I was reading John Landis's book Monsters in the Movies, which is, like Landis himself, completely delightful. In it, he explores movie monsters, mostly through showing poster and film images and making short, snarky comments about them. He also interviews horror icons like Ray Harryhausen, Guillermo del Toro, Sam Raimi and Christopher Lee. Great fun. Anyway, in it, he casually mentions his film, Burke and Hare. What? I'd never even heard of it!
Maybe it's a British thing, but I don't even remember seeing Burke and Hare released over here. It's an old British story, about two grave robbers who sell bodies to a medical school. Then, when the supply of bodies dry up, they start making their own corpses (by killing people).
Have I mentioned the cast? It stars Simon Pegg (of the brilliant Shaun of the Dead) and Andy Serkis (Gollum!) as Burke and Hare, and the cast includes an impressive roster of British actors. Bill Bailey, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Curry, Hugh Bonneville, Ronnie Corbett, Jenny Agutter and Stephen Merchant among others. Oh, and a few cameos I won't spoil.
With that cast, it's bound to be funny, and it is. But it also looks amazing. It's beautifully filmed and designed, with gorgeous sets and great costumes. There's also a bit of a romance for Burke (Pegg) with Isla Fisher, playing an actress. It's not perfect ... but it is charming and funny, and lovely to look at and clearly, for Landis, a labor of love.
