This movie totally surprised me; I was expecting your run-of-the-mill zombie apocalypse, with the usual who's-gonna-get-killed-first gamble, but I was wrong: It is about the lives and times of two grave robbers in the mid 1800s England. It is horror in a blasé way, and a comedy by circumstance more than by design.It is by no way a summer blockbuster; There are no spectacular explosion and CGI, nor there is any romancing "for the female crowd"; It is an old-fashion, hand-made movie with lots of love.This love is apparent in the actors' play, which is a testimony to their great direction: The two main characters have a synergy that works very well (they look as if they played together for ages) and every other actor in the movie are characterized and unique, even the background and silent ones. The music score, robust and in the right tone, adds to the grim ambiance.It may not have a spectacular development or a intricate storyline, but it is easy listening due to the anecdotal way it is told and the smooth camera work. I still have pleasure re-watching it, even more-so with a couple of brews under the belt.7 out of 10: Not a true classic in the cinematographic sense, but certainly worth a try.

I hadn't heard of this film before seeing it and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't terrible. I must say that a cast that included both Dominic Monaghan and Ron Perlman did work in its favour somewhat. As some may know I'm not particularly big on comedy films… they just don't make me laugh these days (a sign of old age I guess), but I liked the dark humour in this. Here's a brief summary before I give you my thoughts.It is the Eighteenth century (that's the 1700's for those that don't know), and Arthur Blake is due to be executed in the morning. He has been accused of being a grave robber and a murderer. His partner, Willie Grimes has already met his maker under the scaffold of the guillotine earlier that day. A priest, Father Duffy, comes to see Blake, he wants his story so it can be published in order to put off those tempted to go down a similar path. And so, for a supply of whiskey, Blake begins to tell his tale, having first denying any hand in any murder. He was a grave robber, no more, no less. Apprenticed to Grimes at an early age, Blake soon got a taste for the work. The only problem was that there was no way out. The doctor they worked for, Quint, just threatened them with arrest if they didn't come come up with the corpses he wanted. Eventually they have to go out of the town to get bodies and this is where the tale gets weird… The undead are to be found out there and this causes more than one problem to the pair. Add to that a rival gang of grave robbers and they have more problems than they can cope with. The Quint problem was nicely solved though, with the help of… I'll leave it here, I don't really want to be dug up by them Spoiler 'grave robber' Police.This film put me in mind of the early Hammer films. They weren't all that well made, but there was an edge to them that hadn't been seen before. Decent performances all round, particularly from Dominic Monaghan as Arthur Blake, Ron Perlman as Father Duffy and Larry Fessenden as Willie Grimes. Honourable mentions go to; Angus Scrimm as Dr. Vernon Quint, John Speredakos as Cornelious Murphy, Brenda Cooney as Fanny Bryers and Joel Garland as Ronnie.Although the accents are all over the place, particularly Father Duffy's, and some of the situations the pair get into are totally ridiculous, I kind of liked this film. It had quite a low budget, and it showed, but even so, I see some promise in this work. Over all, not a bad effort, it could have done with a little more polish, but I liked it!... Recommended (for at least one watch).My Score: 6.3/10.IMDb Score: 6.0/10 (3,770 votes when this review was written).Rotten Tomatoes Score: 74/100 (42 reviews counted when this review was written).

I would never have watched this if it wasn't for the title.Is it a good thing that I did? Not really. I hardly want my 80 minutes back but after I click on "Submit Post" I don't think I will be referring back to ISTD much in future in my everyday existence.It is the 17 or 18 hundreds: Ron Perlman in priestly robes is being led in to meet a doomed Dominic Monaghan, playing convicted grave robber and murderer Arthur.They commence chatting and while Arthur openly admits to the grave robbing side of the charges, he claims innocence to the murdering part of the allegations.Why? We flash back to earlier in his "career", where a young fresh faced Arthur is driven by poverty and his parent's desperation to become the apprentice to a more experienced grave robber named Willie, as time goes by they form an alliance and start robbing graves and selling the corpses to a local shonky doctor, who is not fussy about how they arrive... Or how they are sourced.The next twenty minutes is basically taken up by further flashbacks of various supposedly funny situations that Arthur and Willie encountered while robbing graves, the undead, vampires, an alien etc. They are not necessarily important to the plot but give an idea of the dynamic between the two and what they are willing to do, (and they fill over a quarter of an 80 minute running time).Things are going well, business is good and the dollars are flowing more steadily, they even put on a young female apprentice that Arthur immediately latches onto for himself. Willie is happy to keep business stable so as not to encroach upon the bigger business affairs of the rival Murphy gang, a hardened group of grave robbers who stop at nothing to protect their turf.So of course the boys hear about a jackpot in grave robbing circles, a package of undead corpses has washed ashore on a nearby island, and there are two more crates unaccounted for with contents that will garner a pretty penny and make them big leaguers in the "industry". Over a drunken night of celebration the apprentice chickie talks the boys into grabbing the crates for themselves, despite the Murphy menace.The thing about I Sell The Dead, is that once you understand and come to terms with the odd subject matter, this is more a recounting of Arthur's last few week's work than a plot driven story, culminating with what is essentially an argument between two competing firms over a job.I Sell The Dead is not particularly clever, not very funny and really not even very original. It would have been more ideal in a 30 minute Twilight Zone or Amazing Stories type deal, as strung out over 80 minutes just left everything looking a little thin.Final Rating – 5.5 / 10. A few unmemorable tales that don't really build into anything of substance.If you liked this review (or even if you didn't) check out oneguyrambling.com

This one is an easy-going story. It's a tale, told first hand, of two friends in England who make their, ahem, living, by Grave-Robbing.As it is with British-type humor, the funny is in the dialogue and the setting without the usual blunt-nosed set-up that Hollywood sets you up for. Laid back, because the humor is the type that makes you smile afterward as opposed to guffawing out loud -- but funny just the same.And here and there, throughout, the touches of the Macabre are incidental set pieces that are just 'A funny thing happened on the way to the Graveyard the other night. . .' rather than the central horror of the movie. All in all, very well done, and ALL the characters are engaging and likable.Give this one a try if you and your friends are in the mood for some light horror with a side of funny. Pick this one for a slow Saturday Night with some good beer & chips.