Buried Alive Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Buried Alive Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 27, 2022

Juvenile delinquent cinema meets the horror rush of the 1980s in “Buried Alive,” which takes its influence from the works of Edgar Allan Poe. There’s a black cat, sounds emerging from mysterious places, and the spread of madness, but the feature isn’t committed to the finer points of gothic terror. It’s more of a slasher-like endeavor, exploring the developing nightmare of an all-girl school terrorized by a masked madman with a fetish for killing people slowly, getting off on the memory of their expiration. Director Gerard Kikoine hopes to add some gasoline to the viewing experience, investing in a hyperactive style for the picture, aiming to generate sensorial overload to best capture the feeling of a psychological break. Such hustle is appreciated, but the effort’s storytelling skills leave much to be desired, with “Buried Alive” soon breaking down into seemingly random scenes of character interactions and horrible events.

Inspired by a convention appearance by Gary (Robert Vaughn), Janet (Karen Lorre) hopes to get to know the man better by becoming his employee, joining the staff at the Ravenscroft Institute, tasked with teaching the all-girl students more about science and themselves. Gary runs the school his own way, hoping to use his study of psychology to give the young women a life they wouldn’t have in the outside world. However, a rebellion is brewing, with a few of the girls electing to escape in the middle of the night, never to be seen again. As the town starts to better understand this rash of disappearances, Janet begins to sense something off about the school, hearing voices from behind the walls, which is slowly driving her mad.

All is not well at the Ravenscroft Institute, with “Buried Alive” providing an opening sequence that showcases the horrible events going on in the building. A runaway tries to make her way out of town, only to be confronted by a wicked figure in a Ronald Reagan mask who sends her down a tunnel, trapping her in the bowels of the school. Instead of finishing her off, the villain elects to strap her down and build a wall to prevent escape, leaving her to slowly die without hope for a rescue. It’s a ghoulish event, and there’s more to come in “Buried Alive,” establishing the killer’s fondness for prolonged suffering, even if there’s nobody to witness it. Such a series of brutal deaths would be enough to power the feature, but the screenplay tries to make something happen with Janet, the new hire and audience surrogate, joining Ravenscroft Institute as a teacher, with kooky colleagues such as Schaeffer (Donald Pleasance), while her students are rough, facing the wrath of Debbie (Ginger Lynn Allen) and Fingers (Nia Long).

The kids are restless, causing disruptions as they try to make semi-imprisonment into a party, sneaking away into a basement room, leaving Janet to deal with her own issues in the school. “Buried Alive” hopes to balance a haunted house tale with something more graphic, as characters are subjected to dangerous kitchen items and the presence of ants, which is a creepy crawly visual repeated throughout the effort. Janet is either losing her mind or completely in sync with the dangers of the building, and the helmer likes to develop these scare zone events, beefing up the run time as the teacher slowly investigates what’s driving her crazy. It’s all very routine by genre standards, but “Buried Alive” has an odd sense of editing, often returning to what appears to be some type of love affair between Janet and Gary, which is either real or imagined, depending on the scene. Vaughn certainly isn’t built for sexual tension, and its pretty clear he doesn’t want to be part of the production, putting in limited effort in what becomes a hilariously checked-out performance.

Buried Alive Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is sourced from a 2K scan of the 35mm interpositive. Detail reaches as far as possible, securing softer facial particulars (and this feature loves to shove cameras right into faces) and the rougher textures of the school, along with more potent elements of gore. Hallway dimension remains, along with exterior tours. Colors are respectfully refreshed, with Lorre's blonde hair adding some pop, while primaries are appreciable, exploring decorations and costuming. It's a very dark picture, spending a lot of time away from bright lighting, but delineation remains intact, never tipping into solidification. Grain is heavy but film-like. Source is in good condition, with some mild wear and brief scratches.

Buried Alive Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix is on the aged side, with a slightly muddier sound. Intelligibility remains, permitting listeners to remain with performances, including Vaughn, who offers a low growl that borders on mumbling at times. Shrieked reactions are balanced, never slipping into distortion. Scoring supports with a louder presence, with decent sharpness. Sound effects register compellingly.

Buried Alive Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Ginger's Antics" (12:35, HD) is an interview with actress Ginger Lynn Allen, who shares her audition story and her quest to really turn in a major performance for this break in her career, ending up a bit broad in the process. The interviewee recalls her time in South Africa, spending down time on safari and watching lightning storms, also picking up a second job in the film "Let the Music Play," allowing her to spend months in the country. Co-stars are assessed, with John Carradine unaware of where he was or what he was doing, while Donald Pleasance worked his magic to upstage Robert Vaughn whenever possible. Allen does reveal a rivalry with one of her fellow actresses, who was not happy about working with a former adult film star. Allen closes with an anecdote about her addiction to cigarettes, which began on "Buried Alive," and her efforts over the decade to find balance between adult and mainstream cinema.

• "Well, I Wanna Be an Actor" (18:38, HD) is an interview with actor William Butler, who was pulled into "Buried Alive" via producer Harry Allen Towers, having previously worked with him. Butler examines his work as an actor and assistant on makeup effects, also sharing his personal history with author Edgar Allan Poe to help with his performance. An assessment of director Gerard Kikoine is offered, but the bulk of the conversation is devoted to co-stars, offering wonderful anecdotes about Ginger Lynn Allen, Robert Vaughn, and Donald Pleasance, who became friendly with the interviewee, though a broken dinner date for extreme reasons still rattles the interviewee. Butler discusses his time in South Africa and his issue with local ants, which were poured all over him during the shoot. First impressions of "Buried Alive" are provided, with Butler renting the movie at a corner store, watching it with his roommate at the time: Viggo Mortensen.

• A Trailer has not been included on this release.

Buried Alive Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Buried Alive" doesn't have enough sickness, only returning to the torture of brats intermittently, and even then it's not really enough to trigger scares. The screenplay gives up the identity of the killer too soon as well, clearing way for an extended climax that's not very exciting, despite Kikoine ordering up Raimi-esque camerawork to really sell horror that's not entirely there. The production is generally remembered as the last film for actor John Carradine (who appears only briefly), and there are all the nods to Poe and his fondness for the macabre. But there's not much else that's memorable about the endeavor, which isn't tightly constructed or depraved enough to make a more profound impression.