Search - Drive-In Discs, Vol. 3: I Bury the Living/The Hand on DVD

A Cult Classic, Not to Be Missed!

Mark Savary | Seattle, WA | 08/09/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This one is a real puzzler, and I was caught off-guard at the end. It's surprisingly good for a low budget horror film, going for the brain rather than the jugular.The film is a horror/psychological thriller. Richard Boone plays a man who is part of a trustee group. Part of the duties of the members is to take turns overseeing a private cemetery.Boone finds a map in the cemetery office that shows the occupied and unoccupied plots marked with white or black pins.Boone discovers that when he places a black pin in a plot that is unoccupied, the owner dies. Is Boone going mad, or does he really have the power to bury the living?This is an entertaining film, very creative and stylized. Boone often said it was his personal favorite, and he was proud to have worked on the film."

Pin me!

Robert S. Clay Jr. | St. Louis, MO., USA | 03/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bob Kraft (Richard Boone) believes there is a sinister relationship between a string of recent deaths and black pins in a map of cemetery plots. This movie is an intriguing blend of The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock. Kraft, the innocent man caught in what appears to be a supernatural conundrum, suffers the torments of the damned. Each black pin he sticks in the map causes another person to die, or so he thinks. Boone is effective as a bewildered victim, caught in a web of mystery, a contrast to his tough guy roles. Take special notice of the large map on the wall of the caretaker's cottage. It is the mute monster of our story. White pins mean that the plot is sold, but not yet occupied. Black pins mean that the dear departed has, well, departed. Switching the pins before death appears to hasten the process. Hence, the mystery. The roads of the map twist, turn, and curve until they resemble a disjointed human face that sneers at the puny man. Kraft alerts the police that he is responsible for the recent deaths, but the cops are skeptical. The deceased people expired from natural causes. Classic TV fans will recognize Herbert Anderson (Henry Mitchell of "Dennis the Menace") as an owlish reporter. This little thriller is a classic horror gem. The presentation is low budget, but the result is superior. Ownership is a definite must. ;-)"

One of my all-time favorite obscure movies

Steven W. Hill | Chicago, IL United States | 06/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I BURY THE LIVING stars Richard Boone as a new cemetery caretaker who believes the cemetery plot map has ... special properties. The map shows all the plots, with a black pin indicating the plot is occupied and a white pin indicating the plot is reserved. Boone accidentally puts in black pins when a young couple make their plot arrangements, and the couple's subsequent tragic death seriously shakes him. He begins to obsess about the map, and eventually wonders what will happen if he replaces a black pin with a white one...A fairly average story (admittedly rather "Twilight Zone" in style) is lifted immeasurably by the incredibly creative and imaginative cinematography and production design. As the map and its powers loom larger and larger in Boone's mind, so too does the map itself grow in size, eventually dominating the caretaker's office like a giant cyclopean seeing-eye. The imagery presented in the film is unforgettable.I almost hesitate to mention the slightly disappointing ending because (A) it's really not THAT disappointing, and (B) it's so much fun getting there. This new release marks the first time the movie's been available in an VHS-SP edition (earlier video editions have been a fair VHS-EP copy and an excellent laserdisc). Now that it's readily available in a good edition for a small amount of money, you owe it to your collection and to your B-movie-loving self to see this overlooked gem!"

Night of the Dead Living. A Reliable Seller on Amazon.

Mike Liddell | Massachusetts | 05/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You might think with a title like I Bury the Living you may be getting a horror film along the lines of The Vanishing - Criterion Collection. Wrong. Conceptually think the killer from the The Final Destination Thrill-Ogy (Final Destination/ Final Destination 2/ Final Destination 3) films, also known as fate, death, or destiny, put that power in an unknowing human and viewers get to watch things from death's perspective as opposed to the victims. It sounds confusing but it isn't.
There is no gore in this flick but to those who like their horror with a twist, or better yet lovers of Twilight Zone: The Complete Definitive Collection, to you I say (In my best Zelda Rubenstein voice), come to the light, all are welcome.
Oh ya, the plot. It's simple enough. Robert Kraft, a successful man, president of a retail store, and on a committee responsible for a local cemetery his family has ties too. Each year the committee appoints a new director to handle the cemetery and this year it's Bobby's turn. Bob stops by to let the caretaker know that It's time for him to retire with full pension after 40 years of dedicated service. The caretaker shows Bobby around and too the large map of the cemetery that keeps track of all the plots with it's vast grids of squares. Each square or plot with a black pin in it represents a grave that has been filled by someone who has deceased. Each square with a white pin is for those who have made future arrangements for their burials. One problem, Bob accidentally puts two black pins in a young, very much alive, just married couple instead of white, and soon after they both die! After hearing the news Bob gets an eerie feeling that it's more than a coincidence and randomly takes out a white pin on the map hanging on the wall and replaces it with a black one, guess what, they die too. It seems whatever reserved plot that Bob sticks a black pin in someone dies. Picture the horror of scientist Andre Delambre from The Fly Collection (The Fly [1958] / Return Of The Fly / The Curse Of The Fly) who tampered with nature, but here it is nature that tampered with Bob.
The question is; What happens if Bob replaces the black pins of the deceased with white ones?! DUH! DUH! DUH!

THE SELLER: INETVIDEO
The dvd is no longer available, so I found a seller on Amazon offering it brand new for only $4.68. My experience with this is usually a saran wrapped dvd that looks like it's been burnt, so I was leary but I figured It's five bucks. I was shocked to find it had all three security tags on (which I kind of hate, but it appeared to be new), the dvd was immaculate, as a collector of dvds I hate it when one shows up banged up. Still hesitant, thinking this seller has an in with security tags, I popped to the movie in expecting to find a burned version and to my surprise watched a pristine black and white Midnite Movies quality dvd.
This is a (from my limited experience) great seller here on Amazon and someone that deserves their high rating and one I will use again. Thanks INETVIDEO."