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The Flesh and the Fiends

The Flesh and the Fiends

Horror · 1960

Edinburgh surgeon Dr. Robert Knox requires cadavers for his research into the functioning of the human body; local ne'er-do-wells Burke and Hare find ways to provide him with fresh specimens...

Movie details

The Flesh and the Fiends

“Coffins Looted! Cadavers Dissected!”

1960 Horror 1h 34m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

Edinburgh surgeon Dr. Robert Knox requires cadavers for his research into the functioning of the human body; local ne'er-do-wells Burke and Hare find ways to provide him with fresh specimens...

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Flesh and the Fiends?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Gilling

Written by

John Gilling · Leon Griffiths

Peter Cushing

Peter Cushing

Dr. Robert Knox

Donald Pleasence

Donald Pleasence

William Hare

George Rose

George Rose

William Burke

June Laverick

June Laverick

Martha Knox

Renée Houston

Renée Houston

Helen Burke

Dermot Walsh

Dermot Walsh

Dr. Geoffrey Mitchell

Billie Whitelaw

Billie Whitelaw

Mary Patterson

Court is in session

Put The Flesh and the Fiends on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.