| Buried Alive | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert Kurtzman |
| Produced by | David Greathouse Deborah Del Prete Gigi Pritzker |
| Written by | Art Monterastelli |
| Starring | Tobin Bell Terence Jay Leah Rachel Erin Michelle Lokitz Lindsey Scott Steve Sandvoss and Germaine De Leon |
| Music by | Terence Jay |
| Cinematography | Thomas Callaway |
| Editing by | Cari Coughlin |
| Distributed by | Dimension Extreme |
| Release date(s) | 2007 USA |
| Running time | 94 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
For the 1990 film of the same name, see Buried Alive (1990 film)
Buried Alive is a 2007 horror film, starring Terence Jay, Leah Rachel, and Tobin Bell, about a group of college students stalked by a vengeful spirit during a New Mexico road trip. It was a straight-to-DVD release distributed by Dimension Extreme.[1] This film was a Blockbuster Exclusive.
Contents |
The film opens with Rene (Leah Rachel) in the bath, with her cousin, Zane (Terence Jay) also in the bathroom, and they have a conversation. Suddenly, he pushes her underwater, and she begins to drown. While looking up at his face from under the water, she sees the visage of an old woman above her. She then wakes up, and we find out that she has fallen asleep and begun to drown. Her boyfriend Danny (Steve Sandvoss) wakes her up, and the two make out.
The scene then switches to Zane, who has enlisted the help of dorky nerd Phil (Germaine De Leon) to research his family history. Zane decides to visit his family home, bringing Phil, Rene, Danny, and her two sorority pledges, Julie "Cow" (Lindsey Scott) and Laura "Dog" (Erin Michelle Lokitz). The two pledges have been forced to dress up as animals (cow and dog respectively) and are being brought to Zane's family home as an initiation. On the way to the cabin, Zane constantly sees an old woman on the side of the road, culminating in her appearance in the middle of the road, which causes him to almost crash. He decides she is a hallucination, and continues on to his family's land.
Lester (Tobin Bell), the caretaker of the house, has been living in a trailer on the land, and searching for gold. It appears that he has found some, but does not tell anyone when they arrive. The college students marvel at his stuffed oddities, as he has become an amateur taxidermist. He warns the group not to go into the subcellar, or to go outside after dark. Zane does not take his warnings seriously, and they continue on to the house.
Settling in, Rene enslaves Julie and Laura and forces Phil to tell how he knows so much about Rene and Zane's family history. Phil goes outside to get a signal on his mobile phone, but is split in half by the ghost with an axe.
Thinking Phil is sitting in the car talking on his phone, the five remaining teens decide to learn more about the family history. After that, Rene decides to have a little fun with Julie and Laura by setting them a task; they must run to Lester's caravan and bring back one of his stuffed animals as proof they were there. They must wear one item of clothing and it can't be an overcoat. Julie chooses to wear her pants and Laura chooses to wear her boots, and although Laura accomplishes the task, Julie doesn't because she sprains her ankle. Rene says that she was once given the task but had to go three blocks, down fraternity row, and that she chose to wear a ski mask.
Rene decides to give Julie one more task, and that's to take off her clothes, except for her underclothes, and blindfold her. Rene takes Zane's belt and uses it on Julie as a test of trust. Soon, Rene and Laura depart Julie and leave her standing there. Danny decides to go get Phil but finds out that he's dead before he gets his face cut off. When the lights go out, Zane goes out to check the machine to find it's still functioning normally, but the cable was cut. Zane finds Danny's faceless body, as do Rene and Laura. Zane, Rene and Laura dash back inside the house, thinking Lester is behind Danny's murder, but they find Lester dead as well.
They try to escape with their car, but its sabotaged. They grab Lester's keys and Laura dashes to Lester's caravan to get his truck. While Zane and Rene are still in the house, Zane gets locked in another room and Rene is knocked unconscious with the spirit scratching the words "Sins Of The Father" on her back. Zane finally breaks through and kills the woman, but when barricading themselves in a room, the woman appears and knocks Zane unconscious.
Laura returns with Lester's truck and the woman is about to slaughter Laura, but disappears after seeing a tattoo that's similar to the necklace Rene had throughout the movie. Laura escapes and Rene and Zane wake to find themselves in some kind of box. The old woman quickly grabs the necklace and drops the gold ring taken by the caretaker in the beginning of the movie. Rene and Zane scream in fear as the old woman buries them alive.
While the Rotten Tomatoes approval rating is currently 17%, Buried Alive has received a number of negative reviews. David Nusair of Film Reel Reviews quoted that "aside from the admittedly effective casting of Tobin Bell from Saw as a crazy old coot, Buried Alive is conspicuously lacking in overtly positive elements."