Dead & Buried (1981)

Director:

Gary Sherman

Writers:

Ronald Shusett (screenplay) &
Dan O'Bannon (screenplay) ...
(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 | Undertaker | Killing | Corpse

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 / 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:
Tony Cecere	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Bill Couch	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Bill Couch Jr.	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Angelo De Meo	...	Townsperson (uncredited)

Directed by
Gary Sherman		(as Gary A. Sherman)

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

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)

Makeup Department
Jan Cook	....	hair stylist
Ziggy Geike	....	special wigs
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
Amanda J. Flick	....	scenic artist
Jay M. Hirsch	....	construction foreman
James E. Tocci	....	set designer

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

Special Effects by
James Cummins	....	lab technician
Vincent Prentice	....	special makeup effects crew: Stan Winston Studio

Stunts
Tony Cecere	....	stunts
Bill Couch	....	stunt coordinator
Bill Couch	....	stunts
Bill Couch Jr.	....	stunts
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

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

Editorial Department
Ross Albert	....	associate editor
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Rick Greenhead	....	telecine colorist
Robert K. Lambert	....	post-production executive

Music Department
Murray McFadden	....	score mixer
Jack K. Tillar	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Wayne Nelson	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Dustin Bernard	....	production assistant
Dixie J. Capp	....	production coordinator
Kimberley Coy	....	unit publicist
Alvin Greenman	....	script supervisor
Toni Lemos	....	location coordinator
Jim McCarthy	....	assistant accountant

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)
• Europa Filmes (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (200?) (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Stan Winston Studio

Also Known As:

Dead and Buried (UK)

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) | Finland:K-18 (DVD rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) | Sweden:15 | Australia:R | Finland:(Banned) | 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 effects team who created the "dissolving head" effect for Doc's murder mentioned in an interview that the director had originally told them that he wanted to do the scene in one unbroken shot, meaning they had to build a head that was both convincing and also would "melt" the way they wanted it to. They lamented the fact that, while they did the best they could with what they had, the director ended up using a cutaway shot anyway, which would have given them the opportunity to make the scene much more realistic.

Goofs:

Continuity: The hitchhiker can be seen as a zombie before she is actually killed, reconstructed and brought back to life. This is because the abandoned house scene - where she is clearly visible as one of the dead townfolk - was originally placed in the film after her resurrection.

Quotes:

Dan Gillis: Betty and her toys. There's nobody else to talk to on that damn police channel and she can't call me by my name. That's TV cop shows, Harry. That's what does it.
Harry: Do you think the county would let me have this rig for salvage?
Dan Gillis: Anyhow, she said that he was on his way.
Harry: Okay, no hurry. The fellow in there is a definite goner. Get a good gander that that face, Danny?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Moody, magical horror

Gary Sherman's horror masterpiece begins with one of cinema's best beatings (and burnings) of a fellow human being. The scene takes place on a beach in Potter's Bluff (Mendocino, No. Cal) and is a hypnotic, brutal, black shock to the system.

The beating is filmed by a mild-mannered pipe-smoking old man, a waitress, a mechanic and many other affable citizens of the area. It sets the scene for much grotesquery to come.

DEATH LINE (aka RAW MEAT) demonstrated that Sherman had the goods. DEAD AND BURIED cements him into the brickwork of the horror hall of fame.

Future Freddy Kruger (Robert Englund) makes an appearance, as does sexy Lisa Blount from AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN. But the film's real star is the (now dead and buried himself) Jack Albertson as the coroner of Potter's Bluff. Albertson's is an eccentric, layered, career-best performance.

The tone is dream-like and ethereal. Even interiors are filled with mist. A foghorn is heard constantly. Nobody is who they seem.

A stand-out is a Super-8 home video shot by some students. Its climax provides a not unexpected revelation and the film itself perfectly embodies the horror of corruption which director Sherman is pushing.

The film did zero theatrical business because it's too damn weird for most audiences, and too damn good. But it has developed a cult on video.

Exceptional.