18th century justice has finally caught up to grave robbers Arthur Blake and Willie Grimes. With the specter of the guillotine looming over him, young Blake confides in visiting clergyman Father Duffy, recounting fifteen years of adventure in the resurrection trade. His tale leads from humble beginnings as a young boy stealing trinkets from corpses, to a partnership with seasoned ghoul Willie Grimes as they hunt creatures unwilling to accept their place in the ground. The colorful and peculiar history of Grimes and Blake is one filled with adventure, horror, and vicious rivalries that threaten to put all involved in the very graves they’re trying to pilfer.

Bloody Disgusting: You are part of the Scareflix team, did the film develop within that group or was this something you brought to them?

Glenn McQuaid: It was based on a short film I did six years, which I wrote and directed, called The Resurrection Apprentice. And I met Larry Fessenden and asked him to be on the project. He didn’t produce it, he just the lead actor on it. And that was the start of my collaborations with Larry, as a director to his acting. I also performed visual effects for Ti West on his film the Roost, and some of the other guys, like James McKenney, the whole Glass Eye troupe of filmmakers. And I was just sort of helping them out, either with visual effects or title sequences. But I just always wanted to get a feature film off the ground, especially through Glass Eye because I think Larry just brings out something special in the filmmakers he works with. So I basically just twisted Larry’s arm and made him produce the movie.

BD: And the whole movie was shot in New York?

GM: I shot it mostly… I’d say half of it in Staten Island. Then we also shot out in Brooklyn, Long Island, and the East Village, in a pub that a friend of mine owns. So we got in there to film for our old tavern. And then the Angus Scrimm stuff in front of the greenscreen, that was shot in Los Angeles.

BD: You mentioned Angus… this has got a really great cast of guys you don’t often see in such large roles backed up by these genre icons. Like Larry, outside of [his own film] Habit I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a movie for more than a few minutes. How’d you assemble them?

GM: I just thought it would be really fuckin cool to work with Angus! I love Phantasm, I had the pleasure of having dinner with him and Don Coscarelli last night, such a great guy. It was a pleasure to work with him. And then Larry and I worked with Ron Perlman on The Last Winter, so we twisted Ron’s arm (laughs). And then Peter Phok, our producer, was adamant that we at least get the script over to Dominic [Monaghan]. Dom loved what he read and jumped on board. And this is not a big budget movie, but Ron and Dom were troopers, no ego about them at all. Ron was literally sleeping on the floor in the corner of the room; not the trailers that he’s used to.

BD: You said last night at the screening that Ron had to go off and make Hellboy 2, so you must have shot at least part of this a while ago…

GM: Yeah, I couldn’t tell you the start date, but we had a six-month break in filming. It killed me! But in retrospect it was probably good, I think the stuff we shot in the second round is better filmmaking. It was good to sit back and see what I had and live with it for a while, and then jump back in. But at the time… I wouldn’t want to make a film that way again, with a long break in between. Because you’re trying to edit but you don’t have everything, and you’re not really sure what you have. It was an interesting way of working, you know? But I didn’t want to recast Ron when we lost him to Hellboy: I just felt that there was something really cool about having Dominic and Ron, they’re so opposite but they worked together so well.

BD: Ron was a lot funnier than I am used to. Obviously in Hellboy he’s got a few one liners but here he’s just a lot looser and light than he normally gets to be.

GM: Yeah he’s pretty broad. He read the script and joked about coming in and just… (laughs) well, in one email he said “Make sure the sets are made of chocolate”, because he was going to be taking large chunks out of it with his scenery chewing. He’s a great actor; he came in and knew his lines, and was great to collaborate with. And these guys just stepped off the sets with my heroes, you know? Dom with Peter Jackson, Ron with Guillermo… so for them to come in and listen to what I had to say… it was pretty cool to get that talent.

BD: And now there’s going to be a comic adaptation?

GM: Yeah, coming out in August. One of the first things I did when I had a draft of the script that I was happy with was to adapt it into a comic. And we kept it in sketch form for quite a while. I think it went a long way in snagging Dom for the role, because we sent him the comic along with the script, so he had a visual to see the world and the tone I was trying to create. So now we’re doing the lettering and coloring, and it will be out from Image in August. It’s pretty cool, it’s an adaptation from a slightly earlier draft of the script, so there are some slight changes that will make it a little more interesting to those who have already seen the film, to catch these little differences. Very cool. The artist is Brahm Revel, he did the Wendigo comic for Larry’s film. A great experience.

BD: Is it a one-shot, a mini series?

GM: The one in August is a one-shot, it’s a straight adaptation of the film. But I’ve written… I hesitate to call it a sequel, but I’ve written what I’m calling “The Further Adventures Of Grimes And Blake”, and I’m going to start collaborating with Brahm on that in about two months, and we’re going to go straight into a mini-series. It’s more of a three act structure to the world, and centered around Grimes and Blake and this one big undead heist that they have to pull off. I feel I Sell The Dead could be a primer to a bigger world for those guys to exist in.

BD: The art we see in the film, is that the same artist?

GM: Brahm, yeah. That’s all him, and the end credits background is him as well. Still to this day my favorite comics are EC, Suspense Stories, Tales From The Crypt…. I love Johnny Crave’s artwork. Also when Brahm first made the comic I kind of realized it was possible to make the movie. I was like “OK, it is possible to tell this ludicrous story”.

BD: The film definitely felt like it would lend itself nicely to a monthly comic series, that part with the alien, for example, was a great standalone adventure.

GM: Well, that was what I was trying to do. I love anthology flicks. I love Creepshow, and back to the Amicus flicks: Asylum, The House That Dripped Blood… I love that you’re getting several stories. In fact, a very very early draft of I Sell The Dead had different protagonists. It was Willie sitting around telling different stories.

BD: Did you storyboard as well, or just go by the comic you already had.

GM: I storyboarded a fair amount, very sketchy stuff. And I did animatics too, the vampire scene for example. I went into production armed, but I didn’t always necessarily follow what I thought I was going to do. I felt comfortable, being prepared as possible is a good thing as long as I’m not too precious about what it is I thought I HAD to get, because sometimes, you know, you can’t get it! (laughs).

BD: Did your storyboards ever include a shot of Valentine’s face?

GM: (Laughs) No… I figured, fuck it. The reactions are what’s important, you know? That was fun, it was shot in a very hot sunny beach. And everyone was sweating, and that poor guy, James Godwin, the zombie…. there’s a very funny behind the scenes shot of him sitting there with the full zombie makeup, sitting with a bright orange umbrella and a Coke, trying to stay cool.

BD: Obviously you’re on the festival circuit now, how long is that going for? When is the official release?

GM: Been on the festival circuit for almost a year, we started in Sitges last year. So this is almost the end, we’re playing at Fantasia as well. I premiered my short film there five years ago, so it’s cool to go back with a feature. And the vibe up there is absolutely brilliant, I love Montreal. That will be exciting. And then IFC bought the movie for domestic, and Anchor Bay for the UK and Australia. So the plan is a limited theatrical and on VOD for August 14th.

BD: Did you already put together a DVD?

GM: Yeah, we put together a making of, and I managed to get Dom and Larry to do a commentary together, they did that a few days ago. I’m going to do one too, and then Peter Phok did an FX making of. And we filmed the Q&A on Wednesday night, that will be on there. It was a bit of reunion, everyone was there on stage together.

BD: And then what’s next for you? More with the Glass Eye guys?

GM: Yeah, I helped Ti West out with House Of The Devil. Whatever those guys need I’m always there for them. And I’m also trying to get a project off the ground in Ireland. Just writing… trying to make sure I make the right move for the next project. Showing the movie to an audience has been great, and it’s pretty obvious to me which parts of the movie work well, and I’m trying to step off from there onto the next project. I love horror, but it’s been inspiring to hear the belly laughs I’m hearing at screenings of this movie. So I don’t want to repeat myself, but I definitely want to do something that’s macabre but also humorous.

BD: Something else where you can kill bunnies for a laugh.

GM: Yeah! I hate rabbits, man. When I was a kid I lived in Dublin, and this little girl lived across the street from me and she came over to tell me her pet rabbit had had babies. So we ran over to see the babies, and the fucking thing had eaten its children! It was covered in blood! We were fucking freaked; I was freaked out for years, never got over it.

BD: Well that’s why you become a filmmaker, to work that shit out!

GM: Exactly. For the whole world to see! (laughs).

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