“Dead & Buried” came up on a list of horror films not often heard of. It would be easy to drop in a quip like for good reason, or it should stay buried.
But it’s not awful, and this time of year that’s usually enough to give it a shot.
It’s from 1981 so you know it will have a low quality of standards and production that inadvertently lead to creepiness. And its filled with practical effects that blow the doors off any CGI garbage we get these days.
It was directed by Gary Sherman, known for such gems as “Poltergeist III” and…nothing else you’ve ever heard of.
Welcome to Potters Bluff
I loved the atmosphere. Set in the fictitious coastal town of Potters Bluff, its foggy and filled with skies so grey you can almost smell the salt and seaweed right through the screen.
There’s not much depth to the plot.
After a shockingly brutal open, Sheriff Dan Gillis (James Farentino) is sent to investigate a series of murders. The entre town is made up of reanimated corpses, the work of a local coroner (Jack Albertson) who says it’s a secret medical breakthrough. “You can try to kill me,” he exclaims, But you can’t! You can only make me dead!”
Fun Cast
There are no big stars but lots of faces are recognizable from lots of different things. James Farentino, Melody Anderson, and Jack Albertson lead the cast.
I was proud that I recognized Robert Englund, sans makeup in a pre-Nightmare on Elm Street role. And Barry Corbin who I know from the great TV show Northern Exposure.
Should you watch it?
I was set to trash “Dead & Buried” but its not terrible. At a taut 94 minutes its fast enough to get through it. It’s predictable, goofy, and the scares are all cheesy.
You could do worse.
