Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: I Bury the Living (1958)

Poster for I Bury the Living (1958)I Bury the Living (1958) by #AlbertBand
w/#RichardBoone #TheodoreBikel #PeggyMaurer

“SHOCKS THAT CHALLENGE THE IMAGINATION!!!”

“THE MOST SPINE-CHILLING CRY THAT EVER FROZE THE BLOOD!…”

”Out of a time-rotted tomb crawls an unspeakable horror!”

#Horror #NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

I remember telling a friend sometime back in the ‘90s that I had watched I Bury the Living (1958).

“That’s a good one,” he said.

”Yes, it is,” I agreed.

That simple exchange really sums up this movie well. My friend and I are both fans of “bad movies”, as we sometimes call them. And the really bad ones can sometimes be some of our favourites. But every once in while, while scouring the bargain bins for obscure B-movie delights, we stumble upon a movie that transcends the “bad movie” moniker and proves itself to be actually deserving of praise. I Bury the Living is one such movie.

In some ways, it fits in with the Not Quite Classic Theatre days of my youth. It probably could have been featured on that show. Although, it’s not about a giant monster on a rampage (as many of them were). No, it’s much more psychological. It really reminds me more of an episode of The Twilight Zone (1959-64), or maybe Night Gallery (1969-73). It’s a good story.

It was directed by Albert Band, who made Zoltan, Hound of Dracula (1973) and Ghoulies II (1987) – but more importantly, he fathered Charles Band who would go on to become one of the most prolific creators of #NotQuiteClassicCinema of all time.

Richard Boone stars as a man who discovers that he may have the power to decide who will die by simply putting a pin into a map of a graveyard (I don’t like spoilers, so that’s as much as I will say about the plot). It’s clever, it’s fun, it’s legitimately scary in it’s own way. And at a tight 80 minutes, it never overstays it’s welcome.

If you’re looking for a craptastic camp-fest, I Bury the Living (1958) is probably not the right movie. But if you like shows like Night Gallery, you may find that this movie is an undiscovered gem of #NotQuiteClassicCinema. It’s perfect for a quiet, thoughtful, and thought-provoking #FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn.

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