What Is Buried Alive II About?
The premise of Buried Alive II in 308 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In a quiet, sun‑baked town where old family legacies linger behind neat white fences, a sudden windfall reshapes one woman’s world. The unexpected inheritance brings a mix of promise and pressure, turning a modest household into a place where whispers of ambition begin to echo through the rooms. The atmosphere is humid and tense, a subtle blend of domestic comfort edged with the unease of something unseen shifting beneath the surface.
Laura Riskin finds herself caught between her desire to protect her newfound security and the restless cravings of the man she married. Her husband, Randy Riskin, is a restless soul whose dreams extend far beyond the town’s borders, and his attention is increasingly drawn to the charismatic outsider Roxanne. The three navigate a delicate dance of affection, expectation, and hidden motives, each step hinting at deeper currents that could pull them apart or push them together in unexpected ways. Their interactions are charged, laced with both tenderness and a nervous edge that suggests more is at stake than simple domestic harmony.
When a seemingly harmless remedy turns into something far more unsettling, the ordinary rhythm of their lives is abruptly broken. A mishap at a local embalming studio leaves the woman in a state that blurs the line between life and death, and a grave‑opening mistake catapults her into an impossible confinement. The claustrophobic darkness of the coffin becomes a crucible, amplifying every breath and heartbeat as she confronts the stark reality of being buried while still alive.
Awakening amid stone and soil, she must summon an inner strength that has long been dormant. The film balances a chilling, almost tactile suspense with moments of raw, relentless determination, inviting the audience to wonder how far someone will go when forced to claw their way out of a literal nightmare and confront the forces that placed them there.
What Happens in Buried Alive II?
The complete story of Buried Alive II, from the first scene to the last, in 639 words (about 3 minutes). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 4 cast member pages.
Spoilers ahead
Clint Goodman has carved out a quiet, solitary life under the alias Michael Haden, living as if he were dead to everyone who once knew him. Yet the shadows of a botched murder and the lingering effects of a toxin keep his body and mind on edge, leaving him physically frail and emotionally wary, a man who survives more by cunning than by safety. He treads carefully around town, avoiding attention while memories of his past drift just beneath the surface.
When his old friend Sheriff Sam Eberly dies, Clint returns to attend the funeral. There, Sam’s niece, Laura Riskin, who knew Clint long ago, recognizes him but he slips away before she can speak. Laura has just inherited stock worth $250,000 from her uncle and sees the windfall as a way to secure a future for her family, a plan that clashes with her husband, Randy Riskin, who longs to leave town for a yacht. Unbeknownst to Laura, Randy is carrying on an affair with Roxanne and promises to ditch Laura as soon as he can run away with her, setting a dangerous parallel to Clint’s own haunted past.
Laura, sensing the growing rift, confronts Clint, who urges her to forget him because he’s a man marked by danger. He cautions her to walk away from Randy before she ends up regretting it the way he did with Joanna. The tension between loyalty and love thickens as Laura decides to give Randy a chance to change, hoping for a peaceful life. That optimism is shattered, though, when dinner that evening takes a dark turn: Randy slips a toxin into Laura’s wine, triggering cardiac arrest she barely survives. The doctor questions an autopsy, but Randy declines, aided by the family history of heart problems that obscures any immediate investigation. The case quietly fades from the police’s radar.
Clint’s world shakes again when he reads in the paper about Laura’s death and suffers a heart attack himself. In the hospital, the truth remains guarded, and at the morgue the embalmers encounter a malfunction. Despite Randy’s pressure, Laura is not embalmed. After the funeral, Clint seeks out Randy and warns him that Laura may still be alive. That confrontation ends with Clint digging Laura up, only to collapse from exertion and die himself. Laura wakes, escapes her grave, and solemnly places Clint’s body in her own coffin, burying him with her as she moves toward a new, hidden plan.
Back home, Laura discovers Randy and Roxanne in bed together. She contemplates killing them with a spear gun but changes course when she learns Randy longs for children with Roxanne, not her. In the ensuing days, Randy notices odd, unsettling signs around the house, and Laura’s supposed grave becomes a focal point of fear. He has Laura’s grave exhumed, hoping to confirm she is dead, but authorities reveal Clint’s body instead. The discovery cascades: Clint’s coffin is exhumed, revealing the remains of Joanna and Cortland along with money they had acquired from selling Clint’s business, stirring suspicion that Laura might still be alive. Fearing exposure, Randy buys a yacht and prepares to flee with Roxanne.
Laura’s revenge finally breaks its long, patient hold. She traps the fleeing couple inside a locked tool shed, sealing the door with Randy’s truck and feeding exhaust fumes through the vent until they lose consciousness. She then returns to the surface and sails away in a motorized dinghy, leaving the sinking yacht behind as a grim backdrop to her escape. She heads toward a fresh start with Clint’s dog Duke, visiting Clint’s grave to say thanks for the unspoken help he gave her in spirit. As Randy and Roxanne scream for help from the sunken hull on the seabed, Laura moves on with her life, choosing a new path away from the past that nearly destroyed her.
Buried Alive II Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
16 key events in the order they happen, from “Clint's hidden life and deteriorating health” to “Visiting Clint's grave and departure”. 16 events name a place, across 16 locations.
- 1
Clint's hidden life and deteriorating health
Clint Goodman lives in hiding under the alias Michael Haden, keeping his past a secret from the town. The lingering toxin from his earlier ordeal has left him with serious health problems and constant frailty. He exists in solitary silence, with everyone believing he died years ago.
When:Present day, before Sheriff Sam Eberly's funeral Where:Unknown hiding location
- 2
Funeral of Sheriff Sam Eberly
Clint returns to town to attend Sam Eberly's funeral, stepping back into a life he thought was over. Laura Riskin spots him across the crowd, recognizing the man she once knew, but he slips away before they can speak. The moment rekindles old memories for both of them.
When:Funeral day Where:Sam Eberly's funeral, small town
- 3
Laura inherits $250,000 stock
Laura learns she has inherited stock worth $250,000 from her late uncle Sam. She hopes the money will help her start a family and support her relatives in town. Meanwhile her husband Randy resents living in the small town and dreams of buying a yacht and leaving.
When:Shortly after Sam's funeral Where:Laura's home
- 4
Randy's affair with Roxanne
Randy is secretly having an affair with Roxanne and promises to dump Laura for her. He hatches a plan to disappear with Roxanne and cut ties to the town. The betrayal casts a shadow over Laura's already fragile life.
When:Before the dinner that follows Where:Randy's home and Roxanne's circle
- 5
Laura confronts Clint
Laura corners Clint about his past, hoping to understand the man she once trusted. He tells her to forget him, insisting he is a wanted man and not a safe ally. He warns Laura that she could end up regretting her choices.
When:Shortly after funeral Where:In town, near Sam's funeral
- 6
Dinner, trust betrayed, and poisoning
Laura decides to trust Randy again, believing people can change. They go out for dinner that evening, but Randy slips toxin into her wine. Laura collapses with a cardiac arrest, and the doctor notes no obvious foul play given the family history of heart problems.
When:Evening Where:Dinner location
- 7
Laura's death goes unchallenged
News of Laura's apparent death spreads quickly, but the circumstances remain murky. The doctor declines to perform an autopsy, and the case is not pursued as suspicious because of the family history.
When:Evening/night Where:Laura's home and hospital
- 8
Clint's heart attack after the obituary
Clint, reading about Laura's death in the newspaper, has a heart attack himself. In the hospital he asks how Laura died, but the doctor only says her funeral is being prepared. The news rekindles a new danger around his hidden life.
When:Soon after Laura's death Where:Hospital
- 9
Morgue embalming malfunction
At the morgue, as Laura is about to be embalmed, a machine malfunctions. Despite Randy's insistence, the staff decide not to embalm her. The near-miss keeps Laura's status in limbo and erodes trust in the town's routine procedures.
When:Day of the embalming Where:Morgue
- 10
Clint digs up Laura; dies; she awakens
That night, Clint digs up Laura's grave, convinced she is dead. His exertions trigger another heart attack, and he dies. Laura awakens in her own grave, realizing she is alive and must act quickly to survive.
When:Night after the funeral Where:Graveyard
Show the other 6 events of Buried Alive II Hide the last 6 events
- 11
Laura buries Clint and returns home
Laura frees herself from the grave and moves Clint's body into her own coffin to conceal him, then buries him. She returns home to find Randy and Roxanne together, a cruel reminder of how tangled things have become and steeling her resolve for the coming confrontation.
When:Night to next day Where:Grave, then Laura's home
- 12
Exhumations raise suspicion
Randy notices odd happenings and has Laura's grave exhumed, but the authorities instead uncover Clint's body. They later exhume Clint's grave and discover Joanna and Cortland's remains, along with the money from Clint's business, deepening the suspicion that Laura may still be alive.
When:Days after funeral Where:Town cemetery and morgue
- 13
Randy plans to flee by yacht
Randy buys a yacht and plans to sail away with Roxanne, hoping to escape the consequences of the past and start a new life elsewhere. The couple accelerates their exit strategy as the net tightens around them at home and in town.
When:After exhumation findings Where:Marina/yacht
- 14
Tool shed trap and yacht confrontation
Laura traps Randy and Roxanne inside a tool shed by blocking the door with Randy's truck and flooding the space with exhaust fumes, knocking them unconscious. She then tracks them to the yacht, where she seals off the vents, preparing to condemn them to a grim fate at sea.
When:Night into sea voyage Where:Near Randy's home; then onboard a yacht
- 15
Final escape and new life
Randy and Roxanne awaken on the sunken yacht as Laura seals the last vent and watches it vanish beneath the waves. She escapes by motorized dinghy and leaves town with Clint's dog Duke, planning a new life, while the doomed couple remains trapped at the seafloor.
When:Following the sinking; next day Where:Yacht at sea, then coastal town
- 16
Visiting Clint's grave and departure
The following day, Laura visits Clint's grave to thank him for his help and support. She then leaves town with Duke, ready to start anew far from the town's dark secrets.
When:Next day Where:Clint's grave; town
Who Are the Main Characters in Buried Alive II?
6 characters, among them Clint Goodman (Tim Matheson), Laura Riskin (Ally Sheedy) and Randy Riskin (Stephen Caffrey): who each one is and the part they play in the story. Every profile links to the actor’s page.
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Clint Goodman (Tim Matheson)
Played by Tim Matheson
Clint Goodman is a former survivor living under the alias Michael Haden, carrying the physical and emotional scars of a past attempt on his life. He returns to attend Sheriff Sam Eberly’s funeral, though his frail health from toxin exposure keeps him on the edge of collapse. He serves as a wary mentor to Laura, offering hard-earned caution about trust in a town where danger lingers. His dramatic fate comes when a second heart attack is triggered as he exhumed Laura’s grave and tries to intervene, leaving him dead and Laura to confront the consequences of her vengeance.
- 🎭 Drama
- 🧠 Intelligent
- 🫀 Health
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Laura Riskin (Ally Sheedy)
Played by Ally Sheedy
Laura Riskin inherits $250,000 and wants to secure a future, even as her husband Randy dreams of leaving for a yacht and a carefree life. She suspects Randy’s affair with Roxanne and navigates a web of lies to protect her family in a town wary of outsiders. After a poisoning attempt fakes her death, she awakens and orchestrates a calculated revenge, ultimately trapping Randy and Roxanne on a sinking yacht. Her arc moves from vulnerability to determined vengeance, ending with a new life beyond the town’s confines.
- 🎭 Drama
- 💰 Wealth
- 🧭 Determination
- RR
Randy Riskin (Stephen Caffrey)
Played by Stephen Caffrey
Randy Riskin is a discontented husband who resents life in the small town and pursues an affair with Roxanne. He schemes to leave with her by leveraging Laura’s inheritance and covers his tracks by avoiding an autopsy. His ruthlessness escalates as the plot turns, leading to his capture in Laura’s final trap on the yacht. His greed and infidelity propel the conflict toward a fatal sea-bound reckoning.
- 🎭 Drama
- 💔 Betrayal
- 🏃 Ambition
- R(
Roxanne (Tracey Needham)
Played by Tracey Needham
Roxanne is Randy’s lover, impatient and unscrupulous, drawn into the murder plot to secure a future with him. She becomes entangled in Laura’s vengeance and shares responsibility for the perilous plan. Trapped in the yacht’s doom alongside Randy, she faces the consequences of betrayal as the vessel sinks.
- 🎭 Drama
- 💋 Temptation
- 💔 Betrayal
- DF
Dr. Ford (Mike Pniewski)
Played by Mike Pniewski
Dr. Ford is the local physician who treats Laura and is involved in the medical aftermath of the poisoning. His role provides the clinical backdrop to the plot’s deadly deception, including the choice not to pursue an autopsy that could reveal foul play. He represents the town’s ordinary facades pressed into extraordinary circumstances.
- 💊 Medicine
- 🧠 Science
- 🎭 Drama
- M(
Minister (Eric Paisley)
Played by Eric Paisley
The Minister appears as a figure of community and ritual during the funeral, grounding the town’s social fabric amid the unfolding danger. His presence underscores the contrast between outward piety and hidden scheming in a place where appearances mask deeper motives.
- 🙏 Faith
- 🎗️ Community
Where and When Is Buried Alive II Set?
Buried Alive II is set in Small Town, Morgue and Yacht. Here is why the place matters to the story.
Where
Small Town, Morgue, Yacht
The story unfolds in a quiet, close-knit small town whose calm is broken by a funeral and the eerie morgue scenes that follow. The setting shifts from intimate town spaces to a perilous offshore voyage on a yacht, which becomes the isolated stage for the final confrontation. The morgue and funeral home contribute a macabre atmosphere, while the yacht provides a claustrophobic backdrop for revenge and reckoning.
- 🏚️ Small Town
- ⚰️ Funeral & Morgue
- 🚢 Yacht
What Are the Themes of Buried Alive II?
3 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Revenge, Deception and Greed.
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01
Revenge
Revenge acts as the central motor driving Laura’s actions, echoing Clint’s past and forcing risky choices. The pursuit blends heartbreak with calculated risk, showing how far someone will go to settle scores. The film explores whether retaliation heals or deepens the wounds of the living and the dead.
-
02
Deception
Characters mask their true intents behind disguises of normalcy: Laura pretends vulnerability, Randy hides his crimes, and Clint conceals his identity. The plot hinges on misdirection, false deaths, and near-misses that keep the truth out of reach until a final reveal. Deception underpins trust and loyalty in a town used to quiet surfaces masking danger.
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03
Greed
Money acts as a powerful catalyst—Laura’s inheritance, Randy’s yacht plan, and Roxanne’s involvement—all driving risky schemes. The pursuit of wealth corrupts relationships and erodes previously stable loyalties. The yacht finale serves as a grim symbol of what greed can precipitate when expectations collide with vengeance.
What Kind of Film Is Buried Alive II?
Tense in tone, with steady pacing and a moderate story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Tense
- Pacing
- Steady
- Story
- Moderate
- Intensity
- High
- Ending
- Bittersweet
A tense and claustrophobic thriller that follows a woman's brutal revenge after surviving a murder plot, creating a grim atmosphere of betrayal and psychological strain.
- suspenseful
- vengeful
- claustrophobic
- anxious
- melancholic
- paranoid
- revenge
- adultery
- buried alive
- faked death
Content notes: attempted murder, buried alive, poisoning, adultery, emotional abuse.
Quiz
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