(2005, 13 mins, color, 16mm, dr Glenn McQuaid)

Forced into the "trade" by circumstance, Arthur (Daniel Manche) must prove himself capable of the gritty and disturbing task of stealing the dead. Willie (Larry Fessenden), a hardened Resurrection Man, shows Arthur the ropes while deciding whether or not the boy is worth more to him alive or dead. The Resurrection Apprentice is an atmospheric short in the tradition of the period pot boilers of Terence Fisher an Roger Corman.

Larry Fessneden plays the resurrection man Willie. Daniel Manche as the young apprentice Arthur Blake, "Glenn McQuaid has worked as a title designer and visual effects supervisor on a number of films (including Larry Fessenden's The Winter and Ti West's The Roost) but The Resurrection Apprentice marks his directorial debut. In this superbly constructed, atmospheric short, young Arthur Blake is forced to enter the sordid world of grave robbing in order to help feed his family. He's taken under the wing of veteran grave plunderer Willy (Fessenden) who imparts upon him all the tricks of the trade. Thanks to Mai Iskander's glorious cinematography, an ordinary New Jersey Park is magically transformed into a mystical, fog drenched London cemetery. But without question, it's Fessenden who steals the show here. Not since Dick Van Dyke first professed his unnatural love for cleaning up creosote have we seen such grand-scale cartoon-cockney scenery chewing. Truly magnificent stuff!" -- Stuart Andrews, Rue Morgue