Reynolds encased in a small rectangle of light near the bottom of the page – was the first sign that this film might be the antithesis of the Hol- lywood summer popcorn movie. Buried begins with a couple of minutes of
utter darkness, then Paul Conroy (Reynolds) comes to and flicks open his Zippo to discover he’s been buried alive in an old wooden coffin. The claustrophobia is palpable but after an un- derstandable amount of freaking the fuck out, Conroy composes himself and realizes there’s a cellphone, a pencil, a flask of whisky and an unreliable flashlight in there with him. Through a couple of calls he manages to make, we learn he’s an American civilian truck driver who’d been contracted to work in Iraq, that his convoy was ambushed by insurgents or terrorists, and that he has no idea how or where he came to be put into the ground. Amid much panting, hyperventilating and oc-
Night of the Demons: A hellthing in need of a manicure.
looking to capitalize on anything with a recog- nizable title. And it’s not like the 1988 original, which spawned two so-so sequels, is part of horror’s holy canon; it’s a goofy boobs and blood fest which is wholly of its time. Updat- ing it didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Except Night of the
Demons is pretty much the defining goofy boobs and blood fest of the ’80s, and it inspired dozens of inferior imitators that could never match the original’s black humour, sexy energy and willingness to dispense with good taste. So remaking it suddenly pres- ents a greater challenge than might first appear. Kudos then to director Adam Gierasch (Au-
topsy) and his writing partner Jace Anderson (Dario Argento’s Mother of Tears, Tobe Hooper’s Toolbox Murders remake) for at least attempting to add a little meat to what is essentially a pop- corn flick, even if they ultimately fail. They use the original’s basic set-up – pretty outsider An- gela (American Pie’s Shannon Elizabeth) throws a Halloween party at a haunted house where she and most of her guests end up possessed by demons – and run with it, explaining the demons’ origins in black and white flashbacks (that are more stagey than scary), making the party a set piece unto itself, and upping the stakes (the demons will possess all humanity if they escape).
RM72 C I N E M A C A B R E Elizabeth, as the ringleader of the evening’s
demonic fun, is considerably less menacing and playful than the original’s Mimi Kinkade; also, at 37, she’s a tad old to be playing college-age girls, although she looks great. Aging less gracefully is Edward Furlong (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) whose reported alcoholism is evident by his extreme puffi- ness. But he was born to play Colin, a shifty drug dealer with all the best lines. Old-school Demons fans will
appreciate nods to the ’88 film: veteran scream queen Linnea Quigley has a “cheeky” cameo, and the ol’ lipstick-in-the-boob
gag gets an under-the-skirt reinvention. But these only serve to remind us that there’s simply no substitute for the original.
SEAN PLUMMER HURTIN’ FOR A DIRTIN’
BURIED Starring Ryan Reynolds, Robert Paterson
and José Luis García Pérez Directed by Rodrigo Cortés Written by Chris Sparling Lionsgate
The brave poster campaign behind Buried –
one, a riff on Saul Bass’ labyrinthine design for Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo and another, a com- pletely black one-sheet save for star Ryan
casional bouts of blackness, Conroy calls one of the numbers stored in the phone and a scary voice on the other end informs him he’ll need to se- cure $5 million by 9 p.m. that night from the American em- bassy, or he will die. Frantic calls to the FBI and his employer follow as Conroy tries desperately to be found while his waning cell battery, bureaucratic red tape, a decreasing air supply and eventually, sand pouring in after a breach threaten his ability to remain in control and rational. So minimalist it makes Open Water, Cast
Away or Hitchcock’s Rope look like lavish pro- ductions, Buried is essentially the coffin scene from Kill Bill 2 extrapolated into a feature, a de- cidedly risky move for a mainstream release. But the bet pays off in, uh, spades because Reynolds – who’s basically the only actor on- screen – tones down his usual sarcastic every- man approach enough that we not only care about him, we’re right there with him in his har- rowing race against time. Buried’s exchange of explosions and gore for stark, smart storytelling is altogether bold, dark and suffocating. TREVOR TUMINSKI
SAVININESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS
SEA OF DUST Starring Tom Savini, Troy Holland and Ingrid Pitt
Written and directed by Scott Bunt Cinema Epoch
Several British period fright flicks feature re- ligious zealotry (Witchfinder General and The
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