Dead and Buried is an early '80's horror mystery that feels like a very long episode of Tales from the Crypt.
There are some very good aspects here, but for some reason the movie just never felt like it had a clear purpose - I'm going to blame the writing or the director. That aside, there is much to like about the movie: mainly Jack Albertson - yes, Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - he steals the show as the town's creepy mortician. The next great feature is Stan Winston; just fantastic special effects, including one where I said "okay, I don't know how that was done." We also get a pre-Elm Street Robert Englund in a small role.
For the most part, the acting is pretty good - aside from a few moments that were a little over the top. The lighting is nonexistent... the film seems to have been shot using only natural light. Another great part of this 1981 horror movie is that it doesn't use comic relief, however there are some very predictable jump scares - though this is from someone who has been watching horror movies all of his life, I'm sure audiences were surprised at the time this came out.
The plot doesn't make much sense - and I'm not going to include the spoilers here - but I still liked the ending. I think, overall, there is enough here to make this an enjoyable watch.