wanted to play a character that is killing someone, or about to, or if he's in bed with a beautiful woman. Release The film first premiered on May 9, 1990, on the USA Network. The film was released under two taglines which read "She planned on her husband's death. But not on his coming back for revenge." and "One of them put an end to the marriage, until the other came back for revenge." Following the film's release, it remained only available on out-of-print VHS in America on March 21, 1991. It was released on DVD in the UK in October 2011. Other previous DVD releases included a Dutch import and the Australian double feature DVD which included the 2001 film They Crawl. Kino Lorber released the film on Blu-ray and DVD in America on January 12, 2021, in a new 2k master featuring an audio commentary by author and journalist Bryan Reeseman and an interview with William Atherton. Sequel A sequel followed in 1997, titled Buried Alive II, which starred Ally Sheedy and Stephen Caffrey. The film also was directed by and co-starred Tim Matheson, who along with Brian Libby were the only cast members from the original to return. The film followed a similar plot to Buried Alive, switching the genders of the leading characters. Reception Cavett Binion of AllMovie gave the film two and a half stars out of five, writing, "Produced for cable TV, this pedestrian thriller purports to be a riff on Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Premature Burial' but actually bears more of a resemblance to Diabolique." Tom Leins for Devon & Cornwall Film wrote a favorable review, stating, "Buried Alive is a quirky little curio elevated above TV-movie nonsense by committed performances from the three charismatic leads. The horror genre has loomed large in Darabont's work since he scripted A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors back in 1987, and although his work in the horror sphere arguably reached its peak with zombie series The Walking Dead – prior to his untimely sacking – Buried Alive represents an appealing footnote in an often-inspired career." Gary Collinson of Flickering Myth gave the film a favorable review, writing, "Although the plot of Buried Alive is fairly predictable, the film benefits immensely from some inventive direction from Darabont, while a capable cast of familiar faces including Matheson, Leigh, Atherton and country singer Hoyt Axton also helps