It is no secret that I have always been fan of anything Hitchcock since I was a young kid. Psycho and The Birds were introduced to me at a young age by my family and since then I have viewed almost all of Hitchcock’s films. Since Hitchcock pasted away close to thirty years ago, there really has not been anyone to claim the title of master of suspense. However, there are always those rare films that make a fan like I say; “This would have been a script Hitchcock would have loved to direct.” One film this year, Adam Green’s masterpiece Frozen, hit that mark with me. However, on this rare occasion Buried is also a film that is worthy of the Hitchcock praise.
Buried is a film that takes place in a coffin. The whole ninety five minute film takes place in the coffin and does not leave. The film only has one actor Ryan Reynolds, as Paul Conroy, a contractor working in Iraq. When his convoy is attacked, Paul is knocked out and wakes up buried in a wooden coffin, with only a cell phone, a lighter, a flask filled with liquor, his medication, a pen and two glow sticks. Using just his cell phone, Paul tries his best to contact anyone that can help. He soon learns that he is being held for ransom by a terrorist group that is demanding five million dollars for his release. Paul must find a way to convince the American government to either pay the ransom or find him before he runs out of oxygen, or something worse happens to him.
I don’t even know where to begin with this film. Well, as the director said in the featurette on the Blu-ray disc, “Who the hell would invest money in a film that takes place entirely in a coffin”. Someone did take that risk and what they managed to produce for only three million dollars is nothing short of a master piece. This is a film where the tension and suspense is always there. You are in the coffin with Paul Conroy, you feel his pain, fear, and stress. Ryan Reynolds is brilliant in the film. It’s a role that will be remembered as one of his best performances of his career. The script is great, and don’t think this film was written just to be a suspense film meant to shock you because it’s a guy buried with no way out. There are some really important issues covered in this film. I don’t want to go to deep into it, but when the film ends it really leaves a bad taste in your mouth about the way things are done around the world both with government and big business.
The film comes in a Blu-ray DVD combo pack. The DVD is bare bones and only includes the film in standard definition. The Blu-ray has some features such as the featurette Unearthing Buried: The Making of Buried where you will learn a lot about the conception of the film, and the films original theatrical trailer. There is also the BD Live feature on the Blu-ray as well.
Ryan Reynolds said it best in the featurette; ”If Hitchcock was alive he would jumped all over this script and made it.” However being that he is no longer with us, director Rodrigo Cortes and writer Chris Sparling made a film worthy of such praise. Don’t just take my word for it, take every film critics word for it. When we say this is a top notch suspense film, it truly is. Buried is a brilliant film that will haunt you well after the film ends, one of the best films of 2010.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
