
In the nineteenth century, the renowned professor of anatomy Dr. Thomas Rock gives classes to neophyte medicine students at the local university. Dr. Rock uses his assistant Dr. Murray to buy corpses for his experiments from body snatchers paying a little fortune for the cadavers. When the alcoholic scum Robert Fallon and Timothy Broom overhear the conversation of grave-robbers about Dr. Rock, they decide to supply fresher corpses that are worth more to the doctor, killing th... (Full plot summary below)
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In the nineteenth century, the renowned professor of anatomy Dr. Thomas Rock gives classes to neophyte medicine students at the local university. Dr. Rock uses his assistant Dr. Murray to buy corpses for his experiments from body snatchers paying a little fortune for the cadavers. When the alcoholic scum Robert Fallon and Timothy Broom overhear the conversation of grave-robbers about Dr. Rock, they decide to supply fresher corpses that are worth more to the doctor, killing the poor inhabitants. Dr. Murray has unrequited feelings for the cockney whore Jennie Bailey that usually hangs around with the prostitute Alice. When Dr. Murray discovers that Fallon has just sold the corpse of Alice, he seeks out the worthless Fallon and Broom to stop them from murdering Jennie. Will he arrive in time to save Jennie?
Leave your thoughts about The Doctor and the Devils.
| Aisle SeatMike McGranaghanFeels as though the plot could do even more with its material. |
| TheBluFile.comDustin PutmanA dull, uninspiredalbeit aesthetically handsomeexperience. |
| DVDJournal.comMark Bourne...bloated, lifeless, and toe-tagged. D.O.A. |
| User ReviewCurtis MReally good Body-snatching film. The corpse kind, where thugs steal dead bodies and sell them to medical schools, not the alien kind. Pain in the ass to find, but worth it. |
| User ReviewCJ CNice old-style look and feel, very realistic. |
| User ReviewJ.P. WThe highlight of this film is the tremendous acting, with the rare quality of its entire cast being uniformly good (there isn't a weak one in the bunch). Jonathan Pryce is the stand-out as he gives an emotionally-riveting performance as the murderous Fallon, though Stephen Rea is quite effective as well as his accomplice Bloom. Add in a rich atmosphere and a haunting musical score and you have a rather captivating film. Admittedly, it's substance is rather shallow as the screenplay doesn't fully explore its characters enough, and the direction by Freddie Francis is rather flat despite good production design, but this is one case when the acting elevates the film above its muddled material. Recommended to fans of period dramas, gothic atmosphere, or good old fashion horror tales. |
| User ReviewDano: The Preposterous BardA little known gothic tale that borrows aspects of noir and musical cinema and 80fies it into a morality tale. Great performances in paticular by Dalton, and Pryce. Twiggys little musical number is out of place but light hearted enough to intensify her danger later. Some genuinely creepy and disturbing scenes...but nothing to turn the lights on for. |
| User ReviewDena SA true story but sadly a one time watch for me |
| User ReviewOrlok WAn Intriguing Fictionalization Of Burke & Hare--Well done Gothic horror!! |
| User ReviewScott CNice retelling of the Burke and Hare murder case, which was about 2 low-life lads in the early part of the 19th century selling off bodies to an all too eager Doctor Of Anatomy. They started off grave robbing, but realized they could get more money if they had fresher bodies.... Actually, this seems more of a remake of the excellent "The Flesh And The Fiends " movie from 1960.., Theyve made the right move by trimming the plot and getting rid of some characters, perhaps they put more of a cliff hanger ending in there, but that's ok. Of course, Timothy Dalton is no Peter Cushing, but we'll let that slidw. Actually contains a great cast for it's time. |