Skip to main content

Buried (2010)


After having watched, "Frozen", I was almost hesitant to sit through another minimal location/minimal casting/minimal title thriller... but I'm glad I did.

Paul wakes up to find himself buried alive in a coffin.  All he has is a Zippo lighter, and a Blackberry phone. As time and air runs out, he maintain his sanity, and deal with the demands of those that placed him there... otherwise the coffin will be his final resting place...

Director Rodrigo Cortes filmed "Buried" in seventeen days, and cites Alfred Hitchcock as a major influence on the film.

I enjoy watching single location horror/thriller movies because I'm always interested in seeing how the director will handle it.  It's not easy making a single location constantly interesting, but director Rodrigo Cortes manages to do so with the simple coffin in this movie.  He uses interesting camera angles, lighting styles, and even darkness to break up what could be a very monotonous looking location.  The green colour of the glow sticks, the blue glow of the Blackberry, and the normal light of the Zippo lighter help to create a great sense of isolation and claustrophobia.  The tightness of the coffin is further enhanced by the tightness of the camera shots.  I was very impressed by the camera work.

Most movies would've shown the actions of those trying to rescue Paul as well.  Using a single actor for the entire movie was a bold move- and effective.  By staying with the character, you're left to imagine and wonder what was going on outside the confines of his prison.  Limiting our perception of the world to just the coffin, we're forced to focus on the character and share in his own worries that nobody was coming.  At the same time, by allowing limited verbal communication with others, the story is kept from getting bogged down and helps to add new elements and even develop Paul's character even more.

The premise itself is pretty simple, but very effective.  By limiting the location, cast, and props, this story stays lean and focused.  There is little to tempt a director into adding "flash" to the movie, which actually made "Buried" more enjoyable for me to watch.  The story evolves, and even helps to keep the location interesting by changing it into something more dangerous over time.

I felt that Ryan Reynolds did a fantastic job as Paul.  He managed to make Paul an interesting person, and I came to be concerned about his survival.  It had to be hard to rely on your voice, and facial expressions to tell your characters story in such a confined space.  I wouldn't be surprised if Reynolds had some trepidation during the scenes where the sand was slowly filling the coffin.  The faceless voices on the Blackberry were also well done, though I'll confess that I had some problems understanding what the kidnapper was saying at times.

Overall, I found "Buried" to be a suspenseful, tightly written story that kept me interested from beginning to end.  I cared about the main character, and was emotionally involved in the events taking place.  This is definately a movie that I would rate as one of  The Good.

Comments

  1. Hi there. Thanks for the follow at hive45.blogspot.com. Great blog you have here. really cool to meet you. Thanks again. - AndyR

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grave Questions: Jessica Cameron

February is " Women in Horror Month "- a month in which to celebrate the impact that women have had on the genre and the industry- from writing, to acting, to directing and producing. Jessica Cameron has experienced the industry in all those capacity- making her a perfect choice for me to ask some " Grave Questions " of in order to raise awareness of the great women in Horror. Please not that this article SHOULD'VE been posted in February, but due to technical difficulties, we're putting it up now.  Thank you. TCoT :   Which female horror stars helped to inspire you to not only enjoy the genre- but to get involved in bringing scary movies to the world? Jessica :  I literally said to my " Truth or Dare " producer, "If the Soska sisters can make " Dead Hooker in a Trunk " with nothing, then I can make " Truth or Dare ".  So needless to say that those girls have been a huge inspiration in everything I do behind the

Meridian: Kiss of the Beast (1990)

Sometimes, a director/producer will surprise you- such was the case during " Terrorpolooza 2012 " when I watched Charles Band's " Meridian: Kiss of the Beast " Catherine Bomarzini has come home after her father's death.  Needing company, she asks Gina to stay with her.  Soon, the two meet a wondering troupe of performers that Catherine invites to dinner at her castle. Catherine find herself pulled into a love triangle and an ancient curse that only she can break. After watching movies like " Evil Bong ", and " Demonic Toys ", I really wasn't expecting too much from this Charles Band movie- but I was pleasantly surprised by it. The story is actually quite interesting with lots of potential for eerie scenes, and character development.  It's a nice twist on the classic " Beauty and the Beast " story.  It's a bit slower than most of Band's other works, but moves smoothly and draws you with it. I have to ad

The Phantom of the Opera

  Not too long ago, I reviewed the silent horror classic, "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror", and wound up being in the mood to view a few other of the silent horror films in my collection.  The next one I watched was "The Phantom of the Opera", starring Lon Chaney, Sr, and released in 1925.   A mysterious stranger has been threatening the star singer of the Paris Opera House- someone who has signs his letters simply as, "The Phantom".  This stranger wants to clear the way so his protege, Christine Daae can ascend to stardom herself.  Soon, her love for the Comte de Chagny collides with The Phantom's desire for Christine forcing both to take drastic actions in order to be with the one they love. " The Phantom of the Opera " actually underwent three periods of re-shoots and editing, due to poor reception and test viewings.  In 1930, a sound version was created- often assumed to be what is called "The Eastman House Print".  It is