Told in a series of flashbacks by a condemned man, to a priest, I Sell the Dead is the tale of two graverobbers – Willie Grimes [Larry Fessenden] and Arthur Blake [Dominic Monaghan] – who become ghouls – sellers of the dead whether stationary or not.
The film opens with a struggling Grimes being dragged to his execution by guillotine. From there, we cut to the cell in which Blake sits as Father Francis Duffy [Ron Perlman] makes his entrance. He has come to take down Blake’s gallows speech and, thanks to a bottle of scotch, he is happy enough to comply.
Blake’s recitation is told onscreen, from his days as an apprentice to his and Grimes discovery that there were dead who did not act like they were dead – and that a certain clientele would pay more for those kinds of corpses. We see how he and Grimes encounter their first undead, a vampire, and discover just how clueless these professional graverobbers are. Then there’s the nod to the sci fi side of The X-Files and, naturally enough, the competition – in the form of The House of Murphy.
I Sell the Dead is beautifully shot – in a Hammer/American International kind of way – with atmospheric matte painting and animations that fill backgrounds and act as interstitials, framing each of the adventures Blake relates to his rapt audience of one. In terms of plotting and set up, I Sell the Dead doesn’t just call to mind great Hammer Films productions of the past, but also great horror anthology films like Tales from the Crypt and Creepshow.
Writer/director/editor Glenn McQuaid has a background in visual effects, so it’s no surprise that the effects, practical and CG, are well done and very effective. Outside of the flashback detailing how Blake became Grimes’ apprentice, the tone of the film is broadly comic [but not campy] horror. There are some delightfully grotesque sight gags – my favorites come in the first vampire sequence and during the final flashback [the first crate – you’ll know it when you see it].
Also worthy of mention is Angus [The Tall Man] Scrimm’s appearance as Grimes’ and Blakes’s patron – a cold-blooded scientist named Doctor Quint who is as creepier than some of the film’s supernatural creatures.
If you’re looking for a genuine clever horror/comedy, I Sell the Dead is likely what you’re looking for.
Features include: Audio Commentary by Fassenden and Monaghan [a lovely mix of anecdote and information]; Audio Commentary by McQuaid; The Making of I Sell the Dead; The Visual Effects of I Sell the Dead, and the Trailer. Also included is the graphic novel adaptation of an earlier draft of the script, a 44-page comic done in EC Comics style.
Grade: I Sell the Dead – A
Grade: Features – A+
Final Grade: A