Buried Alive II (1997) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Randy poisoned Laura because he was having an affair with Roxanne and wanted to leave town with her on a yacht. Laura's $250,000 inheritance from her uncle presented an obstacle, so Randy slipped a toxin into her wine at dinner, inducing a cardiac arrest that would appear as natural causes due to the family's heart problem history.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Randy resents living in the small town and dreams of buying a yacht to escape, hinting at his willingness to do anything to leave.

• randy riskin
• poison
• affair
• roxanne
• motive

The toxin Randy used didn't actually kill Laura, it induced a death-like coma that stopped her heart temporarily. At the morgue, a malfunction prevented her from being embalmed, so she was buried in a comatose state. She later woke up underground in her coffin and managed to claw her way out.

Foreshadowing: The doctor initially questions whether an autopsy should be performed, suggesting something seems unusual about her death.

• coma
• buried alive
• survived
• embalming
• coffin

Clint recognized what Randy had done because he experienced something similar years earlier, his own wife Joanna and her lover Cortland had poisoned him with the same type of toxin. He survived but was left with lasting health problems and a burning desire to prevent another innocent person from being murdered. Reading about Laura's death triggered his decision to act.

Foreshadowing: Clint warns Laura to leave Randy before she ends up regretting it the way he did with Joanna, directly referencing his own past.

• clint goodman
• help
• past
• joanna
• poison

Convinced Laura might still be alive based on his own experience, Clint dug up her grave to save her. However, the physical exertion from digging triggered a fatal heart attack, he died at the scene from his weakened heart before Laura woke up.

Foreshadowing: Clint's body was already frail from the lingering effects of the toxin from his earlier poisoning, making strenuous activity dangerous.

• grave
• dig
• heart attack
• death
• clint

When authorities exhumed Clint's grave, they discovered the remains of Joanna (Clint's wife) and Cortland (her lover), along with money they had stolen from selling Clint's business years earlier. This revealed that Clint had actually killed them both in revenge for their attempt to murder him, Laura wasn't the first person to be poisoned in this story.

Foreshadowing: Clint mentions his past with Joanna and warns Laura about people she trusts, but the full truth remains hidden until the exhumation.

• joanna
• cortland
• remains
• exhumed
• grave

Laura first trapped them in a tool shed by blocking the door with Randy's truck and flooding the room with exhaust fumes until they lost consciousness. She then followed them to the yacht, where she sealed the vents and trapped them aboard as the vessel sank, drowning them at sea.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Laura discovers Randy and Roxanne together and considers killing them with a spear gun but changes her mind, suggesting she had a more elaborate plan in mind.

• revenge
• kill
• yacht
• drowned
• tool shed

After waking up in her grave and finding Clint dead beside it, Laura placed his body in her coffin and buried him there to conceal his death and protect his remains. This allowed her to return home undetected while Clint's body remained hidden underground, buying her time to execute her revenge plan.

Foreshadowing: This act establishes Laura's resourceful and calculated approach to survival, she immediately turns a tragedy into an advantage.

• clint
• coffin
• bury
• hide
• body

Randy had Laura's grave exhumed hoping to confirm she was truly dead, but authorities discovered Clint's body instead, not Laura's. This discovery prompted further investigation, leading to the exhumation of Clint's grave where Joanna and Cortland's remains were found, raising suspicion that Laura might still be alive.

Foreshadowing: Randy notices odd, unsettling signs around the house following the funeral, indicating his paranoia is justified.

• exhume
• grave
• body
• discovery
• suspicion

After the exhumations revealed Clint's body and the remains of Joanna and Cortland, Randy realized the truth about Laura might come out. Panicked, he bought a yacht and planned to flee town with Roxanne, hoping to escape the consequences of his crime before he could be exposed.

Foreshadowing: Randy had always wanted to leave town on a yacht, and the mounting evidence of his murder plot accelerates this escape plan.

• yacht
• flee
• escape
• randy
• roxanne

After executing her revenge, Laura visits Clint's grave to thank him for the help he gave her, even in death. His sacrifice, dying to save her, enabled her survival and subsequent revenge, and she acknowledges this debt before leaving town to start a new life with his dog Duke.

Foreshadowing: The entire revenge plot was only possible because Clint chose to dig up her grave, an act that cost him his life.

• clint
• grave
• thank
• dog
• duke
• visit