Review by Gary Tooze

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Description: Robert Kraft (Richard Boone) inherits a familial post as the chairman of a small-town cemetery. The centerpiece of the cemetery office is a map of all the plots: White pins signify those claimed, black pins those occupied. When Robert accidentally puts a black pin in the just-purchased plots of a friend (Glenn Vernon) and his new wife, they die in a freak accident. Robert's uncle (Howard Smith) convinces him to make another switch, to see if it's coincidence or something more sinister.

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Through a series of chilling coincidences, the newly-elected director of a cemetery (Richard Boone) begins to believe that he can cause the deaths of living owners of burial plots by merely changing the push-pin color from white (living) to black (dead) on a large wall map of the cemetery. This chilling tale is co-produced and director by cult filmmaker, and father to Empire/Full Moon founder Charles, Albert Band.

 

 

The Film:

Excerpt from TCM located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

I Bury the Living looks solid on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory - it's a short, reasonably effective Albert Brand horror and this is, easily the best it has looked for 1/2 a century. There are one of two examples of frame specific damage but the visuals are bright, a bit glossy, and have appealing contrast. It's in the correct 1.85:1 aspect ratio and there are examples of depth in the HD image. No complaints with the video quality!

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frame-specific damage

 

 

A standard lossless DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel stereo track at 1690 kbps kbps (24-bit) supports the minor sound effects but notable is sneaky score by Gerald Fried (The Vampire, A Killer in the Family, The Baby, and Kubrick's films Fear and Desire, Killer's Kiss, The Killing and Paths of Glory as well as venturing later into work in TV - Star Trek - and also the notable Joseph H. Lewis' western Terror in a Texas Town.) It sounds quite intense, at times, in the lossless adding significantly to the film's atmosphere. There are optional English subtitles (yellow font) on the region 'A' Blu-ray disc.

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BOTTOM LINE:
I really don't mind having this 50's mini-horrors. Boone is good and it's simple and sweet - like an extended Twilight Zone episode. The atmosphere is also a bonus.  The bare-bones Shout! Factory Blu-ray produces a fine a/v presentation - but is only recommended if you can nab it at a reasonable price. Ohh and don't be too swayed by the cover or title - it's more passive than you might anticipate! 

Gary Tooze

April 21st, 2017