An infamous 1827-1828 Edinburgh murder spree, during which two Irish grave robbers and serial killers provided fresh cadavers to a medical school, has been the source of a well-regarded Robert Louis Stevenson novella, a creepy Val Lewton "B" picture (the 1945 The Body Snatcher), and this mediocre Monty Python-style black comedy. Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis are only faintly humorous as the titular team of assassins, Burke and Hare. Filmmaker John Landis, the master comic talent behind Animal House and An American Werewolf in London, falters with this rusty comeback, his first feature since 1998. Still, there are a few funny, anarchic moments, e.g., the comedy duo posing as VIPs to get into a fashionable tavern: "We're on the guest list. William Wordsworth plus one."
