Dead & Buried (1981)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Gary Sherman

Writers:

Ronald Shusett (screenplay) &
Dan O'Bannon (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

29 May 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

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 | Killing | Corpse | 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 / 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:
Tony Cecere	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Bill Couch	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Bill Couch Jr.	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Angelo De Meo	...	Townsperson (uncredited)

Directed by
Gary Sherman		(as Gary A. Sherman)

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

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)

Makeup Department
Jan Cook	....	hair stylist
Ziggy Geike	....	special wigs
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
Amanda J. Flick	....	scenic artist
Jay M. Hirsch	....	construction foreman
James E. Tocci	....	set designer

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

Special Effects by
James Cummins	....	lab technician
Vincent Prentice	....	special makeup effects crew: Stan Winston Studio

Stunts
Tony Cecere	....	stunts
Bill Couch	....	stunt coordinator
Bill Couch	....	stunts
Bill Couch Jr.	....	stunts
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

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

Editorial Department
Ross Albert	....	associate editor
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Rick Greenhead	....	telecine colorist
Robert K. Lambert	....	post-production executive

Music Department
Murray McFadden	....	score mixer
Jack K. Tillar	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Wayne Nelson	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Dustin Bernard	....	production assistant
Dixie J. Capp	....	production coordinator
Kimberley Coy	....	unit publicist
Alvin Greenman	....	script supervisor
Toni Lemos	....	location coordinator
Jim McCarthy	....	assistant accountant

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)
• Europa Filmes (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (200?) (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Stan Winston Studio

Also Known As:

Dead and Buried (UK)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Mendocino, California, USA

Company:

Barclays Mercantile Industrial Finance

Trivia:

On the day when the opening beach scene between Freddie and Lisa was shot, the weather conditions were too beautiful for director Sherman's liking. The crew constructed a huge flag to hang from a rigging on a cliff overhanging the beach to block most of the sunlight out so the scene could be shot with the films dim atmosphere.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the young female hitchhiker is taken from the truck, she is thrown onto the muddy ground. Her face is covered in mud, before the rock is smashed onto her face. Later when we see the videos of Dobb's "murders and creations" the young female hitchhiker is being held down on the hood of the truck, and her face is clean before they smash the rock down on her face.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Ernie: Welcome to Potters Bluff!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

A great place to visit, but a terrible place to die.

Excellent Twilight Zone-type thriller is a true gem among the many horror films of the '80's.

In the quiet little New England town of Potters Bluff a series of inexplicably violent murders has been taking place. It's up to the local sheriff to solve the horrid crimes, but that's proving to be hard, especially since the murder victims seem to still be alive!

Dead & Buried is an especially intriguing and well-crafted horror film. Director Sherman gives the film an ice-chilling, moody atmosphere. The filming locations are great, especially the rocky beaches used in the opening sequences. Ronald Shusett and Dan O'Bannon's storyline is full of quiet uncertainty and over-whelming shocks! The music score is as wonderfully moody as the atmosphere.

One true highlight of this film is its stars. James Farentino is perfect as the mystified sheriff Dan Gillis (likely named after screenwriter Dan O'Bannon). The lovely Melody Anderson is wonderfully believable as Gillis's wife. The late-great Jack Albertson (here in his final role) is awesome as the mortician Dobbs.

Yet another highlight is the truly gory makeup FX of Stan Winston, which provides for more than one unforgettable moment in this film.

Dead & Buried is simply a classic of modern horror and is too often over-looked for lesser films of its day. A must-see for horror and thriller fans.

**** out of ****