Dead and Buried (1981)

This little horror classic dates from the video nasties era, although I don't think it was actually ever banned, just available with major cuts (like not showing a hypodermic needle through the eyeball!).  Anyhow it's now on disc uncut and is probably quite tame by modern standards, although it does have the occasional moment of inventive gore.  From the writers of the original Alien franchise comes the tale of a sleepy New England town which seems to have found the solution to its population crisis.  Local sheriff James Farentino can't quite understand how a horribly burnt corpse turns up later on as the new smiley gas- station attendant.  It seems that the local mortician, character actor Jack Albertson in one of his very last roles, has been doing some unauthorised experiments on the cadavers in his care, and most of the townsfolk also seem to be in on the action, taking great glee in attacking and mutilating all newcomers and tourists.  The twist comes when Farentino must work out how both he and his beloved wife fit into the scheme of things, which any horror afficionado could guess without too much difficulty.  Despite some very dark lensing -- one of my big film bete noires -- this movie holds up pretty well in the horror canon.

Tags: horror, video nasties