Review for Buried Alive

(Originally posted on fight-evil.com)

*This is my first-time viewing of the film*

This was a very solid television horror film, though I suspect many would see it as purely a thriller.

First thing I noticed was the familiar faces in the cast, three in particular: Our main character, played by Tim Matheson (the vice president for a good portion of The West Wing), William Atherton (most well-known for being the annoying, dickish reporter from the first two Die Hards), and Hoyt Axton (Billy's father in Gremlins). Truth be told, aside from Jennifer Jason Leigh (who was in The Hitcher), these three characters are about the only important ones, so it's fantastic to have actors that I recognize from other works.

The story, while not overly creative, was solidly put together, and rather suspenseful at some points. Since it's a television movie, it's extremely tame, but it does get its point across. Matheson does a fantastic job in his role, as does Leigh, his cheating wife. Some scenes struck me as comical (Matheson's screaming while he's having a heart attack), but overall, this was a very enjoyable film, and the ending was much better than I had thought it would be. A good film here. 8/10.