BURKE & HARE

Burke and Hare is a retelling of the real-life story of infamous murderers William Burke (Andy Serkis) and William Hare (Simon Pegg). Burke and Hare are, purportedly, run of the mill crooks until they happen upon a better business venture: selling cadavers to surgeon and medical professor, Dr Robert Knox (Tom Wilson). Of course, the freshly dead aren’t in plentiful enough supply to keep Burke and Hare cashed up, so they take to killing people to sell. Gruesomeness ensues. Director John Landis has shaped the story of Burke and Hare as a macabre comedy. The problem is, it’s just not very funny. Combine that with superfluous plot line featuring Isla Fischer and an all-female version of MacBeth and Burke and Hare becomes cringe-worthy and tedious. (LH) **