Buried Alive

TV Movie
1990
PG-13
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

5.3K

YOUR RATING

The new teacher at an old girl's boarding school suspects that something goes wrong when students start missing.

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Crime Drama Fantasy Horror Mystery Romance Thriller

A husband finds out that his wife and her lover are trying to kill him.A husband finds out that his wife and her lover are trying to kill him.A husband finds out that his wife and her lover are trying to kill him.

Director
- Frank Darabont
Writers
- David A. Davies
- Mark Patrick Carducci
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

5.3K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Frank Darabont
Writers
- David A. Davies
- Mark Patrick Carducci
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
According to John Carpenter on the audio commentary for Vampires (1998) close friend director Frank Darabont asked Carpenter to play a truck driver. Carpenter turned the offer down because he stated that he would only play a character that kills someone or is in bed with a beautiful woman.

Goofs
At the morgue, when Clint is about to be embalmed, his head moves. Earl, the embalmer, says it is just a reflex and that he has seen it before. As embalmers can attest, dead bodies are known to belch, fart, twitch and, on rare occasions, sit up. This is due not to "reflex" but because of gases moving through the body and muscles contracting as chemical changes begin.

Quotes
[last lines]
Sheriff Sam Eberly: [He's standing behind Clint, who has his back to him] Chilly today. I should have worn my top coat. I came to pay my respects to a friend. He's buried here. Did you know him?
Clint Goodman: [pause, then] No.
Sheriff Sam Eberly: Died last week. Died sudden. I never... never had the chance to tell him how much our friendship really meant to me.
Clint Goodman: Maybe he knows.
[starts to walk away]
Sheriff Sam Eberly: Hey, mister!
[Clint stops, slowly turns around to face Sam]
Sheriff Sam Eberly: I don't know who you are, but don't come back here... ever.

Connections
Followed by Buried Alive II (1997)

User reviews43

Review

Featured review

7/10

A Dark Tale of Betrayal and Revenge

The joiner Clint Goodman (Tim Matheson) is a man that has built his comfortable house and his construction company in his hometown with hard work. He loves his wife Joanna (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and they have been unsuccessfully trying to have a baby. Clint's best friend is the Sheriff Sam Eberly (Hoyt Axton) and every now and then they spend the night fishing in the lake.

Clint does not suspect that Joanna is having a love affair with the local doctor Cortland 'Cort' van Owen (William Atherton). The lovers plot to kill Clint and sell his company and his house, and then they would move to New York City. Cort gives a poison to Joanna and she spikes Clint's wine with the drug. Clint has the effect of a heart attack and is immediately buried without autopsy in a cheap coffin.

During the night, Clint awakes buried alive, but he succeeds to escape. He goes to his house and he finds the truth about his wife and the doctor. Further, he learns that Joanna was pregnant and Dr. Cort had made an abortion of his child. Clint plots a dark revenge against Joanna and Cort.

"Buried Alive" is a dark tale of betrayal and revenge for television by Frank Darabont in the beginning of his career. I saw this B-movie for the first time in the 90's on VHS and today I have just seen on DVD. The good thing is this film has not aged and is still great. Jennifer Jason Leigh is excellent as usual and Tim Matheson and William Atherton had good performances.

The plot has many coincidences, but is engaging. The unforgettable conclusion in the cemetery explains the title of this film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sepultado Vivo" ("Buried Alive")