Dead & Buried

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gary Sherman directs. Steven Poster behind the camera. Joe Renzetti scores. Alan Balsam cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 2Earned back only 7% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 345 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 4Directed by Gary Sherman, shot by Steven Poster. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Joe Renzetti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Alan Balsam shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7James Farentino and Melody Anderson and Jack Albertson carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "It will take your breath away. All of it.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0082242 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 15 themes, including "small town", "sheriff", "voodoo", "grave".
• 11Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Steven Poster

Original score

Joe Renzetti

Editing

Alan Balsam

Makeup / hair

Stan Winston

Sound

Robert L. Harman

Stunt coordinator

Bill Couch

Runtime

94 min · 1h 34m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$3,000,000

Box office

$216,166

Return

7% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Dead & Buried (1981) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

71% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

71/100

IMDB rating

6.5/10 · 15,622 votes

MPAA

R

Also by

Gary Sherman

• 
  Murderous Vision

  1991 · ★ 9.0
• 
  39: A Film by Carroll McKane

  2006 · ★ 7.0
• 
  After the Shock

  1990 · ★ 6.4
• 
  Vice Squad

  1982 · ★ 6.2
• 
  Mysterious Two

  1982 · ★ 6.1
• 
  Wanted: Dead or Alive

  1987 · ★ 6.0

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Dead & Buried (1981) Original Trailer [FHD]

  Trailer
• 

  ▶
  Guillermo del Toro on DEAD AND BURIED

  Featurette

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2021-03-28
  ★ 7/10

  Mysterious deaths in a foggy coastal town A puzzled sheriff in a hazy seaside hamlet in Maine (James Farentino) investigates a string of violent murders. Jack Albertson plays the mortician while Robert Englund appears as a mechanic in his pre-Freddy Krueger days. "Dead & Buried" (1981) is a unique, atmospheric horror that is reminiscent of other spooky flicks taking place in coastal towns, like “The Fog” (1980), “Messiah of Evil” (1973), “The Birds” (1963) and “Humanoids from the Deep” (1980). The opening features some surprisingly classy music (repeated during the end credits) which sets the stage for the slow-paced, moody investigation augmented by some pretty cutting edge and, frankly, shocking effects by Stan Winston. The striking Lisa Blount stands out on the feminine front, particularly her opening sequence. The head-turning Melody Anderson is also on hand as the sheriff’s wife. Meanwhile Lisa Marie appears as a hitchhiker (not the same actress as Tim Burton’s muse in the 90s). More should’ve been done with these women (not talking ‘bout sleaze). The film runs 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was shot in Mendocino, California (located about 3.5 hours north of San Francisco on the coast), and The Lot in West Hollywood. GRADE: B

  Read full review ↓
• JPV8522021-07-03
  ★ 8/10

  "Tales from the Crypt" (meets The Stepford Wives) like story that has plenty of entertainment value even though it's more on the creepy spectrum than scary. Jack Albertson as the mortician was a lot of fun and James Farentino had his moments. 3.75/5

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• BA

  Barclays Mercantile Industrial Finance

Key crew

• First Assistant DirectorBrian E. Frankish
• Makeup Effects DesignerStan Winston
• Assistant Property MasterJohn Rettino
• Property MasterDominick Bruno
• PropmakerGerald Perdew
• ADR MixerRichard D. Rogers
• Boom OperatorCharles Randall
• Dialogue EditorLettie Odney
• Sound MixerWilliam Randall Jr.
• Best Boy GripVito Carenzo
• Dolly GripJames Dyer
• First Assistant CameraRoger Gebhard
• Key GripKen Miller
• Second Assistant CameraJeff Goldenberg
• Assistant EditorNancy Forner
• Associate EditorRoss Albert
• Negative CutterDonah Bassett
• ProducerRobert Fentress
• ProducerRonald Shusett
• Executive ProducerRichard R. St. Johns
• EditorAlan Balsam
• Art DirectionJoe Aubel
• Art DirectionWilliam Sandell
• Set DecorationDennis Barton

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• small town
• sheriff
• voodoo
• grave
• murder
• corpse
• witchcraft
• new england
• mortician
• video nasty
• absurd
• facial reconstruction
• complicated
• disapproving
• harsh

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical (limited)1981-05-29R· Special Screening
• Theatrical (limited)1981-10-09R
• Theatrical (limited)1981-11-18R· Los Angeles, California
• Theatrical (limited)1981-09-04R· Tucson, AZ

Also known as

International titles

• Dead and BuriedGB
• Muertos y enterradosES
• Morts i enterratsES
• Mort et enterréBE
• Dood en begravenBE
• A Cidade dos Mortos-VivosBR
• RéincarnationsCA
• NoituuttaFI
• Död och begravenFI
• Tromos stin poliGR
• Ζωντανός και θαμμένοςGR
• ZongeriaJP
• Похоронены, но не мертвы...SU
• Look AliveUS
• Mrtvi i sahranjeniYU