BURIAL GROUND
Having a ’ mare
released OUT NOW! 1981 | 18 | Blu- ray/ DVD
Director Andrea Bianchi
Cast Karin Well, Gianluigi Chirizzi,
Simone Mattioli, Antonella Antinori
Not bothered if a film has no plot? Don’t care for characterisation, logic, sane dialogue, decent acting, proper pacing or variety of action? Then Burial Ground is for you!
This gory Italian horror, also known as The Nights Of Terror, makes Night Of The Living Dead look like Memento. A group of socialites are attacked by the undead in and around a mansion. And that’s all the story – honest!
That may sound flippant but there is a genuine argument in favour of this film – that it plays out as a bad dream would, and that the unrelenting tide of terror is effective on a visceral level. That its ignoring of filmic conventions is deliberate and contributes to its raw power. Maybe…
What’s undeniable is that the zombie masks and make- up are excellent, and wisps of bizarre sleaze waft up now and then to give it a unique charge: if you ever wanted to see a dwarf actor pretending to be a boy who fancies his mother bite her breast off after being turned into a zombie, this is your movie.
Extras Commentary featuring horror experts John Martin and Calum Waddell; an interview with author Mikel Coven about the films of Andrea Bianchi; deleted scenes; trailer; a “grindhouse” version from an unrestored 35mm print; booklet. Russell Lewin
The young boy is played by Pietro Barzocchini ( credited as Peter Bark), who was around 25 at the time of filming!