Buried Alive (1990)

While watching Edgar Allan Poe, Christopher Lee and Vincent Price in 1969s The Oblong Box may not have been the greatest experience ever, I will admit that I am sure there are much worse. Hopefully the Poe inspired Buried Alive from 1990 does not fall into that category.

Plot/ A young woman goes to teach at the Ravenscroft Institute, a spooky old girls' school overrun by ants and staffed by various ex-mental patients. Spurred on by a series of horrific hallucinations, she begins to investigate the mysterious disappearances of several students.

This was another film that was very loosely on the writings of Poe (and when I say loosely, I mean it). The plot is obvious and very cliché, yet they do nothing with the plot to help build atmosphere. To me, it felt like the director and script were just jumping from scene to scene trying got the bizarre vice the entertaining. The acting was so-so, with some (Robert Vaughn) improving throughout and one notable actor (Donald Pleasence) just being annoying to the max. However, to me the worst part of this flick has nothing to do with the movie itself (OK, it does), this film was horror icon John Carradine’s last movie and to me that it a travesty. This movie had some potential, but was totally wasted. Watch at your own risk.