Friday, December 31, 2010

DEAD & BURIED / AVCO Embassy Pictures - 1981

Welcome everbloody, to our last post of 2010, and, if I'd had half a brain, that's what the post should have been... 2010! How perfect that would be! But, as we all know, Tabonga doesn't live in a perfect world.

Here's an interesting coincidence, it's also our 1,111th post!!! So, go blow a big old blowout for us, iffin' ya gots one!

In the sleepy coastal town of Potters Bluff, Rhode Island, there are strange murders where people passing through are killed by mobs of townspeople. The Sherrif seems to be the only person who doesn't have a clue. The local undertaker is involved in reanimating the dead, and, as it turns out, the Sherrif's wife is also involved. Saw this one when it came out, because of the hype about this being the next offering by the makers of ALIEN. Pretty good hype! I love the Japanese title... ZONGERIA!

Music is by Joe Renzetti, Joe had 28 composing and 5 soundtrack credits starting in 1978 with THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY! A few other films he worked on are FATSO, THE EXTERMINATOR, POLTERGEIST III, CHILD'S PLAY, BASKET CASE 2 and FRANKENHOOKER, not too bad!!

It's time to bring in our little Dungeon helper, Ralphie The Tarantula, as he'll be pushing the last button of the year, the big red 'GO' button that starts our last Eariffic Earclip of 2010, for... DEAD & BURIED!!

Strange, gruesome murders by local residents against visiting tourists are beginning to take place in the small coastal village of Potters Bluff in Rhode Island (Mendocino, CA).

Alright then, who's hungry?!.. Light or dark meat?

James Farentino plays Sheriff Dan Gillis, he's in charge of solving the mystery. This was a rare role for James, being outside his life on TV.

This is especially horrific as the nurse explains in detail to this patient exactly what she plans on doing with this oversized hypodermic needle!!..

It was pretty much this image that was the bane of fifties pre-code horror comics and led to the comics code in 1954, which then pronounced the death of a multitude of uncensored comic titles like ADVENTURES INTO DARKNESS, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, STRANGE WORLDS, LOST WORLDS, WEIRD SCIENCE, WEIRD FANTASY, MISTER MYSTERY, TALES OF HORROR, WEIRD TALES OF THE FUTURE, HAUNTED THRILLS, WEIRD CHILLS, SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES, JOURNEY INTO FEAR, VAULT OF HORROR, TOMB OF TERROR, THE BEYOND, BEWARE!, THE UNSEEN, THE THING!, HORRIFIC, VOODOO, OUT OF THE SHADOWS, WORLDS OF FEAR, CHAMBER OF CHILLS, BLACK CAT, WEIRD TERROR, GHOSTLY WEIRD COMICS and many, many more, all the good stuff. I mean, after you've had heroin, why in the Hell would you want a glass of milk? Try to make horror homogenized? MAD Magazine was the rare example of a publisher making the crossover to success. Magazines were excluded from the code... Genius!

Love this shot of the goons, out and about... After people die there, they are later seen holding local jobs or just walking around, and all love beating up or killing out-of-towners and documenting it on film.

Here's Robert Englund as Harry, playing with his model plane while retrieving a Thunderbird from the ocean with his tow truck. In three years he scores big as Freddy in NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. After this film, Robert's next role would be in GALAXY OF TERROR.

Well, back to the fun!

Stan Winston was probably impressed with EYES WITHOUT A FACE and wanted to try his hand with a similar scene. Here's Jack Albertson, as town undertaker and monster maker, William G. Dobbs, as he works on another of his creations.

Now for the final touch... Eyeballs!

This is a weird part, Dan digs up a coffin and finds a beating heart inside!

Dan decides to pay a visit to undertaker Dobbs and get some answers to his questions, but becomes hypnotized by the images on the screen. They are images from some of the murders, still 2 shows his wife stabbing an unknown lover for the camera. Then, you see good old William G. Dobbs there, having a little too much fun!

Dan's mind swirls in horror and pain as he watches and tries to grasp the mindbending implications.

He shoots Dobbs, but Dobbs is reanimated himself, and cannot really die. You can see, he was operating on himself!

Oh, by the way... There's one more thing you should know, Dan... Come, let me fix those for you.

Happy Newk Year, Everbloody!!

5 comments:

  1. that was great but i still don't have any idea what this movie's about!

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  2. PG - My mind's on some other 'things' - I added some text...

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  3. I saw this in the early 80s when it aired on Cinemax. It totally freaked me out. A very underrated horror movie. Loved the surprise ending.

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  4. Potter's Bluff- an "It's A Wonderful Life" reference! A sure sign we need to jettison 2010.

    As Eddie Murphy says in "Trading Places," "Better new year!"

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  5. Its great to see that people are sharing quite profitable information with each other and now we can move our selves to a new era.

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