Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- macabre
- irreverent
- witty
- black comedy night
- halloween viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film an amiable but creaky black comedy whose talented cast and director were underserved by timid scares and flat-footed humor.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Burke and Hare profit from killing victims and selling their corpses while the film frames their criminal enterprise through comic absurdity.
The protagonists supply cadavers to Edinburgh's medical fraternity because scientific learning creates demand for bodies.
William Burke and William Hare are presented as incompetent, opportunistic murderers rather than conventionally imposing criminals.
Nineteenth-century Edinburgh's reputation as a center of medical learning is paired with graveyards, autopsies, and serial murder.
Films like Burke & Hare, and why
A Field in England
darkly comic treatment of notorious criminals, macabre subject matter, and irreverent period humor
Sightseers
black comedy built around murder, grotesque social satire, and morally compromised protagonists
The Ladykillers
period black humor, eccentric criminal characters, and stylized treatment of grisly violence
Kind Hearts and Coronets
comic crime narrative with deadpan absurdity and an ensemble of ethically dubious characters
Movie Details
- Director
- John Landis
- Release Date
- 2010-10-29
- Runtime
- 91 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (530)
Cast
- Simon Pegg
- Andy Serkis
- Isla Fisher
- Georgia King
- Tom Wilkinson
- Tim Curry
- Christopher Lee
- Jessica Hynes
- Bill Bailey
- Stephen Merchant
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now
- Rent
- Amazon Video
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Burke & Hare about?
- Two cash-strapped Edinburgh opportunists turn murder and corpse-selling into a grotesque, darkly comic business.
- What is Burke & Hare like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Burke & Hare as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Burke & Hare violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Burke & Hare as graphic.
- What did critics think of Burke & Hare?
- Critics broadly found the film an amiable but creaky black comedy whose talented cast and director were underserved by timid scares and flat-footed humor.
- Which films are like Burke & Hare?
- Films with a similar feel include A Field in England, Sightseers, The Ladykillers, and Kind Hearts and Coronets.
- How long is Burke & Hare?
- Burke & Hare runs 91 minutes.
- Where can I watch Burke & Hare?
- In United States, Burke & Hare streams on Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now.
