Review of Burke & Hare (2010) by Tony L — 21 Feb 2011

Well cast, unsubtly entertaining tribute to Brit horror and comedy with a classic sense of Landis & co. having fun. Shot at Ealing and packed with cameos, it is neither as horrific as previous takes on the characters or as funny as the classic comedy it references. But for fans unlikely to see new films eager to borrow much from either style, it is interesting to see such a bold take mixing both.

Serkis and Hynes are great together, Pegg and Fisher not so much. Which is important as their romance and the mise en abyme, all-female production of The Scottish Play that comments back upon it are not particularly captivating. The support cast is terrific, however, with Wilkinson and Curry in good if typecast form. There are also brief appearances by Woodvine from Landis' An American Werewolf in London, inspirational mentor Ray Harryhausen, and Landis' recently passed cinematographer Bob Paynter.

However, I could have used less of Ronnie Corbett in familiar military attire as captain of the militia. Perhaps more of Jenny Agutter, Christopher Lee as Old Joseph, (a nod to The Crimson Pirate?) Paul Whitehouse - or pairing in Harry Enfield would have been more consistently funny. Nonetheless, the film has more than a single premise for jokes - a feature that distinguishes it from the mass of current horror-comedy. And although it sometimes falls flat, such instances are from the ambitious mix of elements being sincerely held to tribute.