movie with lots of love.
This love is apparent in the actors' play, which is a testimony to their great direction: The two main characters have a synergy that works very well (they look as if they played together for ages) and every other actor in the movie are characterized and unique, even the background and silent ones. The music score, robust and in the right tone, adds to the grim ambiance.
It may not have a spectacular development or a intricate storyline, but it is easy listening due to the anecdotal way it is told and the smooth camera work. I still have pleasure re-watching it, even more-so with a couple of brews under the belt.
7 out of 10: Not a true classic in the cinematographic sense, but certainly worth a try.
This film was really a breath of fresh air from the load of Hollywood crap I've seen recently. The acting is superb and the characters are engaging and oddly endearing. There really isn't much to the story, it's simple and it works well. An easy film to just sit down and enjoy. The mood was fantastic and the sets really helped push the movie along and offered some nice visuals. The film obviously has aspects of horror, yet is geared a little more towards the humorous side of things. You won't be laughing out loud hysterically with this one, but you'll be smiling the whole way through. The humor works very well with the characters and the superb acting doesn't hurt. I really watched this movie based on the fact that Ron Perlman was in it. His role is a bit smaller than I expected, but it doesn't matter; the rest of the cast does more than enough to keep you engaged. If you like horror, watch this. If you like comedies, watch this. Just go ahead and watch this anyway, it's really quite excellent.
Did you know
- TriviaRon Perlman was sent a rough draft of the script and initially declined when asked to be in the movie after reading said rough draft. Perlman sent notes to writer/director Glenn McQuaid on how to improve the screenplay. After the script was revised to Perlman's satisfaction, he agreed to act in the movie.
- GoofsDuring the drinking contest, Willie's first tankard has a price tag/bar code sticker on the bottom.
- Quotes
Arthur Blake: You be careful of dreams, Fanny. They'll lead you down a garden path and into a ditch before you know it. The Fortune of War Pub? Filled with people who followed their dreams. Look what they got to.
- Crazy credits"A good cast is worth repeating!"
- ConnectionsFeatures The Resurrection Apprentice (2005)
- SoundtracksWaxies Dargle
Traditional
Vocals: Joe Hurley
Backing Vocals: Glenn McQuaid
Additional Vocals: John Vernon, Aidan Redmond, Alisdair Stewart
Guitar: Brendan O'Shea
Fiddle: Tom Chiu
Arranger: Jeff Grace
Recorded and Mixed by John Moros
- How long is I Sell the Dead?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $750,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $8,050
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,529
- Aug 9, 2009
- Gross worldwide
- $8,050
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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