the flesh and the fiend and also know a mania and be one of those pleasant surprise . it be a very good film with excellent act and a thorough and think provoke script and suspenseful direction and and quite a jarring and almost twist or pervert mood . i be genuinely surprised just how good this film be and because i have hear so little about it . but i can honestly say that i find it a highly enjoyable and disturbing and horrific film . where to begin . let start first with the story . the story cover old ground here ( the body snatcher with boris karloff for instance precurses this ) about those two infamous body snatcher of scotland burke and hare and the doctor who need dead body to help find cure for the sick dr. knox . this film be pretty faithful to those story . what really help this come alive be three characterization do by three highly gifted actor represent peter cushing and donald pleasance and and george rise . rise play burke and pleasance play hare and i do not think i have see two men play such vile and degenerate men as well a these two do . they both ooze oil and shed scale with their portrayal of heartless and cold and ignorant men who do not want to work and find that there be easy money in grave robbing . soon they find it be even easy to just kill then dig up body ( in fact they do not dig up one body in this film ) . rise be snaggle toothed and have a real weird twitch laugh . he be just plain repulsive and this be one of his fine characterization in film . the same can be say for pleasance who also play a bad man with such conviction . both he and rise fit like glove together . but as good a these two be and the real star of the film be that wonderful and under appreciated british screen stalwart peter cushing and who make cold stoicism seem so easy . cushing play dr. knox a a heartless man only concerned with science and who never really want to think about where these body that he pay for come from . cushing play the role to the hilt in several scene . my favorite be where he argue with colleague about their medical shortcoming and say and incline your head to the right gentleman . there you will find the door . i suggest you use it . i love his ability to be so arrogant and yet so witty and convincing . cushing even go through some kind of a catharsis in this film which he do a only he can . director john gilling and a great hammer film director and show u why he be to make such good film a plague of the zombie . he be very sure behind the lens and know how to pace and create suspenseful scene . mania be a very good film that and despite it above average acting and directing and should make you think a bit about several philosophical or moral or ethical question . question that may have change shape today but still exist in some form .