Buried (film)
Buried | |
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![]() Theatrical poster | |
Directed by | Rodrigo Cortés |
Written by | Chris Sparling |
Produced by | Adrián Guerra Peter Safran |
Starring | Ryan Reynolds Ivana Miño Anne Lockhart Robert Paterson Stephen Tobolowsky Samantha Mathis Erik Palladino Heath Centazzo Joe Guarneri Warner Loughlin José Luis García |
Cinematography | Eduard Grau |
Edited by | Rodrigo Cortés |
Music by | Víctor Reyes |
Production companies | The Safran Company Versus Entertainment Dark Trick Films Kinology Studio 37 |
Distributed by | Lionsgate (US) Icon Entertainment International (UK/Australia) |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes[1] |
Countries | Template:Film Spain Template:Film Australia |
Language | English |
Budget | Less than 2 million[2] |
Box office | $248,701[3] |
Buried is a 2010 Spanish indie thriller-horror film directed by Rodrigo Cortés.[4] It stars Ryan Reynolds, Anne Lockhart and Ivana Miño.[5]
Plot
Paul Conroy, a truck driver, awakens buried alive underground with little but a lighter, a knife and a cellular phone.[6] Although he initially has no idea as to how he got there, he soon starts to piece together what has happened to him.[7] From memory, Paul remembers that he and several other convoys were ambushed by insurgents, then all the other truck drivers were killed shortly before he blacked out. After finding the cell phone Paul attempts to get into contact with his wife and his employers (who gave him a safety number if anything like this should occur), but is only able to leave a message for both of them. Paul is able to get into contact with the FBI, but they cut off before he can explain the situation: However, he is able to determine from the questions the FBI official asked him that he has been kidnapped. The kidnapper contacts him and demands 5 million 'money' to be released alive, but this is then lowered to 1 million 'money'. Paul eventually gets into contact with his employers, who pass him onto a group set up in 2004 specifically made to find people who have been kidnapped. While the man who is trying to find Paul tells him that they are doing their best, Paul is not convinced and asks the man to name a person who they have saved before. He claims they saved a man known as Mark White three weeks ago. After a long time of trying to get help, the kidnapper forces him to make a ransom video, which he refuses to do. The kidnapper threatens to kill his family (as he reveals the details of where they live), and Paul reluctantly agrees to do the video. He receives a phone call from his employers, who inform him that he was fired from his job that morning due to fraternizing with another female employee (though Paul says the relationship was strictly professional), and so as a result if he dies his family will not get any insurance money for it. He then receives a video from the kidnapper of the female employee he knew being shot dead, causing him to feel incredibly guilty and to vomit.
Shortly afterwards there is a violent shaking in the coffin, and sand starts to leak into the coffin. The government group calls Paul and explains that some planes just bombed the area the coffin is in, even though they knew he was in the area (they were able to roughly pin down his location, but not exactly). The stress becomes too great and Paul momentarily considers slitting his own throat with the knife, but he stops after thinking about his family. The sand starts to leak in at a considerably larger degree and Paul begins to lose all hope and does a last will and testament in video form, giving his son all of his clothes and his wife all of his personal savings. As time goes on (with nobody planning to pay the ransom), the kidnapper calls demanding blood, and tells Paul to cut his finger off and send a recording of it: In return, his family will not be harmed and he will tell the US government where Paul is. With this Paul complies, cutting his finger off and sending the video. Within a few minutes the government official phones Paul saying they now know where he is, explaining that they were given the details of where to find a man who was buried alive by an insurgent. Paul receives a phone call from his wife and tells her he is going to be okay, and they express their love for each other. A few minutes later he gets a call from the rescue group saying that they are close and have found his location. They arrive to the apparent burial site and are about to dig up the coffin. Through the phone digging is heard, but Paul cannot hear it. The sand begins to fill the coffin to deadly levels, giving Paul seconds left. However, when the group digs up the coffin they realize that it was the coffin of Mark White. As Paul begins to be suffocated under the sand, the man tells him "I am so sorry, Paul. I am so sorry.".
Cast
- Ryan Reynolds as Paul Conroy[8]
- Ivana Miño as Pamela[9]
- Anne Lockhart as 911 Operator/CRT Operator[10]
- Robert Paterson as Dan Brenner[11]
- José Luis García Pérez as Jabir[12]
- Stephen Tobolowsky as Alan Davenport[13]
- Samantha Mathis as Linda Conroy[14]
- Warner Loughlin as Donna Mitchell/Maryanne Conroy/Rebecca Browning[15]
- Erik Palladino as Special agent Harris[16]
- Heath Centazzo as Soldier[17]
- Joe Guarneri as Soldier[18]
Production
Produced by Barcelona-based Versus Entertainment in association with Stateside shingles Safran and Dark Trick Films. [19]
Release
Buried premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2010. Lionsgate purchased the theatrical rights to the film and have planned a limited theatrical release on September 24, 2010 and a wide release two weeks later on October 8, 2010. The film's first trailer premiered with A Nightmare on Elm Street. The second trailer premiered at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, and is attached with select prints of Dinner for Schmucks, Resident Evil: Afterlife, The Expendables and The Last Exorcism.
The movie had won the European Fantastic Film Festival of Strasbourg in September 2010.
The movie will be presented at both the Deauville American Film Festival, in competition, and the Toronto International Film Festival, out of competition, in September 2010.
Reception
Buried has received generally positive reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 87% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 54 reviews, with an average score of 7.2/10. With the following consensus: "Wringing a seemingly impossible amount of gripping drama out of its claustrophobic premise, Buried is a nerve-wracking showcase for Ryan Reynolds' talent."[20] Film critic Roger Ebert, awarding the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, said that "Rodrigo Cortés, the Spanish filmmaker behind this diabolical, Hitchcock-influenced narrative stunt, makes merry mischief with camera angles and lighting".[21] IGN gave the movie a perfect 10/10.
References
- ^ "Buried rated 15 by the BBFC". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
- ^ "Ryan Reynolds interviewed by Jian Ghomeshi on Q". CBC.ca. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=buried.htm
- ^ "Sundance Festival One-Sheet: Buried". Dreadcentral.com. 2010-01-18. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "New Stills: Billy Bob Thornton(Ryan Reynolds is Van Wilder) is Buried Alive". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Sundance '10: Ryan Reynolds Gets 'Buried' Alive, 'Splice' Imagery". Bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Ryan Reynolds to star in Indie Thriller Buried".
- ^ "Crazy Buried with Ryan Reynolds is Really a One Man Show". Slashfilm.com. 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Lionsgate Takes You Six Feet Under This September with 'Buried'". Bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Sundance '10: Official Festival One Sheet for 'Buried'". Bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Lionsgate's Claustrophobic Teaser Poster for 'Buried'". Bloody-disgusting.com. 2010-04-27. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Lionsgate Unveils Its Teaser Poster for Buried". Dreadcentral.com. 2010-04-27. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "New Motion Poster for Buried Starring Ryan Reynolds". Dreadcentral.com. 2010-05-19. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Experience 'Buried' With New Motion Poster". Bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Buried Poster Induces High Anxiety". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "New 'Buried' Poster Spins You Into Vertig". Bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: 'Buried' Poster Awesomely Channels Hitchcock's 'Vertigo,' Plus Official Release Dates!". Moviesblog.mtv.com. 2010-09-24. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Experience Buried". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ Warner Spain nabs 'Buried,' 'Di Di'
- ^ "Buried Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- ^ "'Buried' review by Roger Ebert". Retrieved 2010-09-20.