Tags:
Film: Buried Alive
Year: 1990
Director: Frank Darabont
Writer: Mark Patrick Carducci
Starring: Tim Matheson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and William Atherton
Review:
This film follows a contractor played by Tim Matheson. We see him at work where he calls his wife, who is played by Jennifer Jason Leigh. We learn that she is going to New York City to see a friend and he plans on coming home from work early to see her before she does. We then see a man come in and offer 1.5 million dollars to buy his company and he turns it down.
On his way home, Matheson is pulled over by the sheriff, who is played by Hoyt Axton. They plan on going fishing while Leigh is gone.
This part is a little bit weird, we have Matheson who we learn is from this area and he is a good ole boy at heart. His wife is completely the opposite. She is all about looking good all the time and is a city girl. She is unhappy to live where she does and it makes her dislike her husband.
She goes to the city and the friend she is seeing is actually her lover, who is played by William Atherton. They are having an affair and he gives her a poison from a fish that she can use to kill her husband. He wants to start a clinic because he is a plastic surgeon. Plus with the money she would get from her husband and his business they would be set.
She can’t do it at first, but Matheson irritates her, so she poisons his wine. He dies and their plan begins. The problem is, the poison didn’t kill, but it paralyzed him and made it look like he is dead. The couple decides to cut all expenses to get him into the ground as fast as they can.
He wakes up in the casket, buried alive, but he makes his escape. He is now out for revenge against his wife and her lover. Will he get it?
This film should have been better than what it was. You have fine actors in Matheson, Leigh and Atherton, paired with the director Frank Darabont, who I am huge fan of. You would think this TV movie would have been amazing, but it wasn’t. The acting was flat, the story I’m still not sure is realistic enough and I was somewhat disappointed.
This one isn’t horrible though. The revenge that Matheson gets on his wife and her lover is pretty interesting and creative. The concept was good as well, but just how it played out was a little bit too unrealistic and that does take away a little from this film.
If you happen to get a chance to watch this one, I would still recommend it. It isn’t the greatest in its genre by far. It is still watchable? Yes and I did enjoy it. There are just some things that are stretched a bit far and I believe that if they would have been tightened, this one of been great. The actors as I said were flat and that was a let down, but still not a bad film to watch.
My Rating: 6 out of 10