Is Burial Ground a Hidden Treasure or Dumpster Fire?

Blu-ray Distributed By: Severin Films / October 25, 2016

Craig’s Take  (4 / 5)

Burial Ground has to be one of the cheapest, stupidest and strangest zombie films ever made. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I fucking love it. It’s just a little hard to justify my love of it. There are so many weird things going on in this thing that I’m always entertained.

So, Professor Ayres has made some kind of discovery in some kind of ruins or crypt or something near his mansion. I’m not sure what that discovery is exactly as the movie isn’t really clear on this point. Anyway, so he finds some kind of stone with some symbols carved in it. And then he goes back to the ruins/crypt and is eaten by some zombies.

So sometime before this he invites three couples (one of which has a son in tow-more on him later) to his mansion to reveal this monumental discovery. I’m not sure who these people are or why he invited them but I guess that’s not important because the movie wastes no time trying to explain. They’re just there so shut up.

After a couple of truncated sex scenes everyone wakes up and goes outside to make out. Then the zombies show up and try to eat them. They all run to the mansion and try to board it up Night of the Living Dead style (only with some twigs and firewood). Of course the zombies eventually get in and eat a few people.

I don’t really want to give too much else away but I’m sure you will probably see most of the twists and surprises coming. Of course this isn’t a very original concept. There aren’t really a whole lot of those in the zombie genre (with a few notable exceptions of course). Burial Ground does carve out a niche though through great atmosphere and good old-fashioned weirdness.

The locations are really great and do most of the heavy lifting in this film. The mansion is a big, old world Italian mansion so really all you have to do is light it dimly and you’re halfway there. It really adds a great old-school, Italian gothic feel to the proceedings. You also get a crazy 1970’s abstract electronic soundtrack, which in my opinion is always a plus.

And the cast, holy shit, the cast. First of all, every male character just seems off to me. OK, so you’ve got Roberto Caporali running around in his tight red sweater and toupee, Gian Luigi Chirizzi is your slightly balding leading man (I guess?) and Simone Mattioli and his affable mustache. And to top it all off, the great Peter Bark playing the young child Michael. Bark is a 25 year old man playing at least a 10 year old. The image of Peter Bark, also wearing a toupee as well as his stylish mom pants, playing a child is certainly a strange one.

I don’t want to give too much away from his performance, as I’d like to think that there are some people seeing this movie for the first time still. The female side of the cast is much less strange. But in keeping with Italian film standards, all are kind of hot. Especially Mariangela Giordano. She is the most well known actor in the film (well maybe outside of Peter Bark) and she does a very good job with the overly silly dialog and situations.

I have to talk about these zombies as well. These are some of the sorriest looking zombies I’ve ever seen. These are the kind of zombies that most filmmakers would stick way back in the background to fill out a crowd scene. Bianchi shoots them in close-up. You can see the actors nose sticking out of the mask in a few shots. It’s covered in a black stocking so it could be worse I suppose but still, it’s supposed to be a rotted away hole in a corpses face but there is a big black nose shaped thing sticking out.

Some of the zombies literally look like someone threw modeling clay on the actor’s face a few minutes before the camera started rolling. And where the hell are all these corpses coming from? Some of them are just popping out of flower beds. I mean, I can accept zombies wandering out of a crypt but why are there bodies buried a few inches under the grass all over the garden?

I know that it seems like I’m being overly harsh but I really do enjoy the film. All of these things add up to an almost surreal, dreamlike ambiance. It’s kind of like being trapped in a nightmare. Why are all these people here? Who are these people? Why are they all so strange? What is causing the dead to rise? Why is this 30 year old guy playing a 7 year old? The movie makes no attempt to answer any of these questions and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jamie’s Take  (3.5 / 5)

Basically everything Craig says about this nasty, Italian zombie film I agree with. It is silly and really dumb, but so much fun. It does feel like a “party” movie. It’s also super sleazy but that’s to be expected by anything director Andrea Bianchi does (Strip Nude For Your Killer is a perfect example). Severin’s brand new 2K restoration looks absolutely gorgeous and carries over all the special features from the 2011 Media Blasters disc.

Presented in a 1:66:1 aspect ratio, Burial Ground looks far superior than any version I have seen. Clarity and colors are the two highlights as the picture looks downright perfect, while also retaining the grain that the Media Blasters disc seemed to be missing. Any print damage that may have shown up in other releases are now gone. Any of the dark, murky night sequences can now be seen vividly.

The audio also is far superior than the older disc with all hiss and audio drop outs now missing. The films score also seems to come across much louder and more effective. I had forgotten how creepy and offsetting the music is which I think helps elevate the film during some of the more sillier moments (and there are a lot).

The deleted / extended scenes are carried over from the Media Blasters disc along with the original theatrical trailer and the video interviews with producer Gabriele Crisanti and actress Mariangela Giordano. Adding to the special features is an interview with actor Simone Mattioli who looks much older and unrecognizable as the mustached hero who buys it near the films conclusion. He even admits that he forgot he made this film until he was asked to do this interview, stating he did it only for the money. It’s these blunt and honest interviews that I always find fascinating.

“Peter Still Lives” is a small Q&A session in Italy where actor Peter Bark showed up or a Q&A after the film was shown in 2011. He still looks strange and while he seems to be enjoying himself and the fans of the film, he doesn’t really say a whole lot about the movie. The final and my favorite featurette is about the location where Burial Ground was shot. Filmed in Villa Parisi, this gorgeous mansion which was once the home of Napoleon’s sister was used for various films such as Patrick Lives, Bay of Blood, Hatchet For a Honeymoon, and Blood For Dracula. Showing various clips from these films along with Burial Ground and seeing what the mansion looks like now is really neat to witness, with most of the home looking about the same as it did over 30 years ago.

I do feel an audio commentary is missing as there seems like there may have been some more fun or interesting stories to tell about the making of the film as well as the location. While most of what may be the most interesting stories are revealed in the interviews, I can’t help but think what a Peter Bark commentary would sound like.

Fans of Burial Ground, it is time for an upgrade and Severin Films’ blu-ray is well worth the price. Better picture, better sound, and more special features with a reversible cover…yeah this is highly recommended.

Jimbo’s Take  (3.5 / 5)

Well, this is boring. We all agree with near perfect precision. So here are my thoughts anyway…

This was the first time I’ve seen the film. Shocking, I know. I never rented it from my video store even though I recall seeing this cover countless times…

As Craig points out some of the mechanics and ideas in the script can feel threadbare. We’ve seen most of this before, but what elevates Burial Ground is the pace at which the movie moves. Low on plot and rationality, but high on mayhem and atmosphere, Burial Ground (titled The Nights of Terror for this release) starts off in a full sprint.

From the very first scene, the zombies awaken with little more than a fart in the wind to stir them. There’s kind of a reason, but not really. But it doesn’t matter because what’s on the menu is tits, blood, smashing, guts, chopping, and gnashing of teeth. Pretty much in that order.

The characters are basically zombie meat. As soon as they’ve dropped their luggage at the Professor’s mansion, most of them start screwing. We get a good dose of T&A and – BOOM – time for the zombies to eat people in creative and ultra gory fashion. From there it’s pretty much all action – gunshots, smashed skulls, severed limbs – until the end.

And just so we’re clear, these aren’t your The Walking Dead zombies. I don’t want our mainstream readers expecting Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead. However, this band of ghouls do have a few tricks up their sleeves which you may not have seen in other zombie pics. Without spoiling too much, this herd of undead can’t be fooled as easily as the brainless forces-of-nature found in more popular films.

The blu-ray includes both the Italian and English language track and the English dub only heightens the absurdity with stilted delivery and laughable dialogue.

Burial Ground is fantastic fun for viewers that enjoy a zombie flick with more unintentional laughs than scares. Gross? Yes. Sleazy? Absolutely. Terrifying? Not so much. Memorable? Oh hell yes… and in part due to the bizarre casting choice of Peter Bark as 10-year-old Michael. Craig and Jamie have already touched upon Mr. Bark so I’ll simply add, you just need to see this film for yourself.

Hidden Treasure/Dumpster Fire?

Craig:	(4.0 / 5)
Jamie:	(3.5 / 5)
Jimbo:	(3.5 / 5)
Average:	(3.7 / 5)

[amazon_link asins=’B01LYNX32T,B000063K1F,B0029Z8KFQ’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’trashmenamaz-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’1814126d-fae6-11e7-a4f7-e7712dadacef’]Special Features

• New restored 2k scan with full shot by shot color correction
• English and Italian Language Audio Tracks
• Villa Parisi – Legacy of Terror: Featurette on the historic house location
• Peter Still Lives: Festival Q&A with actor Peter Bark
• Just for the Money: Interview with actor Simone Mattioli
• The Smell Of Death: Interviews with Producer Gabriele Crisanti and Actress Mariangela Giordano
• Deleted/ Extended Scenes/ Shots
• Theatrical Trailer