Review of I Sell the Dead (2008) by Kawika T — 25 Dec 2009

Arthur Blake (Dominic Monaghan) and Willie Grimes (Larry Fessenden) are graverobbers. Or better yet, "Ghooles". Under the emploiment of Dr. Vernon Quint, Mr. Blake and Mr. Grimes stumbles upon a way to make easy money. Dr. Quint are doing experminets on dead bodies, and are always in need of fresh stiffs. For years he's been blackmailing the two graverobbers, threatening them to go to the police if they don't keep him suplied with fresh corpses. On a trip into the moors Arthur and Willie digs up the corpse of a young girl. There are signs of superstition everywhere. The wooden stake through her heart, the garlic around her neck and the simple fact that she's been buried out by the crossroads don't prevent the two graverobbers from digging her up. After the dead girl, a vampire, comes to life and tries to kill them, Arthur and Willie puts her temporarily back to sleep and ships her undead body back to Dr Quint. Dr Quint soon ends up dead, and the two graverobbers are free to go into business for themselves. Selling the undead turns out to be a huge moneymaker, and everything is going good until they have a few nasty run-ins with a rival gang of gravejobbers, a band of psycothic's named "The house of Murphy".

"I sell the Dead" is written, directed and edited by first time director Glenn McQuaid. This is something really special. For me this is the horror movie of the decade. It's a innovative, foggy and goolish horror comedy unlike any I've ever seen. A fresh approach to the genre. McQuaid throws alot of cool stuff into the mix - The comic-book stills are to die for, and the constant Hammer Film homages are beautifully executed. The story is uniqe, and the script is laugh out loud funny. The make up and gore is top-notch, and the bloody cast is spectacular! Everybody is spot on, especially Larry Fessenden. I would also like to mention John Speredakos, who turns in a memorable performance as Cornelius Murphy, on of the creepiest bad guys I've seen in a while. I hope we'll get to see more of him in the sequel. The Chemistry between Dominic Monaghan and Larry Fessenden is what makes this movie so special. Their comidic timing is perfect, and you can tell that they are having alot of fun with their characters.

If you get a chance to see this movie, don't miss it. Fans of horror and gothic monster movies need to watch this one. "I sell the Dead" is a modern cult classic. A horror masterpiece.