Based on true story, William Burke and William Hare are two greedy graveyard thieves who need money for their money. Their luck got better when they were asked to provide cadavers to the medical eternity in Edinburgh in which Dr. Knox wants these cadavers for his lectures.
Burke And Hare is a damning return for Ealing. It's self conscious and off putting cameos ruin the film. Full of misjudged humour, mixing immature humour with overly mature gore makes this one not funny in the slightest.
To call it a black comedy is probably misleading: It's grey at best, and apart from a few scattered chuckles, it dies as quickly and gracelessly as Burke and Hare's victims.
A misfire to be sure, Burke & Hare's comedic timing feels one step off, resulting in a film with solid performances and an amusing story, but not many laughs and not much replay value.
All of the actors are enjoying themselves, and the movie is stuffed with history, atmosphere and vivid characters. What's in short supply, though, is laughter.
Landis, the master comic talent behind Animal House and An American Werewolf in London, falters with this rusty comeback, his first feature since 1998.
Rarely has the ratio of quality talent to dismal returns been as high as in "Burke & Hare,'' a macabre British period piece that's nowhere near as funny as it thinks.
