I am not usually drawn to the horror genre as far as movies go. I think real life is scary enough without the added bonus of having violent monster dreams.

The exception for me is the horror/comedy. I adore Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland. Those zombies scare me a little less because the quippy gems coming from the main characters ease the blood and gore splashing across the screen. So when I saw a film in our New Release section titled I Sell the Dead, I became instantly intrigued.

The film stars Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings, Lost) as Arthur Blake, a criminal sentenced to death for corpse snatching. He tells the tale of how he got into his particular line of work to a gruff priest name Father Duffy, played by Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy), who is there to document Arthur’s final words.

Arthur’s partner in crime is Willie Grimes (Larry Fessenden, who also produced), a well weathered thief who shows young Arthur the ins and outs of dealing with the dead. Their relationship is amusing and by the end of the film, out right hilarious. No spoilers, but they definitely go to great lengths to defend each other.

Soon the pair find that the real money is in becoming “ghouls”. The difference between a grave robber and a ghoul is that a ghoul will steal anything. Dead or….undead. Their new job means handling all manner of unusual things. It also means dealing with the rival House of Murphy. A collection of freaky ghouls who don’t care for the new competition in the graveyard.

The writer/director Glenn McQuaid first had this story as a short film in 2005, but gained enough attention to make a feature. He does a phenomenal job of capturing the 19th century, Gothic horror look and feel to the film. Misty graveyards, perfect costumes and props, and great actors to embody his creepy characters. I like that the production value was not over the top. The use of lighting really helped tell a tale that took place mostly in dark cemeteries. I felt he spent most of his energy on character, story and the creatures,  which made every little effect pop that much more

As an added bonus to the DVD, there is also the graphic novel of the film included with the disc (McQuaid had many comic book scenes in the movie that just made it cooler) and a great behind the scenes documentary that shows all the fun stuff that comes with making a film.

All in all, I really enjoyed this movie. If you like old school horror, then you will enjoy this movie.

To quote Arthur, “Never trust a corpse.”

Dig it man.

Is it Tuesday again already? It would appear that it is, and that means new releases are out today! Let’s take a look and see what’s hitting the shelves today…

Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt star in Five Minutes Of Heaven, a drama based on the murder of a young Catholic man by a young Protestant man in 1975 Ireland during the fighting between British loyalists and the IRA. The killer has done his time in prison and emerged a changed man, while the brother of his victim has dreamed only of revenge. Now, a TV crew has arranged a meeting between the two for an attempt at reconciliation.

In It’s Complicated, Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin have been divorced for ten years but remain friendly. Into their already busy lives, complete with a smitten romantic interest and a new spouse respectively, they’ve somehow managed to rekindle the flame they once had. Comic romance ensues!

Finally, the much talked about Terry Gilliam flick The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus, starring Heath Ledger (in his final role), Johnny Depp, Jude  Law and Colin Farrell as the mysterious Tony and Christopher Plummer as Doctor Parnassus, the proprietor of a traveling show. Turns out the good Doctor had, many years before, made a deal with Mr. Nick and payment is almost due… If Terry Gilliam’s other work is any clue, Imaginarium promises to be a wild ride indeed.

We also still have new copies of Pirate Radio, One Peace At A Time, The Lovely Bones, The Young Victoria and Peacock, too!

Come in and see us.

It’s Tuesday and that means new releases. Today we have the Peter Jackson thriller The Lovely Bones (which I’m told has a stand-out performance from Stanely Tucci, one of my favorite actors); the 19th century period drama The Young Victoria with Emily Blunt as the young Queen Victoria and more of my favorite actors: Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent and Miranda Richardson, who played a different Queen in the Black Adder series. Finally we have the mystery/drama Peacock with Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page and Susan Sarandon. We also still have a few copies of Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Sherlock Holmes and The Blind Side.

And now for some news. We’re always looking for ways to better serve you, and with that in mind we’re happy to unveil our online shop. That’s right, just up there on the navigation bar, you’ll find a tab labeled “Shop Online” where you can do just that. You can browse our many thousands of DVD, Blu-Ray and video game titles and buy them from the comfort of your home. We’ll ship them straight to you lickety-split. Like, fast. Check it out and let us know what you think.