Customer Reviews

Buried Alive

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Buried Alive revolves around a group of college kids who soon learn that the demonic spirit of a woman murdered in their vacation house is out for blood, and guess who's in her axe-wielding sights? Robert Kurtzman, best known as partner to gore effects gurus Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger (hence, KNB Effects) and the original scripter for From Dusk Till Dawn, directs Buried Alive, and sadly it comes off as another derivative, uninspired slasher flick that provides little in the way of scares or suspense. The acting is atrocious and the story is cliche and oh so predictable (for the most part), but Buried Alive does have a few good moments of note, including some nifty gore effects and a small role from Saw's Tobin "Jigsaw" Bell, who himself up's the creep factor just by appearing on film. All in all, Buried Alive may be worth a look for die hard slasher fans, but those that don't see it won't be missing much at all either.

Buried Alive is idiotic. Period. I'm not even sure where to begin so I'll just start with the obvious stupidity like the cliché characters. We've got the druggie slacker, the jock, the beotch, the nerd, the slut and the one and only chick that JUST SO HAPPENS to be schooled in the fine art of Native American totems and ancient evil. Did I mention there's also a "Crazy Ralph?" Well, there is, Tobin Bell plays a sinister old prospector/caretaker that warns the group about evil, makes lewd comments and threatens the guys with bodily harm.

The dialogue was just plain bad, the banter bordered on nonsensical and some of the "back story" like the druggie slacker's need for medication and the druggie slacker's incestuous connections with his cousin (the beotch). This was a poorly written script, no doubt about it.

About midway through the film I realized there were only two things that could possibly keep this film from being the worst film in Robert Kurtzman's filmography...nudity & gore. Unfortunately...the gore was sparse and, while there was nudity, it could have been a higher quality nudity.

In other words...Buried Alive failed. Even when they could have succeeded in the lowest common denominator category...they failed at that as well. The story was convoluted and goofy, it took way too long to get some real murderous mayhem and the finale was a rushed let down.

Campy horror film, only bought film because jigsaw from saw was in it. The killings were average. The ending could have been better, it made the film seem unfinished.

But I've also seen a lot worse. The movie had it's fun moments. The problem is it's a YRV movie trapped inside an R rating. It was boring at times, and the "plot" didn't really make much sense, but it had it's moment of being a little scary. Maybe it's just the other horrible movies I've seen (*cough* Rest Stop *cough*) but I didn't think this was that terrible.

Then again, it definitely wasn't that great.

A group of college kids at an abandoned house pull a prank that sets loose a murderous ghost.

There's something strange, these days and in the past, that often happens to stars of major horror films. After their success, even if their fame is not at an end, they will star in random paycheck movies simply because they're asked, regardless of the quality of the film. Buried Alive is that paycheck for Saw-series star Tobin Bell (Jigsaw). When it comes to a straight-to-video slasher film like this (especially one marketed by the usually trustworthy Dimension Extreme), there are certain things horror fans have come to expect: Heavy gore, attractive women (who, most often, take off their clothes), and, at the very least, some entertainment. Unfortunately, even on as 'unrated,' the film does not deliver on the blood & guts. There is some violence, but not enough, and the result of the violence doesn't have enough splatter. The women are attractive, so they did deliver to us the eye candy. And, as far as entertainment and enjoyment go, well. . . it varied. At some points, the film is a good time and worth a few laughs. Other times, however, the film turns into a bit of a slow-drag bore (especially during the sorority stuff). From the plot to the effects, there's nothing here that hasn't been seen dozens of times before, so if you're in need of some predictability with a bit of enjoyability, you might want to check this out. . . but, you can do a whole lot better.

Final verdict: 4/10.

-AP3-

Buried Alive promised so much on the write up on the back and to a point it did deliver.

Basic story of amorous college girls and guys go away for a good time and are unfortunate enough to walk straight into a scenario involving a dead chick out for blood and a creepy Tobin Bell. The axe-welding maniac from the grave manages to wreck havoc and along the way we get to see some nakedness so, no complaints really.

Some of the kills are done off-screen which to me is not a major problem as there is a decent amount of gore still on offer. All in all I enjoyed this film and was happy enough to pay the 12 bucks to add it to my growing collection of b-grade and a-grade horrors.

This film certainly isn't anything to write home about. It's fairly derivative and has an almost shockingly anticlimactic finale. Having said that, there are some decent scares, some gorarrific death scenes, nice production values, and a few unexpected twists. The film would have benefited from more interesting actors, writing, and direction to distinguish it as it certainly doesn't stand out from the pack. However, I'm being slightly generous by awarding it three stars, in part due to some well executed special effects.

With the element of surprise being paramount in the success of scaring you in a horror film, this one does not succeed. It's fairly predictable. I kept reading how great the special effects were going to be in this film, but I was disappointed in that aspect the most. The film does have some unique moments and Tobin Bell gets more screen time than I was first led to believe. It did not exceed nor fall behind my expectations. In my opinion, the actors did a respectable job with a weak script. There wasn't a lot to work with.

A waste of my time and money. Possibly two good gore scenes (I only remember one) and thats all this thing is worth...

Buried Alive boasts 'legendary effects wizard Robert Kurtzman' in the director's seat, but that fact only seems to make the movie more of a slap in the face. In the director's seat, but obviously asleep most of the time, Kurtzman's effort here is a simple exercise in missed opportunities. Not to belabor the point or anything, but the gore is cookie cutter (when there is any at all), and it almost seems like the director is reluctant to kill off any of his characters. Half of the deaths occur off-camera. Weak.

What could have been a sleazy, trashy, and brilliantly gory (given Kurtzman's other work), if not necessarily inspired, tribute to 80's slashers ends up being not much fun at all. One star for not really trying.