Shallow Grave - Reise in die Hölle

Thought it might seem to be a routine slasher film on the surface, Shallow Grave has a lot more than meets the eye and moments are bone-chillingly effective as a crooked cop goes after college girls who witnesses him kill a woman. You might be surprised how involving and intense this one gets.

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!

And I was fighting it this time. Hmmmmm, where have I seen this opening voyeuristic scene? Cut to, THE SHOWER SCENE FROM PSYCHO! (with admittedly a very fetching full-frontal involved). So, these three Catholic University girls... and their MOM prank another student who dared to try to poach one of their dates. The ladies escape their nun's wrath, and promptly head out on a road trip to Ft. Lauderdale. Cue the bargain-basement soundtrack!

They meet two "hunks" at a roadside BBQ, make plans to meet the next day, and one of them steals an ID as insurance. Next day, precisely in Medley, Georgia, they blow a tire in their K-car, and the dingy-est broad had gotten rid of the spare to make room for more luggage. So another goes into the woods to pee (sorry, learning their names was asking too much of me for a "5"), and witnesses a man kill his mistress. Turns out he's exactly the wrong guy in town to witness murdering someone. The rest of the film is this kind of downward spiral into crooked, corrupt sheriffs and their slow-witted deputies. Yup, they even round up an armed redneck posse to hunt and kill the girls.

Frankly, I didn't find this thrilling, exciting, intriguing, or particularly horrific (though I did like the "doomed" scenario). Actually, a few things to like about this rather bland manhunt. Like I said, this storyline does not seem to go the ladies' way, and when you've got law enforcement (NATURALLY) against you, well, let's say if you're a fan of downbeat endings, you'll appreciate this. There's a subplot of the two guys trying to find out what happened to their supposed meeting, and they are entertainingly SOL on multiple occasions. I dunno, great shower scene, and a De Palma rip.

I think if they made it to Ft. Lauderdale, then the murderous shenanigans began... and not to be "sexist" (for shame!), but maybe this wouldn't have been such a sausage fest. Like, how many times do I need to see the sheriff's hairy, sweaty chest? Ok, now I'm really reaching. I was bored for the bulk of this.

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

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.