Dead & Buried (1981) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - May 14, 1982

The memories I have regarding Dead & Buried are both vivid and murky. I remember being excited that an all-new horror movie from the writers of Alien was on the way. But the wait proved interminable, so I read the novelization, written by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, before the film got around to unspooling at theaters and drive-ins near me.

It is when the film was playing theaters and drive-ins near me that my memories get a tad jumbled. I know for a fact that I saw a double-bill of Dead & Buried and Nightmare with a group of friends at the Southshore Cinema. But I also remember seeing it with my brother and father, also at the Southshore.

A quick check of the Tribune's theatre guide confirmed that, when it opened in May of 1982, this would be when I saw the double-bill.

I have no idea when the other time I saw Dead & Buried at the Southshore might have been, but I do have a reasonable amount of certitude the film was the second half of a double-feature with a first run movie. Maybe. Because, at time of writing, I do not remember the other movie. Perhaps a memory will be jogged or unearthed at some point in the future, when I feel compelled to check a theatre guide for confirmation.

The movie was also a frequent flyer, viewing wise, when it aired on HBO and I do remember renting it on home video. So this was a feature I seemed to enjoy watching quite a bit, back in the day.