While his brutal love letter to the English folk tale An American Werewolf in London nears its 30th anniversary John Landis is preparing a similarly gruesome tale to tell, and tonight we’ve learned from Bloody Disgusting that outgoing Doctor Who David Tennant is joining Hollywood’s favourite Brit Simon Pegg in Burke and Hare.
Telling the nefarious narrative of the eponymous duo sounds right up Landis’ dark alley. Taking advantage of the booming anatomy business the pair conspired and murdered seventeen people and kept the medical colleges of Edinburgh stocked with fresh corpses. It should come as no surprise to be told that this will be the darkest of black comedies.
If this isn’t enough to raise a grim smile then the fact that this film will be produced by the historic Ealing studios, home to The Ladykillers, Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Man in the White Suit. Tennant himself has just finished filming the St. Trinians sequel, also produced by Ealing, and I’m hoping that this new film will give Tennant the chance to outgrow his Timelord mantle and dabble with something a little darker.
Not the first time Burke and Hare has reached the silver screen, this adaptation looks certain to send the blood racing when it is released, we’ll keep our ears to the (recently disturbed) ground and serve it up to you, fresh.
