I Sell the Dead (2008)

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Arthur Blake (Dominic Monaghan) recounts his life as a grave robber to Father Duffy (Ron Perlman) as he awaits for his execution. His partner Willie Grimes has already been guillotined. He was a young boy when he started with Willie robbing graves for the demanding Dr. Quint. Quint demands more corpses and fresher ones all the time. Then the corpses start coming alive.I really don't like Monaghan and Perlman's scenes. They cut up and interrupt the story. It's also the men sitting and recounting the story which doesn't always add much to the movie. It's like a spoiler and one is always wondering if Blake is lying. It's not terribly funny even as a dark comedy. This is no Shaun of the Dead. The movie struggles to get any momentum. Whenever the movie pulls me in, it always gets interrupted by Monaghan and Perlman.

Spoiler Alert.. What a wonderfully fun very odd film! I'm not sure where to start..Set in the 1800′s (I think, it really didn't say) our story begins with a unfortunate man getting beheaded while his partner in crime is waiting for his turn. During the wait, he tells his story.He was a grave robber. At first it was an innocent endeavor to earn some money but as time went on he starts to encounter unusual corpses.This movie has it all, vampires, aliens and zombies..oh my!This is a fun movie for teens and adults (no younger kids), it really does have it's scary moments.

In this dark, 18th century comedy, Dominic Monaghan stars as a grave robber and accused murderer, who by his own admission, is not a great guy. The plot of this film is absolutely brilliant and they could have done so much with it, but quickly it turned from the improbably to the ridiculously stupid. In the beginning, Arthur Blake (Monaghan), sits down with a priest to tell his story and give a voice his last words. Blake starts to tell his story about how at a young age, his mother forced him into this line of work. That part of the movie is great, and if they would have continued along those lines, this film would have been amazing, unfortunately, Blake grows up, and that's when things start getting weird. First, they find a zombie, a twist in the story I suspected might be coming. It was pretty lame, but was done in a humorous way, which made it a little easier to swallow. From that point on, the film gets ridiculous, as the pair has run-ins with rival gangs of grave robbers and even aliens. What started out as a very imaginative film turned into a big confusing mess. The story just goes off in so many different directions and gets so far away from the original plot, that it quickly becomes almost unwatchable. Monaghan is terrific and continues to be an extremely underrated actor. We all know him from Lost and Lord of The Rings, but only as an ancillary character, but in I Sell The Dead, Monaghan shows that he is far too good to spend his career as a sidekick. I loved the idea and I really wanted to like this film, but the truth is I didn't. After the first half-hour, there really isn't anything worth watching.

'I Sell The Dead' has an interesting concept, a fine cast and is made with style. However, it is mainly let down by the writing. The script is inconsistent and lacking in focus. Plenty of intriguing ideas are presented but not much is done with them. The story seems to jump from one idea to another without a clear focus or direction. While the story is lacking in development, the pacing felt slow.'I Sell The Dead' is more of a comedy than a horror flick. The characters are quite amusing but some of the situational humour felt out of place and overdone (for example, the sequence with the alien). Glenn McQuaid also succeeds in creating a tense atmosphere with an air of humour. It looks like it's mocking horror flicks but there's also something enchanting in the way it looks.The cast is impressive. Larry Fessenden, Brenda Cooney and Dominic Monaghan are quite good but Ron Perlman and Angus Scrimm are simply awesome.'I Sell The Dead' does get better as it gets funnier towards the ending. Overall, I didn't mind it for a one-time watch. It's a refreshing film that manages to draw some laughs but could have been a better film.