Chad

Trevor

Bump for today's discussion.

Gobear

I read the Chelsea Quinn Yarbro novelization of Dead & Buried years ago, but the movie never showed up in theaters near me, so it took 20 years for me to find it on DVD. It's a surprising film because you don't expect to find actors like Jack Albertson and James Farentino in a low-budget drive-in horror flick. I wish I had been able to watch this on the big-screen because that needle scene needs to be viewed with an audience.

coyoteblue

I noticed this time around (it's been a couple of decades between viewings), that you never see anyone actually eating, just drinking, if they're drinking at all. Not to mention the general decrepitudeness of the town (not that that seemed to bother the few humans still living there).

And if I'm not mistaken, that this is a game that Sheriff Dan and Dobbs have played before.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

It seemed like your normal, crappy, tiny town on the coast to me. We have more than a few that look like that in Oregon. You have to consider the damage salt water does to paint, especially along buildings near the beach.

I need to get my wife to watch this. She'd probably freak out.

SethDLH

This movie is damn good. Everytime I revisit it I'm reminded of why I find it so underrated. It is tense, scary and filled with incredible atmosphere but hardly ever gets mentioned. So good.

rbrown498

I first saw Dead and Buried in the summer of 1982, on HBO. I happened to watch it with my grandmother, who laughed all the way through it. She kept saying, "Now that's just silly" when any of the assorted mayhem in the movie would happen, and she'd laugh some more. This was kind of distracting to me, since I was trying to get into the vibe of the movie. I mean, it had gory deaths, and a great creepy setting, and Melody Anderson--I loved it. Well, tonight, I watched Dead and Buried for the first time since 1982. And you know what? My grandmother was right. Jack Albertson plays a mortician named Dobbs who, unbeknownst to the sheriff (James Franciscus) of the tiny hamlet of Potter's Bluff, has been taking the dead bodies that come to the mortuary and reanimating them. Since they're dead, they have to be "touched up" weekly, which for the most part seems to entail putting flesh-colored paint on their decomposing flesh. Any stranger who comes into town (and several of the townspeople) also literally become dead meat, because the zombies of Potter's Bluff hunt them down and kill them violently. The violence is apparently done for two reasons: 1) a book that the sheriff finds tells us that zombies can only be made from those who died violent deaths; and 2) Dobbs likes a challenge when it comes to making dead bodies beautiful again. Why he's doing this is never explained, except when he gives the old "they'll never get old, never die, blah blah blah" speech that all mad scientists give eventually. The movie ends up failing because there's no rationale for the premise. I don't often change my tune when it comes to liking a movie, but I realized while I was watching Dead and Buried that this would most probably be the last time I voluntarily ever see it. So I guess that the moral of the story is: listen to your grandmother--she usually knows what she's talking about.

Undeadcow

I wish I could watch it again for the first time to re-experience the ending fresh. Although in some ways it plays out better on second viewings because you can pick up subtleties and set-up knowing the punchline.

shellebelle

I've never seen this movie before. And I must say...I loved it! The thought that the sherrif was one too just killed me. I was not expecting that at all! I'll have to keep this one on my list to watch each year. Thanks for recommending it!

Trevor

Not at all begrudging your opinion or right to change your mind, but your story reminds me of a theory of mine.

For me at least, I believe that if I let myself examine any film really closely, I could pick it apart and "dislike" it as you do above. I can spend years loving a certain film, but then one day decide that the inconsistencies really bother me.

Another closely related thinking is that depending on one's mood at the time, well, not just mood, but combined emotional state, attention level, and current thought patterns, they could either love a film or hate it.

Part of my overall "everything is grey, there is no black or white" philosophy perhaps.

I'm way over-tired and rambling I'm sure, but maybe somebody sorta understands what I'm trying to say.
Only seen it once, but looking forward to a second viewing to see these things, ala The Sixth Sense.

rbrown498

Trevor,

I understand exactly what you're saying. I think that it comes with a development of critical thinking skills. Obviously, the more films that one sees and really thinks about, the sharper one's critical faculties become. However, I've never LOVED a film and then later decided that I didn't like it. Generally, I will come to see the value over time in a film that I dismissed on first viewing, as I did with Dazed and Confused and Night of the Creeps.

Movies are sort of like lovers in that sometimes we think we love one when we're really infatuated with it, usually due to a unique quality that appeals to us at that time in our lives. I was most probably infatuated with Dead and Buried the first go round because I was into gore at the time, and of course there's the previously-mentioned Melody Anderson factor. Once I outgrew both of those attractions, there was little doubt that I'd also "outgrow" Dead and Buried.

And one's mood very obviously has a lot to do with whether one likes a film or not. Generally, if I'm in a good mood, the good films look great and the bad films look okay. If I'm in a bad mood, the good films tend to pull me out of my funk, and the bad films just make me angry.

The most problematic films for any viewer are those that are just okay. They're the ones that tend to take the brunt of mood swings.

All things considered, I think that it's right and fair to re-evaluate films on a regular basis. If we kept liking the same things all of our lives, I'd still be listening to Gino Vannelli on a regular basis and reading Archie comic books.

Okay, now I'M tired and rambling, so I'll let go of this topic for now.

SterlingBen

Yeah, as I was watching this tonight I was thinking the same thing. I should really have watched it with the wife. I kind of overslept today (I start an overnight work week tm) and thus missed my opportunity to catch her view on this one. But it is defiantly something I will view with her again sometime if ever we can conquer this "to watch" pile.

The movie was great, but it makes me a little sad every time I see an awesome 80's movie as that is one less discovery I am going to make in the future over what is arguable my favorite decades for horror movies.

Melmoth

"DOOOOOOOBBS!!!!"

Great to see Grandpa Joe as a crazy bastard. Thought this one was a lot of fun.

takingchase

Nice choice Mister Peepers. I probably would have never seen this had it not been for the subset. Grandpa Joe stole the show.

clckworang

I had planned on watching something else last night, but the allure of revisiting this film was too great. Watching this projected on my screen outside, I was struck even more by something I noticed when I first watched the Blu-ray on my TV: this has got to be one of the grainiest transfers I've ever seen. Now, I'm certainly not saying that's a bad thing because I have no doubt that it accurately replicates the original theatrical experience. If anything, I would have to commend Blue Underground for having the balls to release such a grainy transfer. But it does add a lot to the general atmosphere of the film.

I remember I thought the movie got way too hammy at the end the first time I saw this. I thought it played better on second viewing. The makeup/effects really are top notch.

Also, I think it's worth noting that this was one of those movies that always stuck with me through the years since I was a kid even though I never watched it until it was released on Blu-ray. I can very clearly remember seeing the VHS cover and movie poster for this film and really being struck by it. It was creepy and mysterious and slightly scary though I didn't really understand why. I was too young to see anything like this at the time, no way my parents would have let me rent it, but the image just always stuck with me. That's what I would call a really effective poster.

For those of you who haven't explored any of the extras, I remember really enjoying the audio commentaries when I listened to them a while back. That's definitely something I'd say is worth exploring after the challenge or if you need to fulfill the commentary requirement for the optional checklist.

I was shocked at the how much rust my old car got when I lived one summer at the beach years ago. That salt water really does cause a lot of damage.

pagefrance

I saw this in theaters when it first came out and it scared the hell out of me back then. I've seen it a couple of times since then and was glad to revisit it for the challenge. It's one of the most underrated horror films of the 80's and much better than The Fog, which gets mentioned much more often.
The scene of Melody Anderson pleading "bury me, please" and then seeking a grave and covering herself with soil is very disturbing. Great choice for the list!

clckworang

The idea of it is disturbing, but the fact that she crawled into someone else's grave and marked out that person's name on the tombstone and wrote her own always cracks me up when I see it.

SterlingBen

The music is so peaceful, I fell asleep on the BR title screen.

Bladz

My friend first put me on to this movie about 3 years ago. I had never even heard of it until then. During the first 10 minutes, another friend asked if we were watching a horror movie or a porno. It really did seem like a porno with Lisa flirting and undressing for Freddie, and the smooth sax playing in the background. We realized pretty quickly that it was in fact, a horror movie, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

tarfrimmer

Good choice! I'm not sure how this one escaped my attention all these years, but I'm really glad it's caught up with me now. Totally enjoyed it.

Oh, shit, I totally missed that. I love it!

NoirFan

I really love the mood of this film. The somber, atmospheric elements mesh perfectly with the score, and that creepy ending gets me every time. The film does have it's flaws - the opening is too long, and the story, as others have noted, doesn't especially make much sense - but the dreamy, downbeat nature of the entire enterprise make it perfect late-night viewing. Plus, the Blu-ray boasts three commentary tracks!

And reminiscent of the ending to Deathdream. The animatronic work in the needle sequence is really top-notch. I love the way she earnestly tells him that it'll make him "feel even better!". What kind of diner doesn't sell ice-cream though? That little kid always irritated me with his endless sobbing, especially when it looked like his forehead was injury-free!

Trevor

Woah, I'm in.

Larry C.

I not in the challenge this year and wasn't last year I felt I needed a looong break after watching 100+ films 2 years ago. I mean for a month straight I had no life. It was a cool escape but it was exhausting pace to keep up with. Next year I'm in for a 31 subset a movie a day not 3-4

But I have been loosely following the challenge this year and I have to say I have always wanted to watch this movie since I was really young. I remember going to the video rental place and seeing this really cool cover but never getting it.

The comments here has made this a much watch. As in tonight!

Trevor

^ Our plan to reel you back in is working.....

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

Glad you liked it.

Even though I bought the DVD about 6 years ago, it's just been sitting on the shelf until last year when I finally broke it out and for some reason I thought it was an anthology. Didn't take long to figure out I was wrong but I had a fun ride.