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Saturday, October 2, 2010

#57. Dead & Buried (1981)

DVD Synopsis: Something very strange is happening in the quiet coastal village of Potters Bluff, where tourists and transients are warmly welcomed... then brutally murdered. But even more shocking is when these slain strangers suddenly reappear as normal, friendly citizens around town. Now the local sheriff (James Farentino of The Final Countdown) and an eccentric mortician (Oscar winner Jack Albertson in his final feature film appearance) must uncover the horrific secret of a community where some terrifying traditions are alive and well... and no one is ever really Dead & Buried.







Its movies like Dead & Buried that make being a film fan so worthwhile, a new discovery that hits you from out of the blue, then blows you away. 

There are a number of disturbing scenes (the first of which involves a body in a burned-out vehicle), and Jack Albertson is great as the town’s egotistical mortician, but what I loved most about Dead & Buried was how it just dropped me into the middle of a bad situation, and then challenged me to keep up with it all. The film is essentially a horror mystery, and as such spends no time whatsoever in establishing a back story. It's a puzzle; a grisly, gruesome puzzle splattered with blood, but a puzzle nonetheless and I had a great time trying to piece it all together.


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1 comment:

  1. Underrated genre gem. Atmospheric, creep and ultimately bleak, this is one if the more substantial 80's 'horror' flicks and a welcome respite from the rash of slasher flicks produced in that decade.

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