Buried (2021) User Reviews

Interesting Exploration Of The Results of Child Sexual Abuse

[LoraceDem · 8/10 · 30 October 2021]

This was a really captivating documentary. I believe Eileen Franklin, and I think she could have continued to do great work on behalf of survivors of incest and child sexual abuse. I think it's so sad what happened that made her want to disappear from public life. Repressed memories are real.

George Franklin's defense attorney was quite ridiculous and clearly biased in saying that he instantly believed him to be innocent because he asked if Janice, not Eileen, was the witness that got him arrested. He likely asked this, not because he was confused about which daughter was with him, but because he was aware that Janice herself had reported him to the police for the murder of Susan Nason years before Eileen came forward.

George Franklin sexually, physically, and emotionally abused his own children, he possessed graphic child pornography and 'sex abuse toys' meant for children when arrested, and I have no doubt that he also murdered Susan Nason. That he only served a few years for all of this is really unfortunate.

Disconcerting!

[vam-vm · 6/10 · 12 October 2021]

I'm sure this documentary about repressed memory is going to be very interesting to watch. I wouldn't normally write a review after only one episode but this show has a very unusual and off putting trademark the director seems to be trying out. Zeroing in on the eyeballs of each person being questioned. I'm telling you, the eyeball fills the screen. It's so big I have to turn away from the tv and ask my dog Chance " why, why in hell is he doing this.?" An.optometrist could do an eye exam on these people. Serious flaw in my opinion.

Documentary!

[galasu · 6/10 · 17 October 2021]

When I first started watching I hadn't realized it was a documentary. I was aware of the story from when it happened and he was on trial, so not sure I got any more out of it....maybe some finer details. I think it could have been covered well in one two hour episode.

I do totally believe Eileen and her memory, he was an evil father, man and pedophile.

Who do you believe?

[staciarose20 · 6/10 · 15 February 2022]

It goes back and forth. Suggestive events during hypnosis was a big deal in the 80's. Plus the older sister being convinced he did it years prior. But...and this is a big but, you cannot deny his perversions after so much evidence was found in his home. Only a pedophile would keep such things in their home, plus child sized toys. Sickening. His lawyer makes me see red saying he's an innocent man. Pfft, he just wanted to win! Bet he wouldn't trust his client to be alone with his grandkids.

Memories or lies

[jaabs · 8/10 · 31 October 2021]

Very interesting. I didn't care for Eileen, when she was on the stand and caught in lies, her facial expressions were priceless. It is hard to make an accurate decision because I don't know all the facts....but then neither did the jury. Horrible family, but daddy took her along to kill people?

The Little "White" Lie

[Astaroth22 · 7/10 · 14 October 2021]

Do I think George Franklin killed Susan Nason? Most likely. Do I think Eileen saw it happen? Probably. Do I believe it was a case of a "repressed" memory?

Absolutely not.

Seems to me she always remembered what happened, as best as she could all those years later, but needed an explanation to explain why she never said anything earlier. One comment that she made which struck me was referring to herself as an "accomplice" and I believe growing up that's how she may have perceived herself. If so, this might explain why she never said anything. Falsely presenting the information as coming from a "repressed" memory to everyone - and to her therapist too no doubt - is why few now will ever trust her story completely.

Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde

[portal1790 · 9/10 · 16 October 2021]

I have never heard this incredible true crime story until now. Simply stunning. The human nature could be cruel. So cruel. Amazing 4 part documentary.

Repressed memory reappears after 20 years

[paul-allaer · 6/10 · 11 October 2021]

As Episode 1 of "Buried" (2021 release; 4 episodes of about 55 min each) opens, we are introduced to Eileen Franklin, who was 8 or 9 years old in 1969 when her best friend Susan Nason was brutally murdered. Then in 1989, yes 20 years later, Eileen's repressed memories return and she accuses her own dad of molesting and then killing little Susie. Episode 1 provides extensive footage of the "first day of the trial"... At this point we are 10 min into Episode 1, and you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this documentary TV mini-series is written and directed by Yotam Guendelman and Ari Pines. Their previous documentary work included "Shadow of Truth" a few years ago. Here they reassess the infamous case of the "repressed memory" of Eileen Franklin, who accuses her dad of the unresolved murder of Susie Nason 20 years prior. The documentary looks back extensively on how the Franklin family moved in then-new Foster City (halfway between San Fran and San Jose), where everyone knows your name. Then there is the issue of the "repressed memory", which at that time had never been used at trial in California. The documentary makers int4erview plenty of talking heads from those late 60s years in Foster City.

"Buried" premiered this weekend on Showtime and Episode 1 is now available on SHO On Demand. New episodes air Sunday evenings at 9 pm Eastern. If you are in the mood for your regular dose of true crime, I'd suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

*UPDATE 10/17/21* Just saw Episode 2 last night, which drills in on what a "repressed memory" actually is, and to what extent it is accepted in the medical community. As could be expected, the debate is not black and white, but instead there are a lot of nuances. And then, out of nowhere, an explosive new fact is unleashed upon the unsuspecting viewers at the very tail of end Episode 2. Can't wait to see the remaining two episodes...

*UPDATE 11/1/21* I've now seen all 4 episodes, and this mini-series just kept getting better as it went along. There is so much information to digest that episode 4 frankly even feels a little rushed. In the end, if you are a fan of true crime documentaries, you will definitely want to check out "Buried".

Fantastic story!

[hannahp1 · 10/10 · 13 October 2021]

Couldn't stop! Watched from beginning to end. What a story. Every 10 minutes it made u think something different.

Whatever u may think the ending where the people are now sent chills threw my bones. Great 90's flashback(Shelly Long pops up). One things for sure that was one screwed up family.

Forgotten about memory that deserved to be brought up in this horrible cancel culture environment.

Incomplete

[guialjoferm · 7/10 · 13 October 2021]

It is a good documentary because it goes back and forth with the evidence, but sadly it does very little to round up a conclusion to educate us. Journalistic investigations could make peoples minds about moral dilemmas, change investigations and legal concepts. But this kind of aproach where nothing is added to what is known, doesnt really help.

Unnecessarily dramatic

[doubletroublejjetc · 5/10 · 7 November 2022]

The case was unusual and creepy enough, that they didn't have to start by hitting us over the head with OH MY GOD DID THIS REALLY HAPPEN. Like yeah we get what the point is going to be, before it's even ten minutes in. I wish it had more respect for the viewer's intelligence, because given the subject matter, it could have been another Staircase or Brother's Keeper. But unfortunately, it just isn't that good.

Part of the problem is that we barely see any of what actually happened in court before there are voiced-over opinions about it. So this requires very little work, in a way, and doesn't allow us to come to any conclusions of our own before we're already being told what we should be paying attention to.

I might have liked it better if it had taken more time to let us see and hear these people (Eileen, her sisters and her mother) talk more first. But instead they put the memory experts in sort of randomly, closer to the beginning when it just wasn't even really clear why it mattered that much what they had to say.

The eyes say it all

[mareehall-80570 · 4/10 · 3 January 2022]

Never have I been so creeped out by the directors close of of the interviewees eyes, can't understand why they would do this so distracting from the serious topic at hand.

Repressed Memory

[pdbodyshop · 5/10 · 22 August 2022]

What a sad and horrible story ! I feel sorry for the little girl who was molested and murdered and for her family. I feel sorry for George Franklin's family. He was a very bad man. However I cannot believe that a jury of twelve convicted him of the murder of the little girl based on the recovered memories 20 year's after the fact by Elaine one of his daughters. Memories by the way that continued to change throughout the legal process.

Gal goes all"Salem Witch Trial" on Dad , yet it's still biased against him

[dale-51649 · 2/10 · 17 February 2024]

The story is about the gal who, as an adult, 20 years after the incident claims she saw her Dad murder her little friend, THEN SHE FORGOT ! ...

I'm not saying repressed memory hasn't ever happened , but if it has it is extremely rare. In this piece from the beginning , everyone from the DA to neighbors to inlaws to the press wanted to believe the narrative SOO BAD " when anything horrible happens blame the adult male in the equation - the older the better.

The filmmakers have a rag tag gaggle of uneducated people (medical wise) who make statements like the DA who says " he answered the door and said "you must have been talking to my daughter " therefore implication - GUILTY !!! There is a huge body of evidence against the man , but each is more ridiculous than the next: He had porno, he had X girlfriends who dissed him, then they dig up some haig who says he tried to strangle her at Disneyland as she gets her 15 min of fame , with us having no idea if it ever happened or not.

The filmmakers have all hear say ,w " nuts and sluts' like out of a ghetto alternative high school but no real evidence at all. I have read that Liz was arrested for prostituion and cocain, yet I dont know if its true as I can't find any details at all on the net. The media protects women from false allegations but not men whom they print all allegations both real and imagined .

In today's world of ambitious DA's and an infotainment complex that is desperate to believe the narrative "man bad, women and child good " that they convicted this man solely on her nutty testimony with no corroborative evidence at all. The poorly made documentary was by these filmmakers that still want to smear George Franklin. They should have said the truth -Is George Franklin a bad man ? Maybe , who knows ? We certainly can't tell by watching this oxygen network type piece.