User reviews

This is a real sleeper, although the presence of screenwriter Dan O'Bannon's ('Alien') name in the credits automatically assures us we are in for a treat. And this is most certainly the case; 'Dead and Buried' is a real class act. James Farentino is excellent as the bewildered sheriff of the small American fishing community of Potter's Bluff. And the opening scene, in which an unsuspecting photographer is burned alive in broad daylight, still shocks more than twenty years after the film's release. To reveal too much of the plot would be to spoil the surprise; suffice it to say that it involves a series of bizarre and brutal murders investigated by Farentino's character.

Stan Winston provides some great special makeup effects; witness the particularly gruesome sequence in which a man is embalmed... while still alive! Also, Lisa Blount appears as the seductive young lady on the beach in the opening scene (she can be seen in 'John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness'), and watch out for a fledgling Robert Englund before he rose to international stardom as serial killer Freddy Krueger in the 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' franchise. 'Dead and Buried''s final twist is really kick-ass and wonderfully macabre, and it wraps up a creepy, atmospheric outing. Definitely worth a look.

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.

Horror story full of tension, thrills , chills and restless terror. The writers of alien, Ronald Shusett and Dan O'Bannon , bring a new bizarre terror to earth . Suspense/horror film set in a small coastal town in Rhode Island where, after a series of gory murders committed by mobs of townspeople against visiting tourists, the corpses begin to come back to life . Bouts of insanity in the populace , realising a plague of murderous madness that are leading several grisly killings . In the little town some people begins to kill and rioting, and things really start going to hell with this sudden death-wave . The strange events drive its victims mad before killing them, with a difficult line between normal hysteria and actual insanity . Meanwhile the sheriff Gillis ( James Farentino married to Melody Anderson ) is investigating the weird deeds , but has no tracks to what's going on. Fortunately, the coastal small New England town has a magnificent mortician named William G. Dobbs (Jack Albertson) , who is glad to take care of these deaths which is good for his business . The puzzling seems to be resolved at the creepy final packed with twists and turns .

This one is of the highest earning horror movies of the 80s and contains a good cast as James Farentino , Melody Anderson and special mention to Jack Albertson as the mysterious undertaker . Furthermore , early apparition of the future terror icon as Robert Englund and film debut for Lisa Blount . It's a solid movie , a terror story plenty of suspense and intrigue in which the victims seem to be coming back to life. Film itself takes place from point of sight the sheriff and the mortician . The living dead appearance is the high point of the movie , they deliver the goods plenty of screams, shocks and tension . The horror moments are compactly made and fast moving . It packs tension, shocks, thrills, chills and lots of gore and blood . There's plenty of moments of gore and a number of scenes that are quite horrifying , resulting to be definitely the spotlight of the film the surprising ending . This gory chiller is well made by Gary A. Sherman . Gary is an expert on action genre as proved in ¨Wanted : dead or alive¨ , ¨Vice squad¨ and terror as ¨Death line¨ , ¨Poltergeister III¨ , and ¨Dead and buried¨ , this one is his best film . Rating : 6,5 , good horror movie .

"Dead & Buried" is a classic horror "small town with a secret" film, this time concerning a tiny little seaside town called Potter's Bluff. The formerly peaceful community has suddenly been plagued by a series of grisly murders for the town sheriff Dan (James Farentino) to investigate. Creepier still, the murder victims reappear as walking, talking, friendly townsfolk. And what does the eccentric town mortician (Jack Albertson) have to do with it?

This rarely talked about flick, above all else, is a masterpiece of atmosphere...moodily lit, foggy, with a genuine sense of claustrophobia as the horrors seem to be closing in closer and closer to Dan's own home and family, especially the strange new habits his wife (Melody Anderson) has taken up lately.

All of the actors are solid enough, but Jack Albertson steals the show as the eccentric, big band loving Mortician Dobbs. In one of his final performances, he delivers a character whose unsettling realism and reverence for the dead will make you completely forget his also classic turn as the kindly grandpa in "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory". Rather than just play this character, he inhabits his psyche and becomes Dobbs, and it shows.

Everything from the low key bits of airy score music to the often slow and dreamlike pacing of the plot, is dedicated to heightening the viewer sense of disconnection and dread, leading up to a well known sort of "twist" climax, which in this context doesn't seem hackneyed.

My only real problem with this film is that the pacing can sometimes seem jarring, with little connection to scenes preceding it, almost to the point of breaking the well crafted mood. Also, the climax was a bit too abrupt and a few more seconds of that final anguished scene would've done a lot to increase the film's overall impact.

I'd still highly recommend "Dead & Buried", as a solid reminder of what imaginative and well made R rated horror used to be, before the parade of dull remakes and tamed to PG-13 bore fests that now clutter the genre.

Gary Sherman's film Dead & Buried, from a script by Alien writers Ron Shusset and (the late) Dan O'Bannon, is a strange creature of a movie. It's meant to reel in the horror movie crowd, but it's for a crowd of another time period. That is, at least, the filmmaker's intention, and it's the kind of horror movie that might have been made in the 40's (maybe Val Lewton would've produced it, though probably never showing a death on screen), and has a mad mortician, calmly and chillingly played by Jack ("Grandpa Joe" from Willy Wonka) Albertson, bringing back people from the dead and having those dead go after tourists or passerbys who have the dumb luck to travel into town.

Sometimes the gore is meant to be emphasized, like with the death of the fisherman or the doctor who gets acid poured on him. The latter of these is a terrible scene, not just because Stan Winston wasn't involved in the effect (you can tell), but because it's done too much and the camera lingers a little too long. Dead & Buried is helped by it being surreal: the opening scene where the guy is photographing on the beach, comes across the woman and starts to take pictures "for Playboy" and then is overcome by a horde of people also flashing pictured and filming and is killed by fire, is something out of a pure nightmare (you almost expect someone to wake up, but no one does). When it sticks to this dead-undead thing, of the hints at witchcraft and the eerie performances by the Sheriff's wife and some of the townspeople like Robert Englund, make it worthwhile.

Dead & Buried is not what you expect, which is a good and not-so-good thing. It's low-budget and atmospheric, and its ending is a bit of a WTF twist that seems unnecessary. But there's a lot of interest here, a lot of weird effects with cameras and crowds of the undead. Just don't go expecting the usual flesh and guts show, despite what the film's own distributors thought at the time.

A suspense horror film set in a small coastal town where, after a series of gory murders committed by mobs of townspeople against visiting tourists, the corpses begin to come back to life.

Officially, the script was written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett; O'Bannon later disowned the film, claiming that Shusett had written the script by himself but needed O'Bannon's name on the project to promote it being from the creators of "Alien". (Shusett and O'Bannon co-wrote "Alien", but the latter was the bigger name. Even today, Shusett is not well known, despite producing such science fiction hits as "Total Recall" and "Minority Report").

The most noted horror name here is Robert Englund, who appears as Harry. At this point Englund had appeared in "Eaten Alive" but not yet "Nightmare on Elm Street", so he is given relatively little screen time and few lines to speak. In retrospect, I am sure the creators wish they had featured him more. But stealing the show was Jack Albertson, who portrayed William G. Dobbs as no one else could (as then passed away the same year). Although the film has a solid plot and good gore, the Dobbs character is what makes this a cut above the average film.

Definitely a film that should be seen by those who have not yet had the pleasure...

Strange things are happening at the small town of Potters Bluff. Strangers visiting the town or passing through are being killed...and then showing up alive and well! Sheriff Dan Gillis (James Farentino) can't figure out what's going on. Could the creepy mortuary owner William Dobbs (Jack Albertson in his last theatrical role) have anything to do with it? And why is his lovely wife (beautiful Melody Anderson) acting so strangely?

Don't expect any solid answers to these questions. A lot of things are left unexplained by the end...but this film still works. The atmosphere of this whole film is very eerie. Most events take place at night or on overcast days and there always seems to be a strange mist around. Most of the sets are (deliberately I think) under lit adding to the feeling of dread. The acting is pretty good, a sequence where a family is attacked is chilling, there's a couple of nice gory moments (pretty tame by today's standards but they were extreme in 1981) and a surprise ending that you'll probably see coming a mile away. Also a very effective music score. So it DOES leave a lot of questions and plot holes dangling but the movie creates a creepy mood and feeling very effectively.

This was barely released in 1981 (there were various issues with the companies funding it) but was issued in 2003 in a complete, uncut DVD. Worth checking out if you're a horror fan. I give it a 7.

Neither an unappreciated masterpiece nor a forgotten gem, Dead and Buried is simply a pretty respectable old horror movie from 1981.

The movie is less a plot than a figure-it-out. Early scenes have many visitors to the small town of Potter's Bluff being killed in fairly gruesome fashion by several assailants, and it is hardly a spoiler to say that several of these attackers are local citizens with standard day jobs, as this is also revealed almost instantly.

The rest of the movie involves local Sheriff Dan Gillis and his efforts to work out who is responsible and why.

That's really it...

... Really.

Through the next hour or so you sorta already now how it will turn out, only a few clever but subtle changes come up meaning that even when you know what is going to happen, you almost don't.

The acting is serviceable although some of the bit part characters overact fiercely at times, including the murdered fisherman who takes drunk acting to ludicrous levels.

A very camp undertaker - Dobbs - has some left field opinions and is not afraid to share them with Dan, who grows increasingly confused as evidence piles up around him.

I won't say what sub-genre of horror we are dealing with here, as even the most minor allusion will give away the whole movie.

I can't be bothered whipping up another 600 words on a straightforward movie such as this so I won't. What we have here is a pretty basic scenario brightened up somewhat towards the end by several minor variations and twists, nothing like "Bruce Willis' wife dropping the Wedding ring" or "Samara crawling through the TV", but welcome additions to what would otherwise be a Twilight Zone episode nonetheless.

Oh, and I don't think I could finish without mentioning Robert Englund of Freddie fame is in this, it's irrelevant though.

Final Rating 6 / 10. Worth a look but it is obvious as to why this isn't mentioned in the same breath as The Exorcist or The Omen.

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Take a trip to Potter's Bluff and the chances are you'll wind up dead; but give it a day or two and you'll be up and about and as right as rain, courtesy of local mortician Mr.Dobbs, expert in the reconstruction of corpses and a dab hand at the ol' black magic.

Director Gary Sherman (Deathline, Poltergeist III) and writer Dan O'Bannon (Alien, Return of the Living Dead) deliver an effective little horror movie which, despite a rather preposterous premise, manages to be very eerie and also rather shocking.

Dead and Buried actually managed to appear on the DPP Video Nasty list in the 80's, but although there are quite a few gruesome moments, there really wasn't anything so bad that it warranted banning the film; fortunately, the film is now available uncut on DVD.

The gory moments, by renowned FX artist Stan Winston, include a nasty burns victim, an impressive 'syringe-in-the-eye' gag, a wonderful facial reconstruction scene, and a slightly less impressive moment when a victim has acid squirted up his nostrils, resulting in a facial meltdown.

Director Sherman does a great job in imbuing the film with a spooky vibe (most notably with the scene in which a family are pursued through a deserted house by the murderous inhabitants of Potter's Bluff) and the majority of the cast (including a pre-Elm Street Robert Englund) give commendable performances.

The movie ends with a nice little twist that should surprise most viewers.

***EDIT: Apparently, the acid effect was not by Stan Winston, but another FX team—see trivia for details***

If you have read the synopsis for Dead and Buried be advised that most of the movie your going to be waiting for the main character to wise up to plot. If the synopsis you read contained the word "zombie" you'll be in for an even longer wait, as it takes Sheriff Dan along time to unravel the mystery of the strange going on's at Potter's Bluff. Not that a slow moving mystery is inherently bad, but it is if certain things become obvious to the viewer long before the characters in the film. Those who are patient and continue to watch the film waiting for it to fill in the missing pieces will be disappointed as unfortunately the film isn't very good at doing so. Any film whose substitutes much needed motives for the old "I'm just crazy" bit is leaving a lot to be desired in my book.

Genre fans who have heard this film is a zombie film will be disappointed, as it is not. It has more in common with films like "The Stepford Wives" and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", and shows like "The Twilight Zone" then "Night of Living Dead". Not that different is bad, but fair warning to people who want a visceral horror movie, look else where.

This film has serious flaws in term of pacing and logic. It's rare that a movie that is only 92 minutes long can be considered over long, but I think in Dead and Buried's case, less would have been more. The viewer is treated to many gruesome murder scenes, and while they initial provided tension, then eventually just slow the narrative down, by reinstating the obvious, "Bad things are happening in this town".

One such murder scene involves an out of town family and is prefect example of crappy horror movie logic. This family is following one of the locals to a gas station when suddenly something runs in front of the car, they swerve to avoid it, hitting a telephone poll. Then the mother sees a light blink on and off from a near by house, she tells her husband, but he inexplicable refuses to believe her. Obviously, the concept of a light being on in a house is inconceivable to him. After some pointless arguing the husband finally gives in and takes his family to the house, inside they find nothing dust and cobwebs. Not to be deterred by the obvious the wife tells her husband to "check the basement". The basement? Why on earth would you walk into a two story house, check the first floor, and then decided the basement is the next logical place to look for occupants? Especially if every light in the house is off and its obvious that no one has lived there for a very long time? The scene I just mentioned also the distinction of being horrible dubbed (see trivia for the reason why), it would have personally been first on the cutting room floor for me if I was the editor.

In addition to standard dumb horror movie logic, the plot is just not well thought as a whole, full of little things that are so illogical if you find your self accidentally thinking about what is happen on screen you'll just a have a "huh?" moment. For instance, the detective is clued into the possibility of zombies by overhearing a lecture on the subject, a lecture by someone who is revealed at the end of the film, to be a zombie! What? Why would a zombie give a lecture about zombies to possible other zombies? This ham fisted scenes serves no other purpose but to introduce the word into detective Dan's vocabulary. The ending is the biggest offender in terms of bad logic, the script obviously thought it was being clever, but spend a moment of thought on the ending revelation and how it relates to rest of the movie and it just doesn't make any sense.

The film is also brought down by one of the most obvious horror scores in history. Sinister moments are always punctuated, BUM BUM BUUUMM, just so you don't miss them.

On the bright side, this film succeeds at being creepy. There are some scenes in the movie that come off as effectively creepy and that's what saves the movie and makes it watchable. It also contains decent gore effects from Stan Winston, with the exception of one scene (see trivia again). This is one of those films that I think would be more effective if you just accidentally found it while flipping through channels in the middle of the night, as opposed to reading about it on the internet and actively seeking it out. However since you obviously have already read about it on the internet just be advised. Dead and Buried is a flawed movie that overcomes its flaws in places and still manages to be unnerving.

A Troubled Production and Lame Box-Office didn't Stop this One from Becoming a Horror Cult Favorite with some Critical Acclaim. It is a Whole Lot of Eighties Fun. A Creepy, Sometimes Silly Movie.

The Indecision of the Filmmakers of whether to Make this a Dark Comedy or Straight Horror is Evident in the Wavering Tone. The Make-Up from Stan Winston is Way Above Average for a Low-Budget Movie and the Acting is Pretty Good All Around.

There is a Twilight Zone Vibe, which a lot of Times had a Tongue-In-Cheek way of Creeping Out Viewers. Quite a Bit of Gore although Compared to Others, Not that Much. The Story is Strictly E.C. Comic Book Stuff but Works for its Target Audience.

Overall, a Sleeper that has been Awakened in Later Years, but Not Fully Re-Animated. It is Still a Relatively Unknown Movie, but those who have Seen it Loudly Laud it as a Classic. That is the Definition of a Cult Film.

Neat seldom talked about horror film made by Gary Sherman, the man who brought us Deathline, Vice Squad, and Poltergeist III. Like most of Sherman's films, Dead & Buried is laced with a rather large dose of gore. One man is beaten and burned(later to survive and get needled in the worst possible way), another is beaten and marred with fishing hooks, another hacked to death, another with acid, and you get the general picture...and you get all the details as Sherman is not shy showing us these things with the camera lens either. The story centers on these deaths and their investigation by sheriff James Farentino. Farentino soon realizes that few if any can be trusted in the not-so-quaint New England town of Potter's Bluff, and that the cause of the deaths and the mystery soon fall on town mortician Jack Albertson. The film looses some credibility with the ambiguous nature of the script but is enhanced by the atmospheric direction of Sherman and the quality performances by the cast as a whole. There are definite frightening moments in the film that will make you jump in your seat. Farentino is good in his role and Melody Anderson is adequate(certainly attractive) in her role as his wife. The supporting cast with Barry Corbin, Robert Englund, and a host of familiar faces do very nicely, but the real star is Jack Albertson in one of his last roles. Albertson gives a fine performance and is suitably creepy. His entrance down a hillside in the coroner's car while playing big band music was a scenic highlight for me. A good...not great..film that is good for some honest scares.

By far one of the better Horrors of the 80's with a fantastic cast, a good script, great music and a general feeling of something special. Not as well known as some of the bigger named horror movies, but once seen, never forgotten. It has a certain eeriness that's lacking in so many others. A must watch for all Horror fans.

In the 1981 horror thriller "Dead & Buried," the billboard leading into town reads "Potters Bluff--A New Way Of Life," and boy, talk about truth in advertising! All newcomers and visitors to this picturesque, New England coastal town have a tendency to get themselves gruesomely murdered by the locals...only to return later on, fresh as the proverbial daisy! This, of course, has Sheriff Gillis, portrayed by the always likable James Farentino, understandably perplexed, to put it mildly. Anyway, from its gently haunting theme song by Joe Renzetti to its double--no, better make that triple--surprise ending, "Dead & Buried" proved a very pleasant surprise for me. Though never really frightening, it does offer some startling moments, some truly yucky makeup FX (thanks to veteran Stan Winston), an involving, slow-burn plot, and one scene guaranteed to give new meaning to the term "acidhead." Yes, there are a few slow stretches, and one too many scenes are underlit or transpire in the dark of night, but the film is never less than interesting, and earns its increasingly freaky final 20 minutes and startling plot twists. Ultimately, Potters Bluff is more reminiscent of a potter's field, and Lisa Blount goes down as possibly the most lethal nurse in film history...well, at least until Daryl Hannah came along in 2003's "Kill Bill," anyway. I haven't yet mentioned Jack Albertson, here in his final film role as the local genius of a mortician, Dobbs, but he is very fine, as well, bringing, er, life to his unusual character. All in all, "Dead & Buried" may prove as surprisingly pleasing to others as I found it. Recommended. And oh...another high-quality DVD from the fine folks at Blue Underground has been provided here, with only minimal grain.

I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs n somehow my young mind didn't pay attention to the plot n i wasnt moved by the twist then. Revisited it recently n was completely in awe of the sheer creepiness n the mind *uckin twist.

The plot is very eerie n the film shocking n violent at times - Tourists n passersby are murdered in gruesome ways in a small coastal town and the local sheriff becomes disconcerted when death occurs frequently. He along with the local coroner works hard to discover the motive for the killings but his investigations are complicated by the bizarre behavior of his wife's obsession with witchcraft.

This film has a good script with ample amount of suspense n tension. The family getting trapped is damn scary n that was the only scene which stayed with me since i first saw this.

The setting in the little seaside town, shrouded in fog , with the strangely detached residents, is a great set up for "Dead & Buried". What's intriguing, is the veil of mystery, that keeps things on edge. The cameras certainly are an interesting touch, and I assume necessary to put the dead back together the way they were before they visited Potters Bluff. The film is extremely dark in places, and relentlessly down beat. Acting is good, with Jack Albertson a standout as the town mortician. The conclusion is satisfying, twisted, and has elements of unexpected dark comedy. Though shocking in parts, the creepy atmosphere, and fine script are ultimately the deciding factors, and push "Dead & Buried beyond the usual horror film. - MERK

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 ****