Buried Secrets (1996 TV Movie) User Reviews

Doesn't go far enough, but decent enough

[slayrrr666 · 6/10 · 23 August 2008]

"Buried Secrets" is a decent ghost story with a couple of really big flaws.

**SPOILERS**

Arriving in White Cliffs, Maine, Annalisse Vellum, (Tiffani-Amer Thiessen) and her mother Laura, (Melinda Culea) move into a new home that has been abandoned for years. Trying to fix it up, she keeps having strange visions and dreams about the house, which is laughed off as unfinished grieving over her father. As she spends more time in the house, she find s herself communicating with Mary Roff, (Erika Flores) the deceased daughter of Clay Roff, (Tim Matheson) the town's mayor and tells her of another crime in the family that must be resolved before she can leave the property. Setting about trying to solve the mystery, she uncovers the horrible truth involving the different relationships in town and tries to right the wrong and free her friend from her existence.

The Good News: This one had some good points when required. That several of the hauntings here aren't that bad is the main thing, as it's a really important fact to have a good series of haunting scenes in these kinds of films. There's some good ones in here, mainly because it's horror scenes were remembered to be horror. The very first encounter in the attic, when it's first apparent that there's a ghost on the property is really impressive, as the events that transpire are really great and actually creepy. From the uneasiness it has around the entire sequence and the creepy realization over the revelation, a couple of rather nice shots to prove the power is also just as good. The teleporting all over the house actually works nicely, and there's the eyeball trick which is just as good, and the repeated use of them is really great. Pretty much whenever it decides to go with the haunting route is good stuff. The lone sex scene does have some really nice partial nudity to enjoy. The only other part that works is how nice the mystery is handled. This one has a really decent one that is handled really well and comes off just as good. These here are the film's good parts.

The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot of flaws to this one. The main issue here is that the film is just way too slow-paced. Nearly nothing happens, because this one goes about bringing everything along at a way that just slows it down to the point of down to the point of irritation. There's no real need for it to be as such, making for a lot of confusing times when just making it really out there when it gets to the point it's taken so long to get there is either buried under three other plot-lines or the main point has been long-forgotten and needs to be restated in a long, drawn-out scene that shouldn't have been. That all of these scenes are all so low-key that it's impossible to get any sort of excitement about them, and it really hurts the film even more. That also affects the action in here, which is pretty low-key and not all that exciting. It's way too low-key to mean anything much at all. The last flaw is the PG-13 rating. This pretty much censors the film of pretty much anything, as it has to reign everything down in order to make sure it's not going to offend anything, and it's noticeably lacking anything that it really shouldn't have had in order to get over. From the sex scene taking place that obscures pretty much everything except for glimpses to their not being any kind of blood or gore, or even much violence at all in here except for the hauntings is really there and noticeable, and makes this one suffer a little more. All of these are what keep the film down.

The Final Verdict: A somewhat decent, if unspectacular teeny-bopper ghost story that provides something interesting when it tries to. Give this a shot if it sounds like you're thing or are really into the more horror-drama entries available, while those who want more action in a film should heed caution.

Rated PG-13: Mild Violence, Language, Partial Nudity and a mild, tame sex scene

fairly OK until the ending

[JamieWJackson · 5/10 · 11 July 2014]

There's nothing particularly outstanding here, but most of the elements of a decent spooky movie are in place. Everyone seems well cast and the production values are alright.

My problem with this movie is mostly the ending, because (keeping it vague to avoid spoilage) the villain leaves before finishing his/her "job" at the crucial moment, then behaves as though the job was finished. That made no sense. Plus the way the villain got taken care of was pretty random and silly. :-)

I would have liked to have seen a bit more relationship development between some of the characters, especially (again keeping it vague) the two reunited family members. That was a key moment and it could have stood a bit more fleshing out emotionally, IMO. I thought that scene ended just a little too soon.

Ultimately, I gave this one a 5 because the general quality of the filmmaking was reasonable (which I think had a lot to do with the solid acting ability of the leads), but I sorta wanted to give it a 4 because it just didn't impress me at all, and with the cast they had, I think it could have been a bit better with a smarter script.

BTW, there's no real gore or anything, aside from a (hallucinated and non-gory) severing of a limb. It's more of a spooky story than a horror film.

Boring...

[andropov_br · 5/10 · 16 December 2002]

I don´t understand how could some people enjoy this movie. It´s boring, I almost slept in front of TV watching this movie. The good part is Tiffani, wich is really very sexy. But the rest is boring, the action, thriller and horror scenes aren´t good. I rated it 5 of 10.

Solid Story: No Gimmicks, No Gore!

[largeGROUCH · 9 August 2001]

If you enjoy human interaction (drama) with a few twists and shocks, you may find this film to be worthwhile. I had not intended to watch a movie as I was channel surfing, but this one drew me in instantly. It's a story about several women whose lives intertwine in a hypnotic tale of deceit, denial and devastation. Two young women from different sides of the "veil" form a bond which leads to the identification of a previously unsuspected killer.

All in all, it's a very satisfying tale centered in a small New England town. A woman, after losing her husband, returns with her daughter to her childhood home town. She's maneuvered into renting the town's "unrentable home." She soon discovers why no one has lived there in many years as her daughter is drawn into the town's darkest secrets.

Unbelievably poor

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 21 December 2015]

Another film that has me scratching my head and thinking "why do I bother watching made-for-TV movies?", this is a muddled, dull and clichéd affair which frequently lapses into moments of mind-crushing sentimentality for effect. Forget horror, as this film couldn't be horrific even if it tried. Instead it seems happy to wallow in plentiful dialogue between the six principle characters. A simple plot is stretched out to feature length largely by having the main plot points explained six or seven times; large stretches occupy the screen in which nothing much happens. There's a thrown in romantic aspect and a sex scene to go with it which could have been completely cut out of the film to no ill effect.

At first, with the set-up scenes at the beginning, this appears to be a thriller in the WHAT LIES BENEATH mould. It quickly degenerates into laughability with the arrival of the ghost, a teenage girl who does stupid things like walk in and out of the body of Thiessen (yes, it's that cheesy). From then on the film turns into a murder mystery, with Thiessen trying to work out what happened while her friends and family, initially thinking she's mad, eventually come around and try to help her. At various stages of the plot Thiessen becomes possessed by the girl and not at others, this is not explained. The film's unintentionally funniest moment comes at the end when the spirit of the dead girl possesses a HORSE in order to kill the murderer of her mother. It's that bad.

The acting is uninspired and flat, just like any TV movie. There's one exception: Tim Matheson, the stalwart TV veteran who makes the best of his role as the film's red herring. Tiffani-Amber Thiessen fails to make us, the viewer, believe in her at any point, and just doesn't have the acting skill or range to pull her performance off. The character of Melinda Culea, her mother, is so underwritten that she isn't even given a name! The identity of the murderer is pretty obvious about halfway through as well which dissolves the initially interesting murder-mystery aspect of the film. There isn't even any gore or violence - unless you count a silly dream sequence where Thiessen sees the ghost cut off her arm with a knife. Moments later, we see the ghost and Thiessen talking away happily again, with Thiessen apparently having just forgiven her! Forgettable and absurd, BURIED SECRETS may not quite be the worst movie ever, but it certainly gets close.

You have got to be kidding!

[LilyB · 3/10 · 6 August 1999]

This movie was predictable. I knew from the first half hour of the movie who the murderer was. And it seemed like it was written by authors who didn't communicate with each other. First Johnny was saying that Mary killed her mother -- then he tells everyone Mary couldn't hurt anyone. Mary asks for Annalisse's help -- then she is attacking her for making out with Johnny and sends Annalisse to the hospital. One minute the ghost is a waifish, broken-hearted child -- the next she is a nutcase. Get real!

I like Tim Matheson, but he seemed almost embarrassed to be in this movie. And his New England accent had to be about the worst I've heard.

Definitely feels like I wasted my time watching it.

Midnight Knew

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 18 June 2005]

**Spoilers** Set in the picturesque little town of White Cliffs Maine the movie "Buried Secrets" is about a family tragedy that's kept buried by the surviving father Clay Roff,Tim Matherson,of what happened to his wife Ann, Shelly Cook, and his sixteen year-old daughter Mary, Erika Flores,until it erupts in an emotional explosion at the end of the film.

Being too much for him to take Clay Roff leaves the house that he and his family lived in after he re-married his wife's doctor Denielle, Kelly Rutherford. Renting the house out to Laura Vellum,Melinda Culea, who together with her teenage daughter Annalisse, Tiffani Thiessen, moved into during the summer.

As soon as she was in the Roff House Annalisse began to feel uneasy and spooked out by what she perceived was happening there. Seeing and hearing this young girl and then at night having dreams of a woman falling to her death off a cliff made her feel that something strange and deadly happened there.

The voices become more and more pronounced and the girl becomes visible to only Annalisse as she begins to take over her mind and body in an effort to bring closure to what happened there before Annalisse and her mom moved in. The girl who's haunting the house reveals herself to Annalisse to be the missing daughter of Clay Roff ,Mary, who in fact it turns out died when she took an overdose of sleeping pills and then collapsed and cracked her skull in the water filled bathtub. Mary's father kept this hidden all these years telling the local police that Mary ran away from home.

Mary getting very close with Annalisse about her life in White Cliffs guides her to her former boyfriend Johnny, Channon Roe, who works in the towns car repair shop. Bit by bit the secret of both Mary and her moms death comes to the surface and it turns out that, besides Mary being dead, her mom was murdered.

Better then average ghost story with the ghost, Mary Roff, not at all that mysterious as you would have expected her to be as you begin to notice that she's almost as much made of flesh and blood as those alive in the movie. Mary appears as if she were a live person instead of being a far-away and invisible entity only seen by Annalisse.

The film "Buried Secrets" is also a pretty good murder/mystery with the killer of Ann Roff successfully keeping himself, or herself, hidden from view and from the police until the very end of the movie. It took Mary's strikingly handsome pet black stallion "Midnight", who instinctively knew with his horse sense who the killer was, to track down Ann's murderer and exact final justice.

At he end of the film there's a very touching scene where Annalisse/Mary is reunited with Johnny as he finally realized that she came back from beyond to be with him for the rest of her, Annalisse's, and his life. The theme of the movie should be : "Love Conqures All", even death, in the end.

Perhaps the most dreadful film that I have seen in recent times...

[Sam-71 · 1/10 · 6 February 2000]

The benchmark has dropped even lower for the worst movies ever made. It comes as no surprise that I hadn't heard of this terrible film until now, 4 years after its release. Speaking as a film major at UCLA, I have to say that this film is an example of bad filmmaking in almost every aspect of the production process. The script was not only awful, but extremely predictable, with a totally pathetic ending. None of the characters were developed properly, and the conflicts between them just seemed to emerge from nowhere. The acting was pitiful, with dialogue to match. I have to say that I particularly enjoyed the scenes where the ghost would get all pissed off for no apparent reason. But the best part was definitely where the horse killed the bad lady in an act of vengence!! This movie is so bad that it is almost worth watching just to laugh at it. Talk about a bunch of washed up TV actors!

Charming and suspenseful

[blueaugust · 10/10 · 2 June 2005]

If you're looking for a "horror movie" you're looking in the wrong place. If you're looking for a charming, suspenseful, old-fashioned ghost story, you've found a gem. Really enjoyed it. Tiffani Amber Thiessen is sweet in her role as a young woman in search of the answers to a small-town secret. The location, story line, and actors all contributed to a wonderfully told ghost story. Thiessen is one of those actors who probably won't win an Oscar, but I have always enjoyed her acting, and in this film she was at the top of her game. I don't know where this was filmed, but the setting was the perfect backdrop for the telling of this engaging story. I highly recommend it.

Dreamy and disturbing; an intelligent horror movie

[bebebert · 9/10 · 27 April 1999]

Working with some familiar elements of the horror genre (ghosts) and of the fairy tale (a princess, a castle and a stallion), this 95-minute telefilm is successful at creating an intense, atmospheric tale. It recalls a bit the tales of Grimm, as well as Poe's Fall of the house of Usher.

So yes, there is a ghost story. But mostly it is a story of love unheard. Rather than relying on the usual scare tactics and a good-but-scared-girl-versus-the-villain plot, the text centers just as much around the ghosts brought by memories of what it was to be loved as a child. In a very realistic fashion, it touches serious issues like teen psychiatry, suicide, death, and what is or is not beyond death.

Yet (or maybe because of this) there is no such thing as a body count. There has been one mysterious death, that has remained unsolved mainly because everyone in town has got something to hide. But everyone has got something they would like to find, too. Ultimately, part of the mystery will be solved, but not all of it. Meanwhile, the movie gives a very realistic portrayal of modern-day family relationships, where silence has buried love under deep-rooted suspicions.

The only moot point, imho, lies in the uneven acting. Sometimes, the actors seem unconvinced, despite the strong text they are given. Hence, nine out 10, but a must-see for horror and mystery fans alike. Also check for some new-age undertones. Finally, it should please both genders. (no gross-out stuff here, but an intelligent, well-written story).

Very mediocre

[borgolarici · 4/10 · 27 December 2021]

If you're like fourteen and have never watched a horror movie, you may mildly enjoy this one.

It's low budget looking and clearly made for tv, the acting is atrocious and the script is bland and boring.

Very Good show

[Jessie_Enchanted · 5 October 2003]

This movie was worth the time. I enjoyed it .Its not often anymore that good movies come around and give you a chance to guess at something worth while. I seen this movie the first time around and enjoyed it along with getting to see Channon Roe (WHOOO HOTTT)

5+ out of 10 Movie

[morientes-68401 · 5/10 · 10 April 2024]

Not the worst movie I have seen, but I have seen better movie with almost same plot. It was slighly better than average after my opinion.

First i thought it was Sherelyn Fenn in the movie but her name is Tiffani-Amber Thiessen.

Annalisse Vellum (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen) is a young woman who, along with her mother Laura Vellum (Melinda Culea), move back to her mother's hometown, sometime after the death of her father. They rent the home of Laura's old school classmate, Clay Roff (Tim Matheson), whose troubled teenage daughter Mary (Erika Flores) disappeared sometime earlier. Clay invites the two women to dinner at his house, where they meet his current wife, Danielle Roff (Kelly Rutherford), and his young daughter, Heather. Soon after moving in, Annalisse starts having nightmares about a woman falling over a cliff, and is being haunted by the spirit of Mary. Annalisse begins to suspect foul play in Mary's disappearance and the death of Mary's mother, Ann, who she was having the nightmares about. Annalisse is soon suspected of a mental disorder by her mother, Clay and Danielle.

Annalisse becomes interested in a local man, Johnny Toussard (Channon Roe), which upsets Mary's spirit. Clay warns her not to get involved with the dangerous man. Despite these warnings, the two see each other, setting off Mary's wrath. Danielle convinces Annalisse's mother to have her temporarily committed for observation. While Clay watches from outside, Danielle states that Annalisse may be suffering the same mental illness Mary had. When released, Annalisse decides to investigate into Danielle's past; she discovers Danielle was treating and drugging Mary, and suspects she murdered Ann. Mary possesses Annalisse to visit Johnny, confronts her father, and her spirit rides her beloved horse and tramples Danielle, killing her. Clay discovered Danielle had murdered Ann, drugged Mary into a psychotic state, and has been drugging Annalise to keep her silent. Danielle had been having an affair with the then-married Clay; she was pregnant and had been plotting to marry him. Clay had blocked out burying Mary's body by the cliff after he believed she had murdered her mother, then committed suicide. Mary's spirit is now at rest; she thanks Annalisse, saying she will wait for her on the other side, and vanishes. Annalisse reunites with Johnny and is free.

I loved this movie

[acaciajules · 8/10 · 20 June 2006]

I loved this movie from the very first time I watched it. I have watched it over an over again, since then, and loved it more and more as time has passed.

It's a storyline that tugs at your heart, because it's a ghost story that plays not 100 years after the ghost's death, but less than a decade, so all the people affected by the tragedy are still alive. That just makes the desire for the truth to come out even more poignant. You just have to feel so horrible for her poor father, who was unknowingly married to his wife's killer for all that time. To know that the woman responsible for your child's death, is the mother of the only child you have left.

Then there's Johnny . . . wow. Probably the real reason I watched the movie so many times. Very sexy. And he did the tough, but grieving ex-boyfriend thing so well.

Best of all, the bad guy, or gal as it would be in this movie, gets it in the end! And the formerly possessed, spirit seeing girl, gets the hot mechanic.

Sure, it's not a blockbuster quality film, but it doesn't change the fact that it was a very cool movie, which I will blissfully enjoy for years to come.

Buried secrets

[LindsayNshelva · 10/10 · 2 September 2020]

I love this movie. I enjoy it a lot. Ivan watch. So may times this. Is one of my favorites I loved it. I can watch it over and over

Awesome!

[willowfan2002 · 25 February 2001]

I've seen a part of this movie before, but yesterday I saw the whole movie and I think it's a great movie. It isn't scary or something, but it's definitely worth watching. And the ending part is very beautiful too. I think Tiffany is a great actress.

Great movie with the most BEAUTIFUL girl alive!

[Keith Ross · 10/10 · 2 July 2002]

Wow, I hadn't seen Tiffany in a while and had forgotten just why I have always thought that she is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen! But enough about my personal taste in women, and on to the movie. It is really good! I happened upon it while surfing channels and I must admit that it is really great. Great atmosphere (small New England town), interesting twists, and really good acting. What sets this movie apart is the unique character of the ghost. She is a frightened girl, but also mentally unstable, so you don't know what to expect from her, is she friend or foe? All in all a very enjoyable movie, I hope it comes to DVD soon!

i loves this movie

[my_m8_1996 · 10/10 · 19 February 2005]

i like the movie because i get to see all the pretty girls there are hot woo i like to see it on VHS i look forward to buying the movie in stores or online. and think it help us lean that ghosts are there if you you believe in them i like the part ware the tiffany amber kissed boy named johnny his old girlfriend marry gets made because marry thinks that tiffany amber here to take her boyfriend and she cut tiffany arm off. and makes her leave the house.by [e-mail] by mark hawk

wish i had a picture of the girls i find them hot why does everyone. hate the movie i think it nice to see the nice girls because i like the movie buried secrets.

Nothing Hidden

[tedg · 27 October 2002]

Spoilers herein.

Normally, I would trash a project like this. It is of a type so wholly unoriginal, they grate, they offend. But I must admit I was impressed by the sheer competence of this. It is that strange mixture that keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting for the surprise deviation from the formula. And the longer it takes, the greater the tension. The longer it goes on and the more clear it becomes that they know what they are doing, the tension builds and builds. What could the twist be? What hint did I miss that they will surprise me with?

Greater and greater the anticipation swells until... it ends by following the formula by every jot and tittle, leaving you with a 90 minute tease. I suppose they could have crammed in a dog.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 4: Has some interesting elements.

ghost horse

[Holly-13 · 10/10 · 27 September 1999]

what is ghost horse? who thought up ghost horse? what a bunch of rot? this movie stunk

great film

[w4056 · 8/10 · 23 May 2005]

I think this film is ace, cant find anywhere that sells it though!! I'm a huge horror flick fan and i have to say its not that scary but very entertaining......a must for all those interested in ghosts and ghoul's.......

if you enjoy "what lies beneath" then you'll love this!

full of murder, deception, ghosts, hot guys and insane kids ............................

p.s.

if anybody knows where i can buy this give us a shout by e-mailing me on [e-mail]

An ordinary TV movie.

[martymaster · 29 May 2002]

I can't believe that so many people have said in their review that this is one of the best movies they have seen lately.I can't see why they would say that,i didn't think it was anything special. I must admit that Tiffani-Amber Thiessen is really sexy,but other from that it was an ordinary TV thriller.It has a little suspense,some half way scary moments and average acting. I have seen a lot of other TV movies that is much more entertaining,scary and have better acting.I have to admit that the story had potential for a good horror movie,but it didn't fright me.

Animate House

[carolynpaetow · 11 November 2003]

Perhaps the creators of this silly spooker believed that, because it concerns an apparition-plagued abode, motivations behind the characters' behavior could be as difficult to grasp as the ghost herself! The actions and situations are often so preposterous that the audience may well be constantly wondering why anyone would do or say what the script just indicated! The open-minded can certainly accept the possibility of a haunting spirit, but one which possesses the living and turns blue eyes brown? Maybe it's about all one can expect from a T-A Thiessen peekaboo boobfest where even the spec shows pec! As always, Tim Matheson gives it the old college try in this half-jelled melodrama that totally wastes his talent and the viewer's time. Please--somebody secretly bury this flick!

One of the best movies I've ever seen.

[e. · 21 August 1998]

This is one of the best movies I've ever seen. I like the ending part when Annaliese is saying goodebye to Mary. All I could say is Tiffani-Amber really knows how to act!