The Flesh and the Fiends (1960)

In the shadowed corners of 1828 Edinburgh, Scotland, an uneasy dance between life and death ensues. Dr. Robert Knox, a revered professor at the university, finds himself ensnared in the dark underbelly of the city. Revered by his students, admired by his ward and niece Martha, but also held in contempt by his less capable colleagues, Knox is a man of contradictions. His need for knowledge is insatiable, leading him down a path where grave robbers provide him with fresh corpses for his groundbreaking research. Among his many disciples is Chris Jackson, a young medical student who stumbles upon a dangerous liaison with Mary Patterson, a barmaid he meets while settling the university's debts with the body snatchers. As their lives intertwine, the sinister partnership of William Hare and William Burke emerges from Edinburgh's murky depths. Killing lodgers at Burke's house, they supply Knox with bodies in exchange for money, treading a twisted path between murder and medicine. However, not all eyes are blind to their macabre dealings. Dr. Geoffrey Mitchell, one of Dr. Knox's colleagues, becomes suspicious of the surge of corpses. As the veil of mystery slowly lifts, the stakes rise when Hare, in a fit of passion, murders Mary. Chris stumbles upon her lifeless body in the lecture room, only to meet his own tragic end at the hands of the body snatchers himself. As their gruesome scheme begins to unravel, the city is gripped by fear and revulsion, leading to the inevitable arrest of Burke and Hare. Yet, the echoes of their deeds linger, forcing Dr. Knox to confront the chilling repercussions of his own involvement in their atrocious scheme. Thus, "The Flesh and the Fiends" weaves a tale of morbid curiosity and deadly ambition, blurring the line between science and savagery.

The Flesh and the Fiends is a horror movie featuring Peter Cushing.

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