Genres

Visitors Review

Backlash007 2013-05-12 12:05:37

"Welcome to Potter's Bluff--A new way of life."

"Welcome to Potter's Bluff-a new way of life." They sure ain't kiddingeither. Dead and Buried is an interesting tale to say the least. It's oneof the best horror films no one knows about. Dan O'Bannon has to be one ofmy favorite writers. He has yet to disappoint me. This is also an earlyeffort for one effects master known as Stan Winston and one horror icon whocalls himself Robert Englund. This films offers us quite a different spinon the zombie genre and has a very unexpected end. This is one of those "the less you know the better it is" situations. So, I'll leave you withthree words: "New England" and "creepy." Good luck trying to find thisclassic.

riotpoof1980 2013-05-12 01:40:58

Creepy, Mysterious and shocking

Ive actully been waiting a long time to see this and I just got thelimitededition 2 disc dvd. Ive heard great reviews from this movie on how greatandscary this movie was and it was! the ending was a total shocking twistending. it was very well written and extreamly well done and thought of.itdoesnt get much scarier and mysterious then this plus the mood of thewholemovie was very gloomy and dark, the score is soo eerrie and wonderful itgives me goosebumps just hearing it. the movie is about A Sherrif (JamesFarrentino of "The Final Count down") Who begins to investigate a seriesofsudden deaths which turn out to be murder of several out of towners withthetowns local and mysterious mortician (Jack Albertson of "Willy Wonka andtheChocolate factory", "The possiden adventure", and the TV sit com "Chicoandthe man") The Sherrif soon finds out the mysteries secrets and strangegoingon's at the quiet costal town of "Potters Bluff: A New Way Of Life". withashocking twist ending yall will never guess that will keep you on yourseat.a nice little find and worth every penny.

Jack Gattanella 2013-05-02 22:07:49

creepiness trumps gore in this unusual 'zombie' movie

Gary Sherman's film Dead & Buried, from a script by Alien writers RonShusset and (the late) Dan O'Bannon, is a strange creature of a movie.It's meant to reel in the horror movie crowd, but it's for a crowd ofanother time period. That is, at least, the filmmaker's intention, andit's the kind of horror movie that might have been made in the 40's(maybe Val Lewton would've produced it, though probably never showing adeath on screen), and has a mad mortician, calmly and chillingly playedby Jack ("Grandpa Joe" from Willy Wonka) Albertson, bringing backpeople from the dead and having those dead go after tourists orpasserbys who have the dumb luck to travel into town.Sometimes the gore is meant to be emphasized, like with the death ofthe fisherman or the doctor who gets acid poured on him. The latter ofthese is a terrible scene, not just because Stan Winston wasn'tinvolved in the effect (you can tell), but because it's done too muchand the camera lingers a little too long. Dead & Buried is helped by itbeing surreal: the opening scene where the guy is photographing on thebeach, comes across the woman and starts to take pictures "for Playboy"and then is overcome by a horde of people also flashing pictured andfilming and is killed by fire, is something out of a pure nightmare(you almost expect someone to wake up, but no one does). When it sticksto this dead-undead thing, of the hints at witchcraft and the eerieperformances by the Sheriff's wife and some of the townspeople likeRobert Englund, make it worthwhile.Dead & Buried is not what you expect, which is a good and not-so-goodthing. It's low-budget and atmospheric, and its ending is a bit of aWTF twist that seems unnecessary. But there's a lot of interest here, alot of weird effects with cameras and crowds of the undead. Just don'tgo expecting the usual flesh and guts show, despite what the film's owndistributors thought at the time.

2013-05-02 06:37:39

Fascinating Twist on the Living Dead genre

A supposedly nice and humble town, Potter's Bluff, has been home of some grisly murders. Oddly enough, the people killed are seen again, looking completely normal. Very convincing special effects too. And to top it off, Robert Englund is in the movie.

Dennis G. Barnes 2013-04-21 05:03:22

Interesting premise is mishandled

This review contains very minor spoilers.Aside from Dark Star and Alien I have yet to be fully entertained by a Dan0'Bannon cinematic effort. I had read lots of good things about Dead &Buried so when I heard about the Limited Edition DVD I ran out and boughtit. I must say I wasn't totally disappointed but much like O'Bannon's latereffort, Return of the Living Dead, Dead & Buried is a missedopportunity.Everything is in place for a terrific horror story. A small fishingvillage, creepy mood and settings and a wonderful twist ending. The problemis that the storyline doesn't seem to know where to go or what it exactlywants to be. Is this movie a horror movie? A sci-fi? A murder mystery? It's all of these things and none of them. The problem is that thedifferent genres don't mesh in Dead & Buried, not enough time is taken tofully establish any of them so just as one gets going we suddenly jump toanother. The murder mystery itself is quite weak, all of the plot pointsseem forced. For example, why does the Sheriff even think the body in thecar could have been killed elsewhere? A lot of the Sheriff's investigationis very flimsy, but he does have a lot on his mind.Dead & Buried does have some nice creepy moments, a couple of good scaresand some very nice make-up work but what it is missing is a nice flow frombeginning to end. Dead & Buried starts off slow and just when it seems toget going it stalls once again until the interesting conclusion. Overallthe bad balances out the good so while Dead & Buried isn't horrible it isn'tthe masterpiece it could have been. Oh, and it also has one of the worststabbing scenes I have ever seen (performance wise). Dead & Buried rates a5 out of 10.

2013-04-20 18:17:08

Welcome to Potters Bluff...........

Dead and buried is an undiscovered horror gem that you might be interested in checking out. The film is now released uncut and remastered and has great special fx done by Stan Winston so you know that its gonna be good. Strange things happen in Potters Bluff, a photographer is burned alive on the beach and a fisherman has his throat cut. The sheriff is determined to find out what's behind it all and his investigation leads him to the town's undertaker and his own wife. This film had a very original idea as well as having a great foggy and creepy atmosphere that adds alot to the tension, despite being a bit slow in the begining the film moves along nicely throughout the second half and has some geniuenly scary moments including the vacationing family that gets chased by the town's people at night and it also has some nice and gory death scenes a girl has her head bashed in by a large rock so I highly recomend this to all horror fans especialy if you want to see something different.

2013-04-20 09:39:13

Wow....another old-time horror gem

Very pleasantly surprised with this gem. Kind of reminds me of a cross between "The Fog" and other movies whereby a group or town is like a cult pursuing their own little game.....well acted...well paced....great scenery...excellent screenplay...great topic...well cast...very little to complain about...the only problem I found with it at all, and it is so minor, and it's only this one thing, is how fake the doctor's head looked when he snorted acid...lol....other than that the movie is an A+ all the way through.....keeps you surprised throughout...never predictable....very original and a brand new take on zombies, which are an evil group I never much cared for to begin with. No longer the slow methodical harmless type zombies of the past. What makes these so deadly is that they never appear to be zombies at all. Also look for small bit parts from Robert Englund and Michael Pataki and a great performance from Jack Albertson in his last role. Great job by the people in charge. Well done! Thank you.

aaron esmonde 2013-04-19 22:53:22

Sherman's Horror Gem. Potters Bluff Exudes Atmosphere

There are a handful of horror films that I can say are underrated andexude atmosphere, Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971) Dead People(1973) and Dellamorte Dellamore (1994) rank as some unsung cultsleepers. Dead and Buried while better known sits fittingly with theabove for sheer eeriness, as director Gary Sherman takes you to theodd, clicky, fishing town of Potters Bluff where visiting tourists andpasser through are killed only for their corpses to be brought back tolife to serve the town. Reminiscent of Jaws 2 (no one believes the sheriff), The Wickerman(1973) (plotting towns people) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers(1978) (they are not who they clam to be) to name a few, Dead andBuried still manages to remain fresh and intriguing until the shockingend. James Farentino wonderfully plays sheriff Dan Gillis who must solve thecase and wrap up the mystery, dynamic Melody Anderson is perfect as hiswife. Jack Albertson gives a fine performance as the mortician andRobert Englund has a small role, the rest of the cast are all on horrorform with some quirky small town characters.Dead and Buried is only hankered by some choppy editing and despite theamount of writers on board, Sherman's well crafted film benefits from'too many fingers in the pie', including Alien scribe Dan O'Bannon andRonald Shusett. The film is enhanced from a shot on location look whichadds to the genuine creepiness of the goings ons and Joe Renzetti'smusic is fitting. There's some notable blood and gore effects by thelate great Stan Winston which even though are a by product of the storythey are excellently executed.Overall, a must see excellent underrated chiller.

lastliberal 2013-04-12 10:22:12

You can try to kill me, Dan. But you can't. You can only make me dead.

One of the original 39 video nasties banned in Britain, it was releaseduncut in 2004. There were 74 films on the list at various times.Before she was trying to ensnare an officer n An Officer and aGentleman, Lisa Blount was using her considerable charms to trap aphotographer (Christopher Allport) on the beach. What started as aslow, melodic, enchanting film, quickly changed into horror.Before Robert Englund lived on Elm Street, he was creating mayhem inPotters Bluff, a town with a strange secret.Sheriff Dan (James Farentino) is trying to discover how two murdershappen "in a town no bigger than a postage stamp." In the meantime, hiswife (Melody Anderson) is stepping out at night without explanation,and acting very strange.Oscar (The Subject Was Roses) and Emmy ("Cher", "Chico and the Man")winner Jack Albertson was excellent, in what has been reported as hislast film, as the town mortician.It's hard to believe, but I did jump out of my seat once.Great climax as secrets are reveled.

2013-04-11 17:09:13

Interesting, Distinctive Horror

I'll keep this one short. 'Dead and Buried' is one of the more distinctive horror films to come out of the 80's. It's a bit more old fashioned and low-key than was the style of the time, though it certainly isn't devoid of killin'. (It's got a very painful hypodermic needle to the eye scene, and some other nasty stuff.) The film has a really neat premise and opening. First we meet a photographer who is vacationing near Potter's Bluff, a small, nondescript coastal town. He meets a rather disturbingly friendly and forthright woman out on the beach, shortly leading to his near-death by fire at the hands of a bizarre, strangely indifferent mob. Shortly thereafter another out of towner is killed which brings all this to the attention of the town sheriff. (played by James Farentino.) I don't wanna divulge any more than that cause the plot developments are really very unexpected, and if you come in not knowing anything about the film you probably wouldn't know that there was anything supernatural going on until the midway point. Again this is a nice low-key, strange little town horror-mystery film. It's not exactly frightening, but hardly anything is these days, for me, and it is genuinely eerie much of the time. It's a nice looking film, good bleak seaside imagery and a somewhat dated but sufficiently effective score. Acting is generally competent if not especially remarkable. Nothing to worry any serious horror fans. Again, I just like the premise. The murderous mob is extremely creepy, particularly how the approach the whole ordeal with a kind of mechanistic detachment, and their affinity for taking pictures of the soon to be deceased. And, for once, a film has got a cool, mysterious premise that isn't let down excessively by the final explanation of the bizarre occurrences. I'm not gonna tell you it's 100% satisfactory, but it's good enough, anyway, and it's just a relatively original endeavor. There are some problems with regards to motivation, particularly wondering why it is that the head villain does all the things he does, but it's not too distracting. Of course, he's nutbag, so the idea that we must necessarily understand why he does what he does is silly. He's a loon, he might do anything. In the end, much of the film almost comes off as a bizarre practical joke, but I thought the ending was fun, and the final twist was fairly surprising to me. (I feel kinda stupid in retrospect, however. I'm sure plenty of others will see it coming.)Yeah, this is a nicely done piece of 80's horror. Check it out.Grade: B+

Lucien Lessard 2013-04-10 22:19:47

Forgotten Genuine Horror Film.

In the quiet coastal village of Potters Bluff. Where tourists andtransients are always welcome but when something very strange ishappening to the tourists and villagers of Potters Bluff are brutallymurdered. But even more shocking, when people are murdered and they arecoming back to life as normal friendly citizens around town. The LocalSheriff (James Farentino) decides to do something about it, while aneccentric mortician (Oscar-Winner:Jack Albertson) is somehow committedto the town's community. Since the dead are back to life... and no onereally knows who is Dead & Buried.Directed by Gary A. Sherman (Poltergeist 3, Deathline, Vice Squad) madean effected genuinely fantasy horror film with a sense of humour. Thefilm was a miss at the box office back in 1981. The film alsostars:Melody Anderson (Flash Gordon), Robert England (A Nightmare onElm Street Series) and Oscar-Winner:Lisa Blount (An Officer and anGentleman). Also Barry Corbin appears in a very small role and aswell:Micheal Patiki. The features One of the First Theatrical Make-UpEffects work by Oscar-Winner:Stan Winston (The Terminator Series). Oneof the Best Scenes in the movie is the Infamous ControversialHypodermic Neddle in the Eye is a Classic.Since this is a 2 Disc Limited Edition, I have number 7629 out of50000. DVD Features are Good, including Three Commentaries Tracks byNarrator of Blue Underground:David Gregory for all Three Tracks.Commentary One is with Director:Sherman talks about that he missed hisOriginal Cut, which now it will never see the light of day. CommentaryTwo is with Co-Screenwriter:Ronald Shusett and His Wife's Linda Turley,Shusett talks about the film and his also popular movies-he has writtenlike Alien, Above the Law, Minority Report & Total Recall. AlsoShusett's wife mentions some of the continuity errors in the film andthe good times, she had on the set with her husband. Commentary Threeis with Cinematographer:Steve Poster talks about the lighting,camera-work and locations of the film.DVD Feautres also the Theatrical Trailers, Poster & Still Gallery,Three Featurettes with Stan Winston-Robert Englund & Dan O'Bannon(Co-Screenwriter of the film) and Steve Poster's Location Stills. DVDhas an good anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an fineDigitally Remastered-Dolby Digital 5.1 EX Surround Sound. (Also in DTS6.1 ES Surround Sound). This is a nicely done horror film, which iscertainly One of the Best Forgotten Horror Fantasy Movies from theearly 80's. Written by Ronald Shusett & Dan O'Bannon (Alien, Screamers,Total Recall). From a Story by Jeff Millar & Alex Stern. (*** ½/*****).

Ryan Jafri 2013-04-10 12:27:44

Great story, had real potential, but script failed to deliver. Still worth a watch.

This film is alright in my opinion. Towards the beginning of the film,when the first attack at the beach happened, it just seemed odd to me.There was no reasoning behind this attach. Although the motive was madeclear behind it later on in the film, it still seemed unnatural. All ofa sudden there was a group of ordinary citizens going on a murderspree. This isn't a plot hole, more like a very undeveloped part of thestory inside the script. They should have worked on this better. Andthe climax, could have been much better. Farentino's character knewdestroying the hearts of the corpses would destroy the corpse itself,so IMHO the climax should have shown this and then the startlingrevelation. But alas, this did not happen.James Farentino did a great job showcasing the emotional ordeal he wasgoing through I wanted to add. Sherman's direction was pretty good.Nice use of wide shots and blocking within them. All in all, I would recommend this to horror enthusiasts and TwilightZone buffs.

2013-04-10 06:30:41

Dead & Buried (Limited Edition)

This review is from: Dead & Buried (Limited Edition) (DVD) I watched this movie when I was a child on HBO at my aunt's house. I am now almost 40 and for years I couldn't think of the name of this movie, but I remembered the scene where the nurse sticks the needle in the patient's eye. One day, I was thumbing around horror movies on YouTube and found the scene that stuck in my mind forever and saw that it was called "Dead & Buried". I was so excited. I am a fan of 70's and 80's horror flicks. So I went directly to Amazon to see how much it cost and like the price and ordered. I watched the movie today. I found this movie kinda chilling because of the way the people were murdered. I am usually not into zombie flicks because of the gore, but I did like this movie because there was more suspense than gore. I gave this 4 stars because it doesn't have subtitles. I use subtitles all the time because there is always noise in the background while I am watching a movie.

ag-nor 2013-04-09 17:41:39

Best Zombie-movie ever

I mean that Dead & Buried is the best zombie-film ever made. The moviemanage to create a very special and creepy atmosphere which is verydifferent compared to other zombie-films. Acting, plot, location andgore-effects are great, but if you don't like extreme violence and gore, Iwon't recommend it.From me; 9 out of 10

steelerstwin 2013-04-09 07:01:06

A Creepy, Hidden, Little Gem

This little flick is a real treasure. It is creepy, atmospheric and allthat a low-budget horror-crime thriller should be. Director GarySherman strikes all the right chords and the cinematography iswonderful.The setting is a small, coastal town called Potter's Bluff, one ofthose 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 intothe picture, but it doesn't spoil the fun. This movie is like avacation 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 tohold himself together while his little town is wracked by one grislymurder after another. Oddly, it seems to upset him a whole lot morethan it does anyone else.The always impressive Jack Albertson steals the show as the coroner andthis 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, fromcreepy seaside horror to crime thriller. Some might suggest that thismovie doesn't know what it wants to be, but I disagree. This movie wasmade by people who knew how to make a horror film that didn't go overthe top, but also did not pull its punches.What really makes this movie tick is the moody, atmospheric locationshots. There is a sad inevitability to this movie that compels you towant to be a part of it all, but that also warns you off because of themysterious danger that lurks from the beach.Good Halloween or summer time flick!

christopher-underwood 2013-04-08 10:20:36

predictable

Starts well enough but the slightly odd manner of everybody makes thisfairly predictable from far too early on. After about half an hour itis not made clear what is going on and for some it may be only at theend that all is revealed. There is a problem here though because if youguess what is happening there is not much going for you and if youdon't I guess you feel bewildered throughout. It makes no sense and Iconsider it a waste of time.This is a shame because there is potentially a great film here but theproblem is that in making the end feasible it necessitates spoiling themovie.

2013-04-07 12:10:36

Passable......but too much of a parody

'Dead and Buried' has an ominous title, ominous poster art and is thickly laced throughout with dark, depressive tones. It's a specimen of American horror cinema trying to mimick Italo video nastiness and it doesn't quite work. What does come out of this grotesque copycat style is a picture that shocks all right but lacks a vivacious beat in its pacing. The old witchdoctor with his suturing kit is terrifying as an abstract idea but his portrayal begs derision rather than fearful awe. The killings in 'Dead and Buried' are very gruesome (for '99 just as they were if not more so for 1981) but are too few in number to put it on par with the competitors it had been released to face like 'Halloween II' or 'The Evil Dead'. What is worth a point or two is the originality of the story, albeit's seeming to have borrowed a little from 'The Wicker Man'. Still, the community of evil plot axis is entertaining and plausible enough, given the backdrop. What does work against the film in particular is the miscasting of minor characters as well as the inattentiveness on the part of the director to pulse/pace of story. There are definitely pockets of laughter in here which ring close to the 'Burger'n'Fries' anti-gothic style of Stephen King and, to put it in film, John Carpenter. While this was certainly in fashion at the time of production, the absolute effect erodes suspense and the fact that it's so inextricably entwined into the film's fabric means that there's no way around it when watching. Melody Anderson is particularly ridiculous in her role as Farentino's wife and her Penthouse Petish presence just makes the film reek of Hollywood fakeness and surfaciaphilia. Apart from the justly famous immolation of the unknown photographer and then his hypo-needle-in- the-eyeball fate, there's little else in here which demands remembrance. The picture just seems to drag on for too long to be able to pull its weight as a genuinely scary horror flick.

2013-04-07 04:30:38

so very close to 4 stars

this is as creepy as it gets.this is on the level of evil dead without the blood splatter and with a higher body count.its a briliant twist on the zombie/walking dead genre.a sleepy little towm on the outskirts of nowhere is the setting.and its inhabitants have something very wrong with them.im very pleased that this was transfered.since its an early 80s movie,the VSH version is very grainy/cloudy and id like to see it the way it was intended.get this movie,you wont be regretting it.now,the wait for 3 oclock high,last exit to brooklyn,year of the dragon,wierd science,after hours,missing in action pt.2,the raiders and star wars trilogies should continue.

2013-04-01 22:29:01

Very Very Under Rated Film

this film is sooo worth the viewing. its soo underrated or completely unknown to most people. this movie, unlike most made in the same era, is well made and completely original. its like taking a strange david lynch film and mixing in some graphic horror a-la lucio fulci. i like that this film has twists to it, most are totally predictable all the way through. this film seemed aware of this and did a great job avoiding it. this film is not a 100% slasher/gore flick. so do not expect that, but do expect a film that gets better as it progresses, a film that is the most original take on zombies since night of the living dead. if you are a life long fan of horror films, you will enjoy, at the very least, that this is not the same plot done over and over again.

2013-04-01 14:09:59

Don't miss this HORROR CLASSIC!!!!!

Blue Underground has resurrected another Horror classic! This will satisfy all true fans of the genre! Be sure to look for Robert Englund(Freddy). If your idea of a great horror involves busta' ryhmes or jennifer love hewwett steer clear of this movie!