Shallow Grave

Good to see that the opinions here about SHALLOW GRAVE are consistent: It's a better movie than it probably had to be. An opening teaser segment with a co-ed being butchered in a shower is a dead end, or rather an attempt to mollify audience members who expect films with such titles to feature such content. Once that's out of the way and the misleading "bimbos off to party on spring break" setup is complete what you are left with is indeed one mean movie.

It's actually more of a hicksploitation thriller than an outright horror film though the central character is indeed a psychopath. He's a small town sheriff who's used to getting his way and has no scruples against planting incriminating evidence, violating people's Constitutional rights, or resorting to outright murder when convenient for his needs. Four young ladies on a road trip happen upon him murdering a local squeeze and find themselves powerless to escape his clutches. The film is mean spirited, unforgiving, knows that the scenario being presented is chillingly possible & has fun playing with our fear of ending up in a similar jam. Check it out.

The beginning's not too promising -- a bit of college hi-jinks involving a quartet of over-aged sorority girls -- but then the girls head for spring-break in Florida and things improve. They become entangled in murder in a small Georgia town and while the plot turns are fairly predictable, they are carried out more efficiently than in many other movies boasting "name" casts and big budgets. True, the subplot featuring two young men, (also heading for Florida), goes nowhere, and the ending is abrupt and unsatisfying, but all in all this is one of those items found on the dusty back shelves of a video store which is actually worth watching. Acting honors go to Tony March's bare chest which is shown to splendid advantage in several hot and sweaty close-ups.

Four friends head off to spring break in Florida, but get a flat tire in the middle of Medley, Georgia where one of them witnesses the local sheriff murder a woman. Now, they're on the run and who will take their word for it over the sheriff.

Shallow Grave rarely takes the traditional way out and you're never sure where it's headed. From the first scene of the movie that calls to mind both Psycho and the corny opening movie-within-a-movie moment from Blow Out, the filmmakers are playing with our expectations in a way that would make Hitchcock proud. It takes a traditional slasher film set up of party-loving teens breaking down in the middle of nowhere and makes it frighteningly realistic and plausible.

Shallow Grave doesn't have a franchise-ready iconic killer, but it's all the more frightening for it. It also has a main foursome of likable young women who don't go out of their way to grate our nerves or make unrealistic choices to drive the plot forward.

Four young women go on a road trip. They meet two guys at a restaurant and after a bit of flirting, invite them to travel with them. I found the set-up unrealistic, the acting bad, and the dialogue rather silly. I also found the girls so annoying that I didn't think I would ever root for them.

During the first few minutes of 'Shallow Grave', I thought "oh boy, I've stumbled upon a really bad 80's horror movie". Another few minutes later I thought "hey, this is getting interesting", and into the second act I was hooked! Starting off as a badly acted, poorly scripted B-movie, this film surprisingly got better and better as it developed!

The story became more interesting and suspenseful, the acting got better as the girls found themselves running for their lives, and I became fascinated by the events. I thought Tony March did a great job as antagonist Sheriff Dean (oh, and that manly body!!). Towards the end the suspense is so well crafted, I was on the edge of my seat. I don't want to do spoilers on this one, so I'm not going into specifics. From the synopsis you already know the girls are witness to a murder, and now the killer is after them. Yes, this is a familiar premise, but 'Shallow Grave' is very unpredictable.

I prematurely thought 'Shallow Grave' was going to be a forgettable slasher movie. Now, this will be a memorable one. And the film ends on a fantastic cliffhanger ending! Wow, this was actually darn good!

In what seems like a totally gratuitous nude shower scene, the film opens as a "Psycho" clone. This prank by four college coeds, sets in motion a relentlessly downbeat tale involving a psycho Southern sheriff. On their way to Florida, a fateful blowout strands the four students in Medley Georgia, where the sheriff, Tony March, has just strangled his mistress. When he discovers that one of the girls has witnessed the killing, March begins a methodical murder spree, eliminating the girls one by one. A frustratingly dimwitted deputy looks the other way, while the sheriff does his deadly deeds. The film is lively, has decent character development, memorable nudity, and a controversial ending. Good of it's type, and recommended. - MERK