Writer: Anne Jamaludin

Writer Ratings:
Overall:
Cast:
Plot:
Effects: NA
Cinematography:

Watch this if you liked: “Devil”, “Panic Room”, “Twilight Zone”

Paranoia, claustrophobia, anxiety. What would you do if you suddenly wake up in a coffin, alone in the dark and with nothing much left for your disposal? Directed by Rodrigo Cortes, the newly-acclaimed 'new generation Hitchcock', this psychological thriller brilliantly showcases all the above within 95 minutes and delivers more than what meets the eye.

Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 movie "Rope", Ryan Reynolds ("The Proposal", "X-Men Origins: Wolverine") shined through all the way with his notable portrayal as an unfortunate American truck driver and family man, Paul Conroy who was mysteriously buried six feet under with nothing else but a lighter, a worn out mobile phone and a pocket knife. Taking place underneath the sandy earth of Iraq, audiences will be held onto their seats as Conroy desperately tries to find a way to escape from his imprisonment. Through his darkly funny calls to 911 and elsewhere, we learn that his convoy was ambushed by Iraqi insurgents while on the way to deliver kitchen supplies to a community centre. Inevitably, an Iraqi man (voiced by Jose Luis Garcia-Perez) calls Conroy to demand the wire transfer of US$5 million within two hours. In a race-against-time, he struggles with the inevitable namely unstable network coverage, limited oxygen supply and well, space.

For the first few minutes, audiences will be left in the dark literally. However the plot catches up moderately fast after the first quarter as nerve-wrecking sequences begin to take over. Cortez luminously tackles a 'one man, one setting' theme even better than what was expected, despite the fact that the camera angles are constrained due to the setting. Meanwhile, Reynolds' attempt to break out from his previous romantic and comedic roles with this did not disappoint either with his convincing performance, that was shot within 17 days before flying off to shoot the Marvel-based superhero movie, "The Green Lantern".

Regardless of the questions that triggers inside you, rest assure as it just adds on to the anxiety and angst that will leave you feeling if not enlightened, at the very least grateful for the things that you have in your life.

"Buried" has managed to harness a lot of constructive reviews in the US since its opening and this reviewer believes that local audiences will definitely love this movie as much.

Cinema Online, 14 October 2010