Review of I Bury the Living (1958) by Eric R — 26 Sep 2011

While in his office, the new chairman of a large cemetery (Richard Boone) works on a large map which represents the occupied plots. Black pins represent occupied plots and white piins representing empty lots that have been purchased but not yet filled.

After a mix up with the pins, several people start dying which inevitable leads this man to believe that he may be god. Is it just a coincidence, or does he really have power to dictate life and death? Bury the Living is a pretty cool premise that feels a lot like a slightly longer episode of the Twilight Zone episode.

This man is not evil; Most of the film is spent as he struggles to deal with what is going on and how no one believes this ability of his to be true. Richard Boone really does a good job as this conflicted man who begins to essentially lose his mind because of this.

I Bury The Living has some inventive cinematography and sound design, particularly for the time, but I never felt like the film made it to the level of being considered a great film.