Buried Alive

A pedestrian, confusing and inadequately constructed horror, whose only connections to Poe are the theme of premature burial and the arbitrary appearances of a black moggy. Stars Robert Vaughn and Donald Pleasence were hardly noted as being discriminatory in their choice of roles, while Karen Witter's lack of acting experience is all too evident. Ginger Lynn Allen who displays more spirit would have been a better bet for the part. There are probably not quite enough gory murders and sadism for those who relish such carnage, and more than sufficient for the rest of us. John Carradine is glimpsed only fleetingly towards the end.

The movie boasts a fine cast, with Robert Vaughn, Donald Pleasence, and John Carradine (in his final film appearance). Playboy Playmate Karen Witter is very beautiful, and might make a passable supporting character. However, she is not a good enough actress play a teacher convincingly, not to mention being the main character in this film. On the other hand, adult movie star Ginger Lynn Allen does a very good job of playing the rebellious student Debbie. Robert Vaughn chews the scenery, Donald Pleasence acts goofy, and poor John Carradine is in a wheelchair, and looking every bit as old as he was. The story is only slightly connected to Edgar Allan Poe's writings at most. The DVD has no theatrical trailer or bonus features of any kind. All in all, it's a little disappointing, but watchable.

This movie is supposedly based on Edgar Allen Poe, but aside from a cat and some people being entombed behind a wall, I'm not so sure. (And it also seems to involve ants, lots and lots of ants). It takes place at some kind of institute for sexy, delinquent, orphaned female mental patients. (I would gladly work as the unpaid janitor at one of these places, but they only seem to exist in the movies). The name actors in this movie are Robert Vaughn, Donald Pleasance, and John Carradine (in what would be his final film). You may question the judgment of these actors in appearing in this film, but when did any of these guys ever show any judgment? I would question the judgment of the producers in their choice of the female cast. The lead is Karen Witter, a former Playboy Playmate. Very few Playmates are known for their acting abilities and Witter is definitely NOT doing what she does best here. You could probably say the same thing about Ginger Lynn Allen, at that time in a hiatus period of her XXX porn career. But at least she has brief nude scenes (well, sort of) and is not very convincing, but still somewhat entertaining as the tough "queen bee" of the institution.

The French director of this, Gerard Kinkoine, is also an interesting choice. He WAS technically a porn director, but he was one of the more talented "softcore" directors like Just Jaeckin, Jean Rollin, Walerian Borozyx, and Max Pecas rather than simply a hardcore hack. Almost all these European directors ended up working in off-Hollywood American co-productions like this at the end of their careers, but it was actually a step down for them (whereas for Ginger Allen it was a definite step-up from "servicing" the likes of Ron Jeremy and Jerry Butler).

This is OK I guess overall. I probably won't sue to get the 90 minutes of my life back. . .

When Janet (Karen Lorre) starts her new job, teaching at the Ravenscroft reformatory for girls, she has no idea what sort of place she's gotten mixed up in. It's clear to the viewer almost immediately that something is terribly awry. The girls are mostly bada$$es, but they're the least of Janet's worries.

BURIED ALIVE centers around Janet's attempts to uncover what is behind the mysterious disappearances of some of her students. Robert Vaughn plays Gary Julian, who runs the facility with a seemingly carefree, more open-minded approach. Even so, it's evident that something is up with this guy. Donald Pleasence also stars, playing a teacher who definitely has some issues.

The movie draws from several stories by Edgar Allan Poe, mixing them together, and rolling the dice. It works for the most part, especially if you're a fan of Mr. Poe. It's fun to spot the tributes to the author's terror tales. Otherwise, it can get a bit confusing.

This movie is best viewed with like-minded friends. Inebriation is advised...

They've got a lot of nerve to call that "Edgar Allan Poe's buried alive".It does not look like the writer's works to the slightest extent -unless the presence of a black cat counts-Located in a luxury reform school for girls (?) ,this piece of garbage casts Robert Vaughn as the director and D.PLeasance as a doctor(?)A young female teacher arrives:she is to teach here-but we never see her working or so little.In the basements ,a man with a Ronald Reagan mask(??) is burying alive the girls who try to escape.

This is a completely failed horror film,borrowing now from"shining",now from Dario Argento's "suspiria" and "phenomena".This is a cock-and -bull story with the obligatory final trick:it's not over when you think it is,now roll on "Buried alive 2" :but the movie,proving that sometimes there's justice in the universe ,was a flop,preserving the spectators from it.It's the movie scenarists that should be buried alive.