Customer Reviews

Chaos & Cadavers

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Overall, this is an enjoyable if (mostly) predictable, understated British comedy. Edward (Nick Moran) and his "lonely hearts" bride Samantha (Keeley Hawes) are a newlywed couple unwittingly staying at a hotel with an undertakers' convention. It's a setup to a comedy punchline, but there are some fun surprises as, to be expected, the wedded couple has not been entirely forthcoming with one another. The plot is pretty simple, with one one surprise at a time, but the acting is good and it's a funny movie most of the time.

A mousey fellow and a golddigger go on their honeymoon and discover that a convention of morticians are in the same hotel, which is disturbing, particularly since he is a thanatophobic. The jokes are hit and miss, though there are some very good ones and others that fail, but it's a pleasant comedy overall. There are some morbid, if not grotesque, scenes as is to be expected with morticians. The ending is predictable and I wouldn't be spoiling it by saying that the couple reconcile after they initially split up, though why would anyone want to go back to that woman is beyond me.

I love Brit comedies, especially the dark comedies. There's just something about them that's just so incredibly funny. Unfortunately there's some of them that just aren't as good as the others.

Chaos & Cadavers follows two young newlyweds who go to a lovely secluded hotel for their honeymoon, only to discover that the hotel is also being occupied by an undertaker convention. Desperate to make the best of it, they attempt to go through their honeymoon. However when the groom has a strong fear of death, one of the undertakers has just died & the bride has secrets of her own, trying to relax isn't going to be very easy.

Generally, this was a very cute film. It is just that there are too many parts of the film that just lag. The characters are nice enough & I *loved* Rik Mayall in this film. I wish there'd been a bit more of him in the film- the parts with him were easily some of the best parts of the film.

The idea of the film is nice, the acting is fine & the location is great. It's just that the film didn't live up to expectations. It's worth watching once & renting- especially for Mayall's role, but it isn't really something that I'd want to purchase & own.

If that thought brings up a dark chuckle, "Chaos and Cadavers" might just give you a few good laughs. The story briefly is that Edward and Samantha Taggart (Nick Moran and Keeley Hawes) are honeymooners just looking for a quiet place to spend a bit of time together. Unfortunately, they choose a hotel where there's a convention going on--at first they believe the black coated men are magicians, but it turns out they're funeral directors.

This brings Edward to confess that he's thanatophobic. Samantha wisely withholds her confession.

Meanwhile, one of the funeral directors precipitates the death of Mr. Resurrection (John Bennett) and his two proteges try to cover it up.

If you're a fan of very dark comedy and death, you'll probably enjoy this film. It's not the strongest Brit comedy I have ever seen but it is good for a few laughs and if you're not too picky, you'll have some fun with it. Might best be mixed with a few good friends some beer and crisps.

Rebecca Kyle, September 2009

I was hoping that the movie would be along the same lines as Faulty Towers. It was not close.