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Welcome to Potter's Bluff....
Those four words spell doom to newcomers who happen upon the coastside township of Potter's Bluff in Gary Sherman's terrifying 1981 feature Dead And Buried. The film remains one of the shimmering examples of early 80's horror filmmaking at its best.
Potter's Bluff is a kindly New England town, policed by a benign sheriff named Dan Gillis (James Farentino). His wife Janet (Melody Anderson) teaches elementary school locally. The local townfolk, including Fred Krueger actor Robert Englund in an early role, hold much esteem for their sheriff and make for instantly-likable characters.
It's the new people in town that always make problems. Take freelance photographer George LeMoyne (Christopher Allport), who arrives in town during the film's prologue. While snapping pictures of wildlife on the beach, he happens upon a local woman (Lisa Blount) who begins to seduce him until an entourage of townfolk pounce upon him and burn him at the stake, most of them photographing the event. And not all of the residents are immune from these random episodes of madness, such as a local chemist (Joseph G. Medalis) who makes a startling discovery. Before he can present it to the proper authorities, he is descended upon by townspeople he thought he "knew" and who silence him for good with a pair of well-placed tubes of hydrochloric acid.
Something's not right with Potter's Bluff, and the script by Dan O'Bannon (Return Of The Living Dead) gradually unfolds without giving away too much too soon. As Sheriff Gillis investigates a series of unexplained "accidental" deaths of visitors to the township, he also becomes aware that new people are suddenly living in Potter's Bluff as though they've been longtime residents--even though they closely resemble these recent victims. And the late character actor Jack Albertson (in his final role) gives a chilling performance as the local undertaker Dobbs, who obviously knows more than he's letting on.
Then there are the other random deaths, like the sea skipper who is slashed to death and left to look like a boating accident, or the hitch-hiker whose head is crushed with a large rock, though she's positioned to look like a hit-and-run car victim when the authorities find her. No matter. Dobbs can make them all look beautiful again. And maybe more.
As both Gillis and the audience gradually become aware of what is afoot in this diseased little coastside hamlet, it simultaneously becomes clear that it's too late to undo the black magic-laced skullduggery that has occurred. And although this won't necessarily spoil the ending (though it will certainly pique some curiosities), the final line of dialogue, delivered by Jack Albertson as Dobbs, is devastatingly chilling within the context of the scene:
"Come, Dan....let me fix those for you."
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