Dead and Buried (1981)

A very atmospheric conspiracy horror film with a deeply perverse villain (positive). Nearly everything and everyone in town is a red herring or a dark deception and the film keeps on throwing misdirections right to the end. It's an effective depiction of one man's descent into paranoia and madness. The mystery's nicely solvable and various parts of it go understated—no need for corny flashbacks or “master plan” speeches. Banger finale, from the twisty scenario to the projector-strewn set to the fucked-up practical effects. Someone should adapt this to a musical (and amp up the largely unexplored political angle).