Saddled with one of the most boringly unimaginative movie titles that I can think of, BURIED ALIVE 2 is a bitter (as a blowfish) disappointment. The original 1990 movie was surprisingly good for a TV film, with quality performances, an interesting plot and plenty of creepy moments. This sequel is a poor rehash of the first film, with the sole difference that the wife is the one being poisoned and the husband is the adulterer instead of the other way round. Everything else is exactly the same, including the poisoning by blowfish, even the drilling and trap at the end, but it's just not as effective this time around. The only fun parts are those which directly follow on from the first film, like the unexpected exhumation of the two bodies in a coffin and the character of Clint Goodman, but these are played down to a mere sideline in the movie.
Ally Sheedy (MAN'S BEST FRIEND) is frankly one of the most unattractive actresses I've seen, and her unconvincing performance doesn't help much. The rest of the cast is even worse, with the unknown Stephen Caffrey and Tracey Needham to blame for most of the bad acting in the movie. The only good performers are Tim Matheson, who has an excellently creepy role as a man with an unholy connection to death having been buried alive himself in the first, it's just a shame his direction isn't so inspired this time around. Brian Libby also has fun as an enbalmer with a black sense of humour.
The plot is often contrived (the enbalming machine going haywire is just plain dumb) and over-emphasises plot developments so that they become laughable. The final image, of two people trapped in a boat at the bottom of the ocean, is mishandled, turning a potentially horrific image into a laughable one thanks to the over-acting of the aforementioned Caffrey and Needham. Give this worthless flick a miss and rewatch the first movie instead, as it's about ten times better than this unoriginal garbage.
Ally Sheedy (MAN'S BEST FRIEND) is frankly one of the most unattractive actresses I've seen, and her unconvincing performance doesn't help much. The rest of the cast is even worse, with the unknown Stephen Caffrey and Tracey Needham to blame for most of the bad acting in the movie. The only good performers are Tim Matheson, who has an excellently creepy role as a man with an unholy connection to death having been buried alive himself in the first, it's just a shame his direction isn't so inspired this time around. Brian Libby also has fun as an enbalmer with a black sense of humour.
The plot is often contrived (the enbalming machine going haywire is just plain dumb) and over-emphasises plot developments so that they become laughable. The final image, of two people trapped in a boat at the bottom of the ocean, is mishandled, turning a potentially horrific image into a laughable one thanks to the over-acting of the aforementioned Caffrey and Needham. Give this worthless flick a miss and rewatch the first movie instead, as it's about ten times better than this unoriginal garbage.