Dead & Buried (1981)

Director:

Gary Sherman

Writers:

Jeff Millar (story) &
Alex Stern (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

29 May 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

The writers of alien... ...bring a new terror to earth.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Murder | Corpse | Undertaker | Killing

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

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
Linda Shusett	...	Waitress (as Linda Turley)
Ed Bakey	...	Fisherman
Glenn Morshower	...	Jimmy
Robert Boler	...	Mr. Haskell
Michael Pataki	...	Sam
Jill Fosse	...	Nurse
Mark Courtney	...	Jamie
Michael Courtney	...	Jamie
Renee McDonell	...	Girl #1
Dottie Catching	...	Lady Car Passenger
Colby Smith	...	Female Stranger
Judy Ashton	...	Joyce
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anthony Cecere	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Bill Couch Jr.	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Bill Couch	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Angelo De Meo	...	Townsperson (uncredited)

Directed by
Gary Sherman		(as Gary A. Sherman)

Writing credits
Jeff Millar		(story) &
Alex Stern		(story)
Ronald Shusett		(screenplay) &
Dan O'Bannon		(screenplay)

Produced by
Robert Fentress	....	producer
Michael I. Rachmil	....	associate producer
Ronald Shusett	....	producer
Richard R. St. Johns	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Joe Renzetti

Cinematography by
Steven Poster		(as Steve Poster)

Film Editing by
Alan Balsam

Casting by
Linda Francis

Art Direction by
Joe Aubel
William Sandell		(as Bill Sandell)

Set Decoration by
Dennis Barton
Cloudia Rebar		(as Cloudia)

Makeup Department
Carl Cobery	....	makeup lab technician (as Carl Michael Cobery)
Jan Cook	....	hair stylist
Zoltan Elek	....	makeup artist
Ziggy Geike	....	special wigs
Edouard F. Henriques	....	makeup artist (as Edouard Henriques)
Vincent Prentice	....	makeup artist
Stan Winston	....	makeup effects designer

Production Management
John W. Hyde	....	executive in charge of production
William P. Owens	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Andrew A. Ackerman	....	second assistant director (as Andy Ackerman)
Brian E. Frankish	....	first assistant director
Scott Thaler	....	second assistant director (as Scott Ira Thaler)

Art Department
Dominick Bruno	....	property master
Lee B. Drygas	....	leadman (as Lee Drygas)
Jay M. Hirsch	....	construction foreman
Airick Kredell	....	leadman
Gerald Perdew	....	prop maker (as Gerry Perdew)
John Rettino	....	assistant property master
James E. Tocci	....	set designer
Amanda J. Flick	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gordon Ecker	....	sound effects editor (as Gordon Ecker Jr.)
Robert L. Harman	....	sound re-recording mixer
William L. McCaughey	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lettie Odney	....	dialogue editor
William M. Randall Jr.	....	second boom operator (as Bill Randall Jr.)
William M. Randall Jr.	....	sound mixer (as Bill Randall)
Charles Randall	....	boom operator (as Chuck Randall)
Richard D. Rogers	....	adr mixer (as Richard Rogers)
Howard S. Wollman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Anthony Milch	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
James Kagel	....	sculptor
James Cummins	....	lab technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Bill Hansard	....	process coordinator

Stunts
Anthony Cecere	....	stunts
Bill Couch Jr.	....	stunts
Bill Couch	....	stunt coordinator
Bill Couch	....	stunts
Chuck Couch	....	stunts (as Charles Couch)
Angelo De Meo	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Ron Batzdorff	....	gaffer
Vito Carenzo	....	best boy grip
Jim Dyer	....	dolly grip
Roger Gebhard	....	first assistant camera
Jeff Goldenberg	....	second assistant camera
John Koester	....	camera operator
Elliott Marks	....	still photographer
Ken Miller	....	key grip
Ernest Paul Roebuck	....	lighting best boy (as Ernie Roebuck)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bill Jobe	....	costumes
Erica Edell Phillips	....	costume supervisor (as Erica Phillips)

Editorial Department
Ross Albert	....	associate editor
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Nancy Forner	....	assistant editor
Robert K. Lambert	....	post-production executive
Rick Greenhead	....	telecine colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Frank Capp	....	music contractor
Murray McFadden	....	scoring mixer
Jack K. Tillar	....	music editor (as Jack Tillar)

Transportation Department
Fred Hendley	....	transportation co-captain
Wayne Nelson	....	transportation captain
Donna Smith	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Dustin Bernard	....	production assistant
Dixie J. Capp	....	production coordinator
Kimberley Coy	....	unit publicist
Alvin Greenman	....	script supervisor
Carole Keagy	....	advertising and promotion
Toni Lemos	....	location coordinator
Jim McCarthy	....	paymaster
Kate Morris	....	production administrator
Ty Nutt	....	dialogue coach: Mr. Albertson
Edwin D. Rich	....	production accountant
Anthony Ridio	....	assistant to producer (as Anthony Jon Ridio)
Anna St. Johns	....	production executive
Mark Thomas	....	assistant: Mr. Farentino

Production Companies

• Barclays Mercantile Industrial Finance

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• New World-Mutual (1982) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Vestron Video (1983) (USA) (VHS)
• Indies Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Force Video (2002) (Australia) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2003) (USA) (DVD) (limited edition)
• Blue Underground (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Manga Films (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2009) (USA) (video) (Blu-ray)
• PSO International (1981) (non-USA) (theatrical)
• Europa Filmes (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (200?) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Showtime (????) (Finland) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Knott Limited

Other Companies

• Aspen Productions (I)  production services
• Wallaworks  sound effects editing
• Modern Film Effects  opticals
• Neiman-Tillar Associates  music post-production
• Evergreen Recording Studios  music scoring facility (as Evergreen Studios)
• Ryder Sound Services  sound post-production

Also Known As:

"Dead and Buried" - UK
"Réincarnations" - Canada (French title), France
"Död och begraven" - Sweden
"Holtan és eltemetve" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"Kuolleet ja haudatut" - Finland (video title)
"Martwy i pogrzebany" - Poland (imdb display title)
"Morti e sepolti" - Italy
"Mrtvi i zakopani" - Serbia (imdb display title)
"Muertos & Enterrados" - Mexico (imdb display title)
"Muertos y enterrados" - Spain
"Noituutta" - Finland (informal title)
"Os mortos Vivos" - Brazil
"Reencarnações" - Portugal
"Tot & begraben" - West Germany
"Tromos stin poli" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Zongeria" - Japan
"Zontanos kai thammenos" - Greece (video title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (1991) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2002) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16 (2002) (DVD) | Australia:R | Finland:(Banned) (uncut) (1981) | France:-16 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Norway:18 (video) (1984) | Norway:(Banned) (video) (1986) | Norway:(Banned) (1981-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Mendocino, California, USA

Company:

Barclays Mercantile Industrial Finance

Trivia:

The film suffered a lot of interference from PSO International, the third financer who bought out the second financer, Aspen (who in turn had bought Guinness, the original financer). PSO wanted to emphasize gore over comedy, the latter of which Gary Sherman's directors' cut had concentrated on. As a result, numerous scenes were cut or shortened, and two scenes of graphic violence were tacked on at PSO's request: the killing of the drunk fisherman (Ed Bakey) and the acid death of Doc (Joe Medalis). The death of the fisherman (which was originally an off-screen kill in the first cut) was done by Stan Winston, but they could not get Winston back to off the doctor (which was not in the first cut at all, as he was supposed to be dead already), so another FX team was used on that one sub-par effect.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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:

[repeated line]
Ernie:Welcome to Potters Bluff!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Horror Business (2005) (V)

Great sleeper horror; a real find.

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.