ISelltheDead

I Sell the Dead (2008)

So the story here starts at the end. We see a scruffy looking man, that we later find out is named Willie, executed for being a murderer and a grave robber. His head is loped right off by a guillotine. The action then moves to his partner in crime, Arthur, who is waiting his turn. But before he is to be executed he has the chance to tell his story to a monk that is there to take his confession down. The rest of the movie is a series of flashbacks that lay out Arthur’s life and how he managed to get sucked into his life of crime. From starting off as a regular grave robber to eventually trafficking in the undead it makes for a good time. Along the way we see that Arthur was sort of roped in to the job and had no choice. Of course that won’t delay his appointment with the guillotine, or will it?

I really got a kick out of this one. Now be warned if you are looking for a serious movie then this isn’t the one for you. In spite of a couple of good jump scares this one is mostly played for laughs, and does that very well. When the Willie and Arthur characters start to turn up the undead things get even funnier. I especially liked their first encounter with the vampire and the fun they had with the stake! Also towards the end there is a bit with a masked killer and a zombie that had me laughing so hard I nearly fell off the couch. The characters in the movie are also really interesting and very well written. From the boys themselves to their rivals in the trade the characters are all memorable. The cast here is top notch and includes Dominic Monaghan (Lord or the Rings movies) as Arthur and Larry Fessenden as his partner in crime Willie. They have a great chemistry together on screen and carry the movie. Genre favorite Ron Perlman is great as the monk that shows up to collect Arthur’s story. Though it is obvious there might be something else up with him, I mean it is Ron Perlman for crying out loud! Finally I have to mention that the legendary Angus Scrimm also shows up in a small part. I normally hate what I like to call “stunt casting” which is having a genre favorite show up long enough to put him in the credits, but Scrimm is given a juicy and fun role to tear into, even if it is small.

There is some CGI used, but it is used very well. The best effect is the surreal moonlight sky that is obviously CGI, but works so well with the off kilter feeling the script and cast bring to the movie. And while the movie is being played for laughs the filmmakers didn’t use this as an excuse to skimp or go cheap on the monsters. We are treated to vampires, zombies, and on other that I’ll not spoil. All of them are handled with practical effects and look really good. Of course the worst effect in the movie is saved until the end and is a less than stellar bit of CGI. Other than that the movie is a real blast.

So now that I’ve talked this movie up I have some bad news. This is the first of my reviews that I’m doing for the Danger After Dark @ Philadelphia Film Festival / Cinefest 09 which is a killer film festival that is happening in of course Philadelphia. If you are lucky enough to be in the area over the dates of March 26th to April 6th then you really need to check them out. Head over to www.phillycinefest.com for more information and a schedule of events. I highly recommend everyone check out I Sell the Dead.

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer