I Sell the Dead Blu Ray Review
I Sell The Dead (2009)
Release Date: March 30, 2009
Directed by: Glenn McQuaid
Cast: Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman, Larry Fessenden, Angus Scrimm
Review by: Marc Patterson
Two 19th century grave robbers, Arthur Blake and Willie Grimes – portrayed by Dominic Monaghan and Larry Fessenden respectively – are framed for murder, imprisoned, and sentenced to a date with the guillotine. Before his moment under the blade, Arthur gets a chance to confess and tell his tales to a priest (Ron Perlman). Therein we are laid the foundation for a narrative consisting of a variety of macabre stories told in flashback that trace the career of young Blake as he came up in the trade of robbing graves, and the perils and horrors he encountered along the way.
I typically don’t take the time to pound out an added review for a film that we’ve already covered, especially when a guy like ZC Barry, who covered the film for us at FrightFest UK ’09 (read review here) did a smash-up job hitting the nail smack on the head. I Sell the Dead is indeed a properly made homage to the Hammer Horror of the 60′s and 70′s. Full of atmosphere, this is a light, yet fun, and at times humorous film that should appeal to a wide audience of horror fans. It’s easy to immerse oneself into the haunted ambiance of the film as we are introduced to a bevy of underworld denizens – be they vampires, zombies, crazed doctors, or simply a sadistic gang of rival ghouls. There’s only one minor gripe I have against Barry’s view of this film. He summarizes his review with a couple of sentances that I just can’t agree with. He states, “For all the things it does well there is just something a little boring about the film as a whole, and despite an obvious talent for writing and directing, McQuaid never really brings the film up to the level where it’s something special. Ultimately, there are worse films to watch and less entertaining ways to spend an evening, but without a particular reason to recommend I Sell The Dead, I can only suggest watching this when it comes to TV.“
First to that point – I’d ask that you don’t wait to watch this on TV. Hell, I rarely watch films on TV. That’s why God invented DVD players and Video on Demand. Second, I’ve seen this film three times now in a straight format with no commentary tracks. Every time I see the film it grows on me more and I certainly don’t find it boring. It’s a lively film, cleverly written and directed, and though it can indeed sometimes feel schizophrenic, it is for the most part a very impressive first time outing from director Glenn McQuaid. Between the comic book style page flashes, the eerie 19th century sets that are remarkably detailed and accurate to the era, and the witty storytelling, this is a film I have found to be entirely entertaining. All of the acting is solid, and the characters are something straight out of a comic fantasy world where vampires, ghouls, demons, and zombies exist right alongside humans. Sure, there’s nothing inherently horrifying about the film. You’re not going to jump out of your skin at any point, but it’s just a heck of a lot of fun and because of it retains its replay value.
The Blu-ray package is what I really want to talk about, as that is what I went with on this particular viewing. Admittedly, I did not find the visual quality to be that much superior over what you’d get on the standard DVD edition, so in terms of simple pop in and play there’s no real advantage to grabbing the Blu version. The extras are nice, but are equal no matter what format you choose to purchase. I like the fact that we have two commentary tracks to choose from. Most viewers will enjoy the humor and anecdote-filled Fessenden/Monaghan track over the more serious track from Glenn McQuaid, which covers the technical aspects of making the film.
Also included is an roughly sixty minute featurette entitled The Making of I Sell the Dead, which, while done well isn’t overly engaging, but does deliver the standard behind-the-scenes look at making the film. Alongside this you can view a shorter featurette, which seemed oddly out of place on the creating of the visual effects of the film. For me, this was pretty dull and I’ll admit that I didn’t finish watching it. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that both the Blu-ray and the standard DVD come with a small comic book, which isn’t a selling point for me. In terms of purchase value, I’d save a couple of dollars and snag the DVD over the Blu-ray, but that’s a personal preference call.
