Parents' Guide to

Buried

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Intense buried-alive thriller may be too grueling for most.

Movie R 2010 95 minutes
Buried Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 15+

Based on 12 parent reviews

Kadz
Kadz Adult
December 23, 2022
age 15+

Intense and thrilling

Very intense, thrilling, and well-made movie. Not a lot of violence, except for two scenes (only one of which you really see anything, and that only for a very brief moment), but a lot of objectionable language, as well as the previously mentioned intensity. Probably too intense for most younger teens, but 15-16-year-olds should be able to handle it.
1 person found this helpful.
TheoDoyp
TheoDoyp Adult
January 21, 2016
age 15+

An Intense thriller inside a coffin.

))Spoilers! )) This intense thriller about a man buried alive only with limited tools to survive is very well made and entertaining. The whole film is the main characters point of view, inside the coffin. He makes contact with people on his cell phone . The whole film has the character in peril, he even encounters a snake attack. It's defintley not for the faint of heart or for anyone claustrophobic as he has limited space to breathe. The whole concept is very shocking but it's defintley a film worth checking out.The film has many swears, not exactly a strong amount but their there and they may not be 'violence' as per say but the whole movie is intense. I recommend this film for teens and up (15+)

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
See all 12 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is a non-military contractor driving a truck in Iraq, circa 2006. He wakes up in total darkness, shocked to discover that he's in a coffin, apparently buried alive somewhere in the Iraqi desert. He has a cigarette lighter and a flask, and he has been given a cell phone, a flashlight, and a couple of glow sticks. He begins calling anyone he can think of for help, all the while fighting an endless array of troubles -- mainly the ever-diminishing air supply inside the coffin, but also a snake attack, a cave-in, and the horrible, horrible panic that won't ever completely go away...

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (12):
Kids say (11):

Spanish director/editor Rodrigo Cortés makes an impressive U.S. debut from a tightly crafted, classically thrilling script by Chris Sparling. The idea of staying entirely inside the coffin for a full movie is a huge challenge, and the filmmakers have mounted it admirably; they reveal information a little at a time, provide an emotional ebb and flow (with essential rest periods for the audience), and ramp it up when the time is right.

This, it goes without saying, sets the stage for a tour-de-force one-man show, and Reynolds makes it his own; it's a superb performance, possibly Oscar-worthy. Overall, Buried is an astonishing, even daring achievement. The major problem is that it plays into a deep, basic human fear, and most viewers may not want to put themselves through it. In other words, it's a very, very good film, but it's difficult to recommend.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the psychological horror in this movie. Does it have more or less impact than gorier horror films? Why?

  • Is this movie scary? What's the difference between this kind of terror and something more supernatural?

Movie Details

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