Dead & Buried is a 1981 American horror film directed by Gary Sherman, with a screenplay written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett (writers of Alien). The movie was initially banned as a “video nasty” in the UK.
Potters Bluff Rhode Island may seem to be a sleepy little town. At least for the casual visitor and the local sheriff Daniel Gillis. However all of a sudden there are a lot of strange murders where strangers or people passing through are killed by mobs of townspeople. Only Sheriff Gillis has no clue to what's going on.
Fortunately the town has an excellent undertaker, William G Dobbs, who is happy to take care of this sudden death wave which is good for his business. Gillis soon discovers clues that lead to many of the local inhabitants involved in the killings including his own wife Janet…
From the Cinema Cult series.
- Nominated for Saturn Award, Best Horror Film
Dead & Buried Movie Reviews
“Altogether this 1981 horror flick plays out kind of like a Stephen King story, small little New England town, really strange shit going on that most of the townsfolk is involved in, it just felt like King’s work. The movie can get a little slow at times, but there are only a few scenes where this happens, and it doesn’t take too long to pick back up. For the most part, the movie is very suspenseful and mysterious. I remember when it came out, it was widely talked about for a few of its more disturbing scenes, in my circle of horror buffs it was referred to as “that movie with the huge needle in the eyeball.” To the movie’s credit, the screenplay was written by Dan O’Bannon, the genius who brought us great movies like Alien, the B-17 story in Heavy Metal, Return of the Living Dead, Lifeforce, Total Recall, Alien3, Screamers, Alien Resurrection, and the upcoming Alien vs. Predator. So this dude’s got a pretty impressive resumé. Add EFX by Stan Winston who’s done makeup EFX on Terminator 2 and 3, Edward Scissorhands, among others and you’ve got a pretty damn good horror flick! Only the aforementioned glimpse of some damn fine breastesses as far as nudity, and the gore quota is filled with a guy burned to a crackly crunch, the (shudder) needle scene, a torn off arm, fisherman hack –n- slash, a boulder to the head facial remodel, followed by an awesome mortuary facial reconstruction, a nasal administering of hydrochloric acid, and a disembodied heart. The ending is pretty predictable, but the filmmakers throw in a few little twists and turns so there are some pretty good surprises you won't see coming and you don’t completely figure out the ending. This makes it more than a worth while watch. You’ll usually see this one classified as a zombie movie more often than not, and I’ll submit it as such, but the “monsters” aren’t zombies per se, that is, they're not the Romero'esqe or Fulci type rotting corpse zombies we all know and love, but they are the living dead nonetheless.” HorrorWatch.com
“While this may not be the seminal horror film of the 1980s, it's a creepy little chiller that gets the job done. It's always nice to find a hidden gem, and Dead & Buried is most surely that.” DVD Verdict
“Dead and Buried was directed by Gary Sherman and is a real treat. The script was courtesy of Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett (Alien) and it is a clever piece of writing – with a sublime sense of humor and plenty of great twists…The cost for Dead and Buried was $6 million, pricey for a horror project. Among its many assets are a great score by Joe Renzetti, and startling make-up effects by Stan Winston..James Farentino leads a wonderful cast and is terrific as the naive sheriff. He is completely believable all the way through. Jack Albertson gives a virtuoso performance as Dobbs. It was to be the last film role for the actor who had found great success in the 70s on television's Chico and the Man. The great 1940s period music that constantly blares from his mortician character's radio – takes on an ominous tone throughout the film. Dead and Buried has one scene alone that can freak you out more than any other. The "gasoline photo shoot” sequence is truly bizarre and frightening, certainly successful in every regard. The whole movie itself rides on that surreal vibe, the plot gliding in and out of creepy moments and wholesome smalltown security. The result is a truly unique horror film." TerrorTrap.com