Consuming Passions (1988)

On the first day of his new job at a chocolate candy factory, an administrative assistant (Tyler Butterworth) accidentally causes the death of three employees when they fall into a huge vat of chocolate. Their bodies are absorbed into the chocolate candy but before the horrified owners can prevent it, the boxes of chocolates are sent out to a small coastal town where they cause a sensation. People love it! They try and replicate the recipe with dead animals but the candy tastes awful! So they decide to pay a hospital for dead bodies to surreptitiously add to their chocolate recipe. Based on the play SECRETS by Michael Palin and Terry Jones and directed by Giles Foster (NORTHANGER ABBEY). This black comedy has a deliciously outrageous premise that never lives up to its potential and remains a one joke comedy that soon wears out its welcome. The film holds back when it should push boundaries. The film's bright spot is a hilarious performance by Vanessa Redgrave channeling Melina Mercouri as a Maltese nymphomaniac widow. She's marvelously over the top and the movie could have used more of that kind of energy. The score by Richard Hartley is a homage to Bernard Herrmann. With Jonathan Pryce, Sammi Davis, Freddie Jones, Thora Hird and Prunella Scales.