La sépulture

Going in with no expectations, I was taken by surprise by how well made and suspenseful this movie turned out to be. The stakes are high, the characters are mostly interesting and/or relatable, and you're never sure where the story will go next. Makes me not want to take any road trips through the south.

A car load of gal pals take a trip to Florida for spring break and accidentally witness a murder along the way which sends them running for their lives.

Obviously shot for little money and featuring a no-name cast, it's surprising how much this film can get under your skin. While you might not recognize many of the actors, they mostly all do a credible job selling the situations they've found themselves in. There's just the right amount of sleaze and gore, but it's more about the suspense which is well orchestrated and the story goes to some interesting and unpredictable places.

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.

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.

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