The producing team of Baker and Berman had a big success with Jack the Ripper so it's not surprising they raided gory English history again - in this case, the inspirational tale of grave robbers Burke and Hare. They ponied up for a decent cast too: Peter Cushing as the doctor, Donald Pleasance as Hare, Dermot Walsh as a doctor and Billie Whitelaw as a prostitute.
I enjoyed this a lot - the acting is very good, there's an interesting subplot about a medical student who marries a prostitute (both are killed by the body snatchers), the ending is cynical and effective (with Cushing getting away with it), there's some interesting deaths (by vigilantes, by fire, in a pig pen), it feels reasonably historically accurate (by the standards of the day), there's some surprise nudity (I must have seen the "continental" version), John Gilling's direction is effective.
It is in black and white rather than colour and isn't a classic but is really solid horror. If it had the Hammer stamp on it, it would have been a lot better known.
No comments:
Post a Comment