Dead & Buried (1981)

I love this movie so much

Admirable film.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Stupid overacting cop…if not for him I would've rated this higher. Here's a movie title I only saw as a kid in horror section of the VHS rental places. The poster/cover art has stuck with me my whole life and wow…this was 10x better than I thought it would be.For starters, within the first 5 minutes or so, I had my literal first jump fright in so many years. I didn't see it coming and it truly set the tone for the rest of the film. Well done.Basically, random strangers become random corpses in a small beach town and Sheriff Overactor, who apparently never got around to hiring a deputy, is attempting to investigate as the bodies pile up. I'd hate to give any more away as the surprises (well, one not so much, saw that reveal one-third in) are some of what made this movie a very good entry in the 1980s horror collection. Just sorry it took me this long to finally see it.And you, too, should see it…before you're dead & buried yourself.

Oh my God, this was so nearly a perfect horror film... So what went wrong?This starts off brilliantly with the titles which give the audience the feel of a classy and elegant movie. This is a bold move for a horror but the director, Gary Sherman knew exactly what he was doing. Sherman continues this ambiance into the opening scene of a photographer snapping piccies of driftwood and fishing tackle. He is joined on the beach by the beautiful Lisa (played by Lisa Blount) and after a few flirtations she removes her blouse and asks if she could be a model. As the photographer closes in for a romantic clinch...This is when all hell breaks loose... I cannot say anything else otherwise "Spoilers" - and we don't like them do we.The opening sequence does a fantastic job of drawing in the viewer in and making them wonder just what the hell is going on in the little seaside village of Potter's Bluff. It's up to Sheriff Dan Gillis (strongly portrayed by James Farentino) to solve the murders and the mysteries behind them. Coroner William G Dobbs (splendidly played by Jack Albertson) is helping him with his investigations. These are the main two characters in the movie and are well crafted with their own personal attributes and qualities making them likable and relatable.The writers, Jeff Millar, Alex Stern, who wrote the story based on a Chelsea Quinn Yarbro novel, and screenwriters Ronald Shusett and the skillful Dan O'Bannon, give the Zombie mythos a new spin. Along with special effects wizard Stan Winston they all create a tangible tension and eeriness that adds to the power and atmosphere of the movie.Then the reveal comes... ...and everything falls apart.Suddenly the strong personality of Sheriff Gillis becomes that of a screaming and wailing weak-willed person; the off-beat Dodds becomes comically insane; Gillis' wife Janet (played by Melody Anderson) falls apart mentally; and the story ends with a whimper rather than a scream. This ending makes a brilliant movie a mess and a shambles.However, it's still worth watching for the earlier part of the film and not the last ten minutes. I now want to find a copy of the novel to read to see if this ending is also the book's finale... it may work better in words and in imagination than it does on film.

After reading so many positive reviews about 'Dead and Buried', I felt like giving it a try and my try didn't go in vain. D&B is one of the most influential zombie horror films of its time, whose plot still seems fresh. Gary Sherman has done a great job as his characters 'come to life' and stay credible throughout the movie. I bet Gary has got midas touch. The film doesn't rely on a big budget to prove its worth. What scares a viewer to death in 'D&B' are the characters who turn up alive after being murdered in previous sequences. If you are looking for an eerie set-up, foggy and silent nights, spooky town, strange people, hacked but twisting arm, syringe-poked eye, and a crazy re-animator, then Ladies and Gentleman....WELCOME TO POTTER'S BLUFF'. The film deserves a 10/10 for its lingering nature. You won't forget anything about it even after 10 years and I promise, you'll take this to you graves.Dan Gills (James Farentino) is the friendly Sheriff of Potter's Bluff, a small coastal town. He lives a contented life with his wife Janet (Melody Anderson), who is a school teacher. It so happens that a certain itinerant George (Christopher Allport) is caught by some crazy townspeople and is murdered in a gory fashion. However, George survives, but before he could tell anything to Dan, he is murdered by one of the female assailants right under the nose of Dan and Doctor Joe (Joseph Medalis). George's murder is soon followed by the murders of a vagrant and a young lady backpacker. A family traveling through Potter's Bluff is attacked by some townspeople in the middle of the night. That's when Dan has his first encounter with an assaulter. During all these days, Dan had been discussing the murders with Dr. Dobbs (Jack Albertson), who is apparently Potter's Bluff only mortician. Dobbs is often sarcastic with Dan. Little does Dan know that Dobbs is working on a hidden sinister agenda. Dan's wife Janet had been behaving strange lately. She comes home late at night and it looks as if she is holding a secret. So what's her secret?; and more important, what's the secret of Potter's Bluff? Does this town really teach us 'A New Way to Live'? Unlike other horror movies, D&B doesn't go around silly teenagers or campfire tales. This is no silly or cheesy stuff. Farentino as well as other characters including a younger Robert Englund have shown the viewers one of the highest crests of the American cinema. Farentino is great as sheriff and so are Melody and other actors, but one who really steals the show is Jack Albertson, with great portrayal of Dobb's character. You want Dobbs to be secretive and he is. You want Dan to be sincere in his efforts and he is. You want Melody and several others to be a part of this fishy scheme and they are. The end comes like a big surprise as the viewers are baffled and forced to think whether they should really believe what they just saw. This movie is credible with its tight plot, effective screenplay and matchless atmosphere. Potter's Bluff reeks blood and has everything a horror addict would ever need; a great set-up, deserted beaches and orphan boats, old-style agoraphobia inducing hospital corridor, freaky café with strange customers, uninhabited houses, rainy hillsides, old truck, foggy nights, and finally a scheming cold-blooded re-animator who is about to take over the town with his re-animated creations. D&B with its great atmosphere is capable of bewitching anyone who wants a relentless dose of atmospheric horror. This film has 80's written all over it and seems obsessed with the quality horror of its time. Simply unmissable!

This little flick is a real treasure. It is creepy, atmospheric and all that a low-budget horror-crime thriller should be. Director Gary Sherman strikes all the right chords and the cinematography is wonderful.The setting is a small, coastal town called Potter's Bluff, one of those eerie, isolated small towns that bears a terrible secret.I won't spoil it for you here, but you'll get the idea fairly soon into the picture, but it doesn't spoil the fun. This movie is like a vacation in that the real joy is in getting to your destination.Everything fits together quite well and we sympathize with the Sheriff, played quite well by veteran actor James Farentino. He is trying to hold himself together while his little town is wracked by one grisly murder after another. Oddly, it seems to upset him a whole lot more than it does anyone else.The always impressive Jack Albertson steals the show as the coroner and this off-beat casting is a tribute to his talent in his final role.This movie really does strike a good balance between the gore (and yes, there is a good bit of it for this type of flick) and mystery, from creepy seaside horror to crime thriller. Some might suggest that this movie doesn't know what it wants to be, but I disagree. This movie was made by people who knew how to make a horror film that didn't go over the top, but also did not pull its punches.What really makes this movie tick is the moody, atmospheric location shots. There is a sad inevitability to this movie that compels you to want to be a part of it all, but that also warns you off because of the mysterious danger that lurks from the beach.Good Halloween or summer time flick!