Dead & Buried (1981)

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.

Director:

Gary Sherman (as Gary A. Sherman)

Writers:

Jeff Millar (story), Alex Stern (story)

Stars:

James Farentino, Melody Anderson, Jack Albertson

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Sheriff Dan Gillis has a nice life with his wife, the teacher Janet Gillis, in the small coastal and friendly town of Potter's Bluff. When visitors are mysterious killed in the town, Sheriff Gillis investigates the cases carefully and finds that dead people are reanimating and coming back to life. Dan finds a book of witchcraft and voodoo in his wife's drawer and he suspects that she might be practicing black magic. Dan meets the coroner-mortician William G. Dobbs and learns the dreadful and surprising secret.

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Plot Keywords:

extreme violence | zombie | murder investigation | tortured to death | suffering | 

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Taglines:

A new dimension in horror...

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Trailer narrated by Percy Rodrigues.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

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

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Alternate Versions

Even though the film was shown uncut on cinema in Sweden, a very unique decision back then due to the hard policy on violence, the Transfer rental VHS release is cut by several minutes.

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Connections

References Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

User Reviews

A Cult-Movie with a Surprising End

Sheriff Dan Gillis (James Farentino) has a nice life with his wife, the teacher Janet Gillis (Melody Anderson), in the small coastal and friendly town of Potter's Bluff. When visitors are mysterious killed in the town, Sheriff Gillis investigates the cases carefully and finds that dead people are reanimating and coming back to life. Dan finds a book of witchcraft and voodoo in his wife's drawer and he suspects that she might be practicing black magic. Dan meets the coroner-mortician William G. Dobbs (Jack Albertson) and learns the dreadful and surprising secret.

"Dead & Buried" is a cult-movie with a creepy atmosphere and a surprising end. The plot has flaws, with lack of explanation for many situations. Why should Dobbs let the sheriff investigate further and not disclose the truth about him in the beginning? My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Mortos Vivos" ("The Living Dead")

Note: On 26 March 2015, I saw this film again. Note: On 10 Dec 2019, I saw this film again.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 October 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Look Alive

Filming Locations:

The Lot - 1041 N. Formosa Avenue, West Hollywood, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aspen Productions (I), Barclays Mercantile Industrial Finance

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1