Dead And Buried (1981)

Dead And Buried is a great little horror movie. It's one of those films that's just so much fun, it's a campfire tale of a movie, an E.C. comic on screen and none the worse for it.

Things start off with a horrible murder and then get decidedly odd as we see people walking around who should be staying very still due to them being mortality-challenged, according to the information that the local sheriff Dan Gillis (James Farentino) is receiving. Is there a conspiracy going on in the town? Voodoo hoodoo perhaps? Or does the local mortician (played by Jack Albertson) have some secret that he's managed to hide from the sheriff?

Ronald Shusett and Dan O'Bannon wrote the script, based on a story by Jeff Millar and Alex Stern, and the publicity at the time made the most of the fact that these men were responsible for crafting the script of Alien. This is, of course, a very different type of movie but it's handled just as carefully and paced perfectly.

Director Gary Sherman mixes some proper shocks (which gained it enough attention to get it tagged as a "video nasty" back amidst that particular furore) with lashings of atmosphere so thick that you can almost smell the saltwater-mist as it rolls through the screen.

The acting is pretty top-notch from everyone involved. Farentino is very good as the leading man trying to figure out what's going on in his town but it's Albertson who steals the show as the mortician with a real pride in his work, often accompanied by his favourite big-band music. Other faces of note include Robert Englund, Barry Corbin (a tiny role but always good to see him), Glenn Morshower, Christopher Allport, the lovely Melody Anderson and Lisa Blount, who makes quite an impression with her limited screen time.

Perhaps it's a movie that feels a bit too cheeky by the time the end credits roll but it's a fine mix of black comedy and outright horror that I feel does just enough to assume the viewer is onside right up until it reveals it's punchline. It's a fun ride but also has moments of real horror there. It has a fine pedigree (Sherman had previously directed Death Line while Shusett and O'Bannon had given us that killer xenomorph) and I think that most fans should love it.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-And-Buried-James-Farentino/dp/B0002ADX0M/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1388784797&sr=8-6&keywords=dead+and+buried

The Fox And The Hound (1981)

The Fox And The Hound is a great Disney movie that just falls short of being a real classic because it all feels a bit "been there, seen that". Yet it's still a very sweet movie with wonderful animation and some moments of heartache and fear that will still affect young children.

With three directors involved and lots of writers, the film follows the standard Disney formula almost to the letter but you can't really blame those involved for being set in their ways when it proves a winner time and time again. This particular tale is apparently based on the book by Daniel P. Mannix but, as is so often the way with Disney adaptations, there are very few similiarities between the book and the end result onscreen.

A small fox is hidden away by a parent who is being hunted and ends up in the home of Widow Tweed (voiced by Jeanette Nolan). This allows him to have a fairly happy and safe life. The fox, named Tod, even befriends, and plays with, a hound, named Copper, belonging to a neighbour. That all has to change at some point and Copper is taken away by his owner to learn how to track and hunt. Tod grows up while awaiting the return of his friend but is still naive enough to believe that nothing else will affect their friendship. Sadly, Copper knows better and when he returns he tries to explain to his friend that they can no longer hang around together. Tod doesn't want to believe this but is soon shown just how things have changed.

With Kurt Russell as the voice of Copper and Mickey Rooney as the voice of Tod, The Fox And The Hound almost feels like a bridge between two ages of Disney. The animation is as lovely as ever and the story is the stuff of classic Disney but the studio had a pretty tough time in the 1980s, not helped by the departure of Don Bluth and a number of other animators who helped birth and develop Sullivan Bluth Studios. In fact, production of this movie was delayed by a year because of the staff departures. Perhaps I'm simply projecting onto the film based on the little I know about the ups and downs of Disney but this certainly feels like one of the last old-fashioned outings that they got right just before faultlines began to run through the House Of Mouse.

However, none of that can detract from the fact that this is an endearing, amusing story with moments of great excitement and a cracking vocal cast that includes Paul Winchell (best known as the voice of Tigger), Richard Bakalyan, Pearl Bailey and Sandy Duncan as well as the stars already mentioned. I recommend it as one of the many great Disney films worth including in any collection of family entertainment.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Fox-And-Hound-DVD/dp/B000M2E7KA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353432551&sr=8-1