The Premature Burial

The Premature Burial follows Guy Carrell, a medical student in nineteenth-century London whose life is shaped by an overwhelming fear of being buried alive. That dread has roots in his father's death, which Guy believes involved a misdiagnosis of death, and it only deepens after he marries Emily Gault. The marriage strains under his obsession, and the construction of an elaborate tomb equipped with escape mechanisms becomes its clearest expression. Emily, unable to reach him, turns to the scientist Miles Archer for help, while Guy's sister Kate views the situation with open disapproval.

Roger Corman directed the film, the ninth of the nineteen features he directed in chronological order, arriving between The Intruder and The Terror. Ray Milland plays Guy, with Hazel Court as Emily, Richard Ney as Miles Archer, Heather Angel as Kate Carrell, Alan Napier as Dr. Gideon Gault and John Dierkes as Sweeny. Ray Russell and Charles Beaumont wrote the screenplay, and Samuel Z. Arkoff and Corman produced for American International Pictures and Santa Clara Productions.

Released in March 1962, the film runs eighty-one minutes and took in about one million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.5 out of 10 from roughly 5,400 votes, and on TMDB 6.3 out of 10 from 148 votes, while a smaller group of critics rated it 5.3 out of 10. Audience scores sit somewhat above that critics' figure.