"Dead and Buried" had been just that, sitting in my watchlist for years. I finally decided to take the plunge and it turned out to be a more entertaining watch than I'd thought it would be. The opening scene was a real shocker and the last half of the movie kept my interest, which is sometimes a problem for older movies.

The cast was lackluster other than Jack Albertson, who was very entertaining. But James Farentino and Melody Anderson were so odd, especially Farentino. He plays a local sheriff that comes unglued in a hurry. I'm not sure how all of the clues eluded him for so long, but his town is a mess. There's no time frame given about the length of his tenure as the sheriff, but the mob killings would have been hard to miss had he been around for any length of time. Anyway, he screams and grabs his face, mouth gaping and wide-eyed at the horrors that are occurring. Geesh...great cop.

I wouldn't call this gory but it's pretty bloody. There are a couple of traumatic moments here including a how-did-they-do-that eye stabbing. It's pretty amazing (and cringe-inducing). Actually, the special effects are really good. Almost all of them are done by Stan Winston and they are very convincing for an early '80s movie. There is one kill featuring a doctor and some kind of acid. It is the only poorly done effect in the movie and rumor has it, it was NOT done by Winston.

This isn't a scary movie, but it is very atmospheric. There are some creepy moments, including several moments where we see shadows lurking in the background and fog that occludes your view. I watched the Blu-Ray and the transfer is very grainy. It wasn't distracting, though. It was actually beneficial.

"Dead and Buried" is a little disjointed with some odd casting, but it had good effects and set a claustrophobic mood.

Dead and Buried is an early '80's horror mystery that feels like a very long episode of Tales from the Crypt.
There are some very good aspects here, but for some reason the movie just never felt like it had a clear purpose - I'm going to blame the writing or the director. That aside, there is much to like about the movie: mainly Jack Albertson - yes, Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - he steals the show as the town's creepy mortician. The next great feature is Stan Winston; just fantastic special effects, including one where I said "okay, I don't know how that was done." We also get a pre-Elm Street Robert Englund in a small role.
For the most part, the acting is pretty good - aside from a few moments that were a little over the top. The lighting is nonexistent... the film seems to have been shot using only natural light. Another great part of this 1981 horror movie is that it doesn't use comic relief, however there are some very predictable jump scares - though this is from someone who has been watching horror movies all of his life, I'm sure audiences were surprised at the time this came out.
The plot doesn't make much sense - and I'm not going to include the spoilers here - but I still liked the ending. I think, overall, there is enough here to make this an enjoyable watch.

_**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

"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**