Dead & Buried (1981)

Director:

Gary Sherman

Writers:

Jeff Millar (story) &
Alex Stern (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

29 May 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The writers of alien... ...bring a new terror to earth.

Plot:

A suspense horror film set in a small coastal town where, after a series of gory murders commited by mobs of townspeople against visiting tourists, the corpses begin to come back to life.

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Murder | Corpse | Killing | Undertaker

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

James Farentino	...	Sheriff Dan Gillis
Melody Anderson	...	Janet Gillis
Jack Albertson	...	William G. Dobbs
Dennis Redfield	...	Ron
Nancy Locke	...	Linda (as Nancy Locke Hauser)
Lisa Blount	...	Girl on the Beach / Nurse Lisa
Robert Englund	...	Harry
Bill Quinn	...	Ernie
Michael Currie	...	Herman
Christopher Allport	...	George Le Moyne / Freddie
Joseph G. Medalis	...	Doctor (as Joe Medalis)
Macon McCalman	...	Ben
Lisa Marie	...	Hitchhiker
Estelle Omens	...	Betty
Barry Corbin	...	Phil
Linda Shusett	...	Waitress (as Linda Turley)
Ed Bakey	...	Fisherman
Glenn Morshower	...	Jimmy
Robert Boler	...	Mr. Haskell
Michael Pataki	...	Sam
Jill Fosse	...	Nurse
Mark Courtney	...	Jamie
Michael Courtney	...	Jamie
Renee McDonell	...	Girl #1
Dottie Catching	...	Lady Car Passenger
Colby Smith	...	Female Stranger
Judy Ashton	...	Joyce
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anthony Cecere	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Bill Couch Jr.	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Bill Couch	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Angelo De Meo	...	Townsperson (uncredited)

Directed by
Gary Sherman		(as Gary A. Sherman)

Writing credits
Jeff Millar		(story) &
Alex Stern		(story)
Ronald Shusett		(screenplay) &
Dan O'Bannon		(screenplay)

Produced by
Robert Fentress	....	producer
Michael I. Rachmil	....	associate producer
Ronald Shusett	....	producer
Richard R. St. Johns	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Joe Renzetti

Cinematography by
Steven Poster		(as Steve Poster)

Film Editing by
Alan Balsam

Casting by
Linda Francis

Art Direction by
Joe Aubel
William Sandell		(as Bill Sandell)

Set Decoration by
Dennis Barton
Cloudia Rebar		(as Cloudia)

Makeup Department
Carl Cobery	....	makeup lab technician (as Carl Michael Cobery)
Jan Cook	....	hair stylist
Zoltan Elek	....	makeup artist
Ziggy Geike	....	special wigs
Edouard F. Henriques	....	makeup artist (as Edouard Henriques)
Vincent Prentice	....	makeup artist
Stan Winston	....	makeup effects designer

Production Management
John W. Hyde	....	executive in charge of production
William P. Owens	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Andrew A. Ackerman	....	second assistant director (as Andy Ackerman)
Brian E. Frankish	....	first assistant director
Scott Thaler	....	second assistant director (as Scott Ira Thaler)

Art Department
Dominick Bruno	....	property master
Lee B. Drygas	....	leadman (as Lee Drygas)
Jay M. Hirsch	....	construction foreman
Airick Kredell	....	leadman
Gerald Perdew	....	prop maker (as Gerry Perdew)
John Rettino	....	assistant property master
James E. Tocci	....	set designer
Amanda J. Flick	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gordon Ecker	....	sound effects editor (as Gordon Ecker Jr.)
Robert L. Harman	....	sound re-recording mixer
William L. McCaughey	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lettie Odney	....	dialogue editor
Bill Randall	....	second boom operator (as Bill Randall Jr.)
Charles Randall	....	boom operator (as Chuck Randall)
William Randall	....	sound mixer (as Bill Randall)
Richard D. Rogers	....	adr mixer (as Richard Rogers)
Howard S. Wollman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Anthony Milch	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
James Kagel	....	sculptor
James Cummins	....	lab technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Bill Hansard	....	process coordinator

Stunts
Anthony Cecere	....	stunts
Bill Couch Jr.	....	stunts
Bill Couch	....	stunt coordinator
Bill Couch	....	stunts
Chuck Couch	....	stunts (as Charles Couch)
Angelo De Meo	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Ron Batzdorff	....	gaffer
Vito Carenzo	....	best boy grip
Jim Dyer	....	dolly grip
Roger Gebhard	....	first assistant camera
Jeff Goldenberg	....	second assistant camera
John Koester	....	camera operator
Elliott Marks	....	still photographer
Ken Miller	....	key grip
Ernest Paul Roebuck	....	lighting best boy (as Ernie Roebuck)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bill Jobe	....	costumes
Erica Edell Phillips	....	costume supervisor (as Erica Phillips)

Editorial Department
Ross Albert	....	associate editor
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Nancy Forner	....	assistant editor
Robert K. Lambert	....	post-production executive
Rick Greenhead	....	telecine colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Frank Capp	....	music contractor
Murray McFadden	....	scoring mixer
Jack K. Tillar	....	music editor (as Jack Tillar)

Transportation Department
Fred Hendley	....	transportation co-captain
Wayne Nelson	....	transportation captain
Donna Smith	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Dustin Bernard	....	production assistant
Dixie J. Capp	....	production coordinator
Kimberley Coy	....	unit publicist
Alvin Greenman	....	script supervisor
Carole Keagy	....	advertising and promotion
Toni Lemos	....	location coordinator
Jim McCarthy	....	paymaster
Kate Morris	....	production administrator
Ty Nutt	....	dialogue coach: Mr. Albertson
Edwin D. Rich	....	production accountant
Anthony Ridio	....	assistant to producer (as Anthony Jon Ridio)
Anna St. Johns	....	production executive
Mark Thomas	....	assistant: Mr. Farentino

Production Companies

• Barclays Mercantile Industrial Finance

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• New World-Mutual (1982) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Vestron Video (1983) (USA) (VHS)
• Indies Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Force Video (2002) (Australia) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2003) (USA) (DVD) (limited edition)
• Blue Underground (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Manga Films (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2009) (USA) (video) (Blu-ray)
• PSO International (1981) (non-USA) (theatrical)
• Europa Filmes (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (200?) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Showtime (????) (Finland) (VHS)
• Tanweer Films (2012) (Bangladesh) (TV)
• Tanweer Films (2012) (Bhutan) (TV)
• Tanweer Films (2012) (India) (TV)
• Tanweer Films (2012) (Nepal) (TV)
• Tanweer Films (2012) (Pakistan) (TV)
• Tanweer Films (2012) (Sri Lanka) (TV)

Special Effects

• Knott Limited

Other Companies

• Aspen Productions (I)  production services
• Wallaworks  sound effects editing
• Modern Film Effects  opticals
• Neiman-Tillar Associates  music post-production
• Evergreen Recording Studios  music scoring facility (as Evergreen Studios)
• Ryder Sound Services  sound post-production

Also Known As:

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Finland:(Banned) (uncut) (1981) | France:-16 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Norway:18 (video) (1984) | Norway:(Banned) (video) (1986) | Norway:(Banned) (1981-2003) (cinema release) | Singapore:M18 | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (1991) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2002) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16 (2002) (DVD)

Filming Locations:

Mendocino, California, USA

Company:

Barclays Mercantile Industrial Finance

Trivia:

The shot where Paul Haskel pulls into the gas station next to Dan was shot from inside Dan's Jeep and required the crew to build a track across the inside of the vehicle for the camera move.

Goofs:

Continuity: The hitchhiker can be seen as a zombie before she is actually killed, reconstructed and brought back to life. This is because the abandoned house scene - where she is clearly visible as one of the dead townfolk - was originally placed in the film after her resurrection.

Quotes:

Harry:I was just telling these guys about that accident last night. Find out who that guy was?
Dan Gillis:Not a thing. No ID. No license plates. No nothing.
Ernie:Dan, old buddy, with that fancy salary the city of Potters Bluff pays you, and the amount of money the state spends getting you educated, you ought to be able to find some clues.
Herman:If you can't solve a traffic accident, what are you gonna do if a crime happens?
Harry:Now boys, don't be riding Danny too hard. He's out to lead this town. We're lucky to have him. A Masters Degree in Criminology. Big cities fighting over him, and he comes back to his old home town to help us poor folks out.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mortuary (1983/I)

One of the "best" of the "worst"...

It didn't occur to me until my later years, when I became an avid 'credit reader,' to make the connection between DEAD AND BURIED and two other low-budget gems that totally blew my mind: the earlier, gorier (but not by much) DEATH LINE, released in the U.S. under the appetizing title RAW MEAT, and a nasty-but-nifty little cop thriller called VICE SQUAD, which has the distinction of sporting quite possibly the smarmiest, most memorably evil performance that Wings Hauser ever gave in his entire career.

The gore ante has been upped so much at the movies nowadays, that you literally have to take the top of somebody's head off to get a rise out of the audience, (see HANNIBAL). But there was a time, either when we were more naive, or when lower budgets demanded it, that directors of low-budget horror fare knew that if you were going for the gross-out, you had to make it effective to scare the bejesus out of moviegoers. Gary Sherman was one of the few talented directors who knew this, and he went to town on my nerves with this, which I saw for the first time on video many years ago.

Some of the plot points maybe as murky as the atmospheric photography is at times, but one thing is certainly made clear: TV-friendly character actor-turned-spooky-town M.E. Jack Albertson is definitely up to no good. Travelers and transients who are innocently passing through the little, picturesque seacoast town where he plies his trade, are being found horribly murdered, only to be resurrected...as townies! Voodoo is somehow involved, as are some of the most violently graphic dispatchings commended to film for that time period.

James Farentino and Melody Anderson, known mostly for TV movie appearances (and in Melody's case, FLASH...aaaa-aaahhh!) do serviceable jobs as the town sheriff and his wife, who become more embroiled in the mystery than they'd like, and Robert Englund joins the proceedings, usually making his formidably creepy presence more than welcome, (until he came into his own as Freddy). But this is definitely Albertson's baby, and he relishes breaking out of his casting niche after all those episodes of CHICO AND THE MAN. Good thing, too, since it was one of his last performances. Sadly, as it is with most talented character actors, he was never recognized for his stage work as much as what he left on film, but his D&B role is a nice antithesis to the kindly Grandpa George in WILLY WONKA.

Also: Dan O'Bannon wouldn't be able to catch the lightning-in-a-bottle he captured with ALIEN again, until his severed-tongue-in-cheek rendering of RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, his playfully amped-up homage to George Romero's masterpiece.

FOOTNOTE: D&B's releasing woes had nothing to do with its low-budget status. The original releasing company, Vestron, went belly-up and had to file for Chapter 11 more than once, leaving movies like this in limbo until the legal problems could be satisfactorily settled. It took a while for the video release, but it was worth the wait.

Oh, and no matter how mind-boggling the gore gets, you'll still want to watch it twice, just to see how you missed being clued in on the head-spinning climax!