Imagine a scenario where you are enjoying a moment of solitude at the grocery store when you suddenly bump into the person who committed an atrocious crime against your loved one two decades ago. This is the premise of the enthralling yet highly implausible four-part series, Dead and Buried (Virgin Media One, 9pm), which is based on the 2013 play, Bag For Life by Colin Bateman, a novelist from Co Down.
The original piece was a part of Derry’s 2013 City of Culture Programme and indicated a more serious and introspective narrative. However, this adaptation is an unabashed dive into sheer insanity and entertainment, without getting entangled in the details of realism or subtlety. The playful direction of the production is quite clear to all those who took part in it.
The protagonist, Cathy, portrayed convincingly with a Donegal accent by British actress Annabel Scholey, is tormented by the memory of her teenage brother’s murder that took place 20 years ago. The sight of her brother’s killer, Michael (played by Colin Morgan), brings all those suppressed memories to the fore. Her nights are fraught with unease and when sleep does finally come, she is plagued by horrifying dreams of Michael lying next to her.
Cathy finds herself both repelled and fascinated by Michael’s post-prison life living with his compassionate wife, Lena (Niamh Walsh). Funded by her affluent father, they lead a comfortable life, albeit with Michael having to feign interest in his father-in-law’s ardent endorsement of Christianity.
Dead and Buried is essentially a ludicrous, fun thriller that doesn’t take itself too seriously and provides a refreshing break from reality. Its reviews mirror this sentiment, calling it an entertaining romp into the world of implausible escapism.
Venturing into the world of social media, Cathy starts a strategic game with her adversary. She initiates this by sending him a pizza before booking a hearse for his wife’s funeral, even though the wife in question is perfectly alive. She ropes in her closest friend, Kerri Quinn, into a visit at a café managed by Michael’s wife, causing horror and an understandable escape to her friend, who soon realises the shady activity.
Cathy finds herself gradually becoming infatuated with Michael, an intriguing figure whose dangerous allure starkly differs from her more mundane English spouse, Raymie, as portrayed by Waj Ali. Before long, she begins texting him tantalising pictures and daringly slips into his house to deposit lingerie in his chest of drawers — an action that implies her fascination for him reaches far beyond a mere thirst for retribution.
Dead and Buried aptly fits the bill of the kind of thriller one might anticipate to watch on Virgin Media One on any gloomy Monday in September. Despite its absurdities and the questionable behaviour of its characters, it adheres only distantly to realism. Yet, isn’t such an element of fantasy the very essence of what we crave in our early-week absurdities? The enjoyment derived from feverishly gripping pulp fiction inevitably outweighs any harm. Regardless of its inherent silliness, Dead and Buried continues to remain amusing nonetheless.