Saturday, October 19, 2013

Scary Movie Month, Day 19

Dead & Buried

Part Carpenteresque visceral horror, part Bodysnatchers-style paranoid thriller, Dead & Buried is the best surprise of Scary Movie Month so far. The story follows the Sheriff of Potter's Bluff, a small New England town with a secret. I'm a sucker for Bodysnatchers, Stepford Wives, Faculties...basically any "something ain't right in this small town" story, and this was a great one. It seems that people who die in Potter's Bluff tend to have trouble staying dead. This may be an issue once census season comes around.

I won't say more about the plot because part of the fun, as it is with most movies of this ilk, is the inexorable sense of dread that builds as the characters (and by extension the audience) learn more about what's really going on.

I really liked James Farentino in the lead. He's got just the right everyman kind of quality for a part like this, but he has enough of an air of authority that you don't doubt his effectiveness as a Sheriff, even as circumstances spiral further and further out of his control. Jack Albertson, in one of his last roles, is (and I don't bestow this title lightly) a hoot as the town's big-band loving, sharp-dressed undertaker. It's an odd feeling to get a broad smile across your face every time the undertaker shows up, but there you have it.

I've been aware of this movie only in passing until now, so I really had no idea what to expect. Hearing Patrick and JB of the always excellent podcast F This Movie! extolling the virtues of it earlier this week I went to Barnes & Noble and snagged a copy of the blu-ray. I don't often blind-buy, but I trust their taste and I'm very glad for it. I loved the movie, and the disc is packed with extras (3 commentary tracks!) so I'm looking forward to sinking my proverbial teeth into them. A really fun movie that otherwise might have passed me by, so thanks Patrick & JB!

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