Trailer

Mercifully, I had a fun diversion to avoid Valentine’s nonsense last night. One of the first films to sell out in the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival was I Sell The Dead, a comic horror flick that is the debut feature from writer/director/editor Glenn McQuaid.

It’s not a genre I’m familiar with, at all, so I wouldn’t dream of claiming that this is an informed review. I’m just so impressed that a low-budget first feature could (a) look so darkly atmospheric and haunting (b) poke fun at itself with such gleeful mischievous charm and (c) lightly bring in elements of Gilliam-like surrealism and not flog them to death.

Some really playful performances abound, Eileen Colgan is a delight, Ron Perlman’s lugubrious presence dominates the screen, and the zany double-act of Dominic Monaghan and Larry Fessenden (who also produced the film) is at its gory core. But what’s most evident is the confident playfulness of Dubliner McQuaid, who secured funding on the basis of his script alone, which is always an inspiration.