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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

It will take your breath away... all of it.

---

Genres:

Horror | Mystery

---

Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Trailer narrated by Percy Rodrigues.

---

Goofs

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

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

---

Alternate Versions

The end credit music is different on all video and the recent DVD release when compared to the theatrical and the HBO/Cinemax airing in the '80s. The theatrical and HBO had on the end credits the suspense music from the film, which then changes to a Glenn Miller jazz score, while the suspense music is heard in the background, creeping up faintly, until when the cast names start rolling, then the suspense music takes over, ending exactly when the credit ends. However, all video release of this, as well as the DVD, the end credit music is now the rehash of the beginning credit sequence music, you can tell its tacked in, for they fade the music early when the credit ends.

---

Connections

Referenced in Se7en (1995)

User Reviews

Moody, magical horror

Gary Sherman's horror masterpiece begins with one of cinema's best beatings (and burnings) of a fellow human being. The scene takes place on a beach in Potter's Bluff (Mendocino, No. Cal) and is a hypnotic, brutal, black shock to the system.

The beating is filmed by a mild-mannered pipe-smoking old man, a waitress, a mechanic and many other affable citizens of the area. It sets the scene for much grotesquery to come.

DEATH LINE (aka RAW MEAT) demonstrated that Sherman had the goods. DEAD AND BURIED cements him into the brickwork of the horror hall of fame.

Future Freddy Kruger (Robert Englund) makes an appearance, as does sexy Lisa Blount from AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN. But the film's real star is the (now dead and buried himself) Jack Albertson as the coroner of Potter's Bluff. Albertson's is an eccentric, layered, career-best performance.

The tone is dream-like and ethereal. Even interiors are filled with mist. A foghorn is heard constantly. Nobody is who they seem.

A stand-out is a Super-8 home video shot by some students. Its climax provides a not unexpected revelation and the film itself perfectly embodies the horror of corruption which director Sherman is pushing.

The film did zero theatrical business because it's too damn weird for most audiences, and too damn good. But it has developed a cult on video.

Exceptional.

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