Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2012

A pair of Irish con men in 1828 Edinburgh (Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis) discovers a lucrative untapped market in fresh corpses for study by a pair of eminent doctors (Tom Wilkinson and Tim Curry). But with natural deaths difficult to happen upon and the graveyards closely watched, they, well, turn to serial corpse-creation. Director John Landis (remember him?) relies on a tone of wry amusement and a bit of well-done slapstick to make this (partly true) story funny, with mixed results. I laughed some, but more often didn’t. Sweeny Todd this ain’t. Packed with bit parts that mostly Brits will recognize.