Within this coffin lies a man...yet alive!
The Premature Burial is a 1962 horror film distributed by American International Pictures and directed by Roger Corman, starring Ray Milland, Hazel Court, Richard Ney, and Heather Angel, loosely based upon the short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe.
Set in the Victorian era, British aristocrat Guy Carrell (Milland) has an obsessive fear of being buried alive so consuming that it prevents him from marrying his fiancée Emily Gault (Court). The reason behind it is because he, like his father, suffers from a cataleptic illness that mimics the appearance of being dead. As time goes on, strange and disturbing occurrences happen that threaten to send Guy into the very state he fears, dreading the idea of suffering the same fate as his late father.
The third of the informally dubbed "Poe Cycle" films, this movie was released after the success of his previous films "House of Usher" and "The Pit and the Pendulum".
"The Premature Burial" is haunted by the following examples:
- And I Must Scream: Throughout the funeral, Guy's thoughts can be heard by the audience as he realizes what's happening to him but can't do anything to speak up.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: It's a wonder how Miles managed to get a lot of the dirt off Emily's body and clothes.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Emily
- Buried Alive: What Guy claimed befell his father years ago. This actually happens to Guy himself after having a cataleptic fit, which led him to insanity. He buries Emily alive in retribution for taking advantage of him and plotting to get rid of him.
- Crazy-Prepared: Guy Carrell is terrified of being buried alive and takes lots of steps to counter this. He wants to be entombed above ground and builds a special coffin that will open if there is any movement from inside. He installs a bell to ring for help and a rope ladder and skylight to escape from the mausoleum. His mausoleum also contains dynamite to blow open the door in case the bell and ladder fail and (should all of that fail) poison to commit suicide with. His wife urges him to destroy the mausoleum, saying it fuels his morbid obsession with being buried alive and harms his mental health.
- Creepy Cemetery: It's the most prominent location throughout the film.
- Dead Person Impersonation and Delivery Guy Infiltration: Guy uses the coat and hat of one of the graverobbers to sneak back into his house while carrying the body of one of the graverobbers he killed.
- Dramatic Thunder: Thunderstorms during Guy and Emily's wedding, giving a dark omen for the marriage.
- Dream Sequence: In one scene, Guy has a nightmare of being buried alive in his tomb with none of his safeguard precautions being usable.
- Driven to Madness: Guy goes insane with revenge against Emily for having him buried alive.
- Evil Redhead: Emily
- Faux Death: Guy slips into a cataleptic state mimicking the appearance of death three times. The third one leads to him being buried alive.
- Gold Digger: Kate reveals to Miles that Emily only married Guy so she can lay claims on his wealth.
- Gorgeous Period Dress: The costumes of the film are very good-looking, especially Emily and Kate's dresses.
- Gothic Horror: Well, it is based on one of Poe's works after all.
- Grave Robbing: The two gravediggers dig up Guy's coffin at the behest of Dr. Gault. They don't survive.
- The Grovel: When Emily threatens to leave him if he doesn't stop his obsessions, Guy snaps out of his morbid brooding and apologizes to her with the promise to put his obsession to rest.
- Karmic Death: After finding Emily alone and taking her to the cemetery where he was buried, he places her in the same coffin she let him be buried in and buries her under the dirt while inside the coffin.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Gender flipped; Kate tried to dissuade Emily from further association with Guy because of his mental state, but had to back down when they married.
- Ominous Fog: There's an unsettling fog perpetually rampant in the cemetery.
- Promotion to Parent: Kate has been taking care of her brother's well-being.
- Rejection Affection: Despite Guy's attempts to break off his engagement due to his obsessive fears, Emily refuses to give up and insists on marrying him anyway.
- Sibling Murder: Not that Kate had any choice, given her brother went insane.
- Sinister Whistling: The song 'Molly Malone' is heard being whistled regularly in the film, which happens to be one of Guy's emotional triggers.
- Stunned Silence: When Emily sees Guy enter the room and realizes it's him, she is so shocked she couldn't say anything.
- Wham Line: When Miles tells Kate that Emily is dead, she responds...
- Kate: Thank God.
