L'écorché

This strange horror offering has a blood-spattered teenage boy showing up at a police station. What happened to him, and how does this event tie in with the murder of a girl the previous year? This off-beat little horror film came out of the blue (for me at least), because prior to seeing it in my local video store, I'd never heard of it. I rented it, and let me say that while it's not the best horror flick I've seen lately, and it certainly does have it's fair share of problems, it's definitely a breath of fresh air from most of the crap released into cinema these days that people call "horror". Considering it's tiny budget, "Shallow Ground" pulls off some pretty impressive stuff. The film is shot on 16mm but looks great visually, I was shocked afterwords when I found out it WASN'T shot on 35mm. The actors were hit and miss but that's to be expected from a film of this caliber. Steve London's score is very good too, nicely dark and foreboding. One of the best aspects of the film though are the great make-up effects by Patrick Magee. There's lots of disgusting-looking corpses and blood, and the death of the Helen (Patricia McCormack) was great. There's almost no CGI used in this film (thank God) and horror fans will most certainly be pleased by the gruesome set pieces on display here.

Still, there's some stuff that didn't work so well too. The plot takes a long time to unfold and really isn't that interesting. The characters were mostly 1-D, and the ending, though cool, makes no sense whatsoever. This is an odd little horror film, certainly not bad but not *quite* great either. Still recommended, though, as it most certainly is unique and well-done.

7/10.

If I hear that overused description of a non-sensical movie, I am going to scream. This movie does not require Suspension of Disbelief..it requires Abandonment of All Logic. I usually give kudos to a filmmaker that attempts to make something original and falls short, especially in this genre. But this is a bad movie, plain and simple, forget all of the apologetic reviews regarding this waste of time. This is not a movie that "you must pay attention to", this is a movie that absolutely does not make sense and should not be watched. Old lady kills strong viral men, there are soooo many holes in this story, the holes have holes. This film is almost comical, and when I think of the strength in which the old lady exerted in dispatching her victims, I realize that this film actually is a comedy.

Saw the flick in Montreal and overall loved it. The plot keeps giving you tidbits and lets your imagination go to lots of places, then adds another twist.

The quality of the shooting is amazing for a microbudget flick and it is well rounded (good score, etc.).

The pure horror makes for a great summer flick. Sure there is the odd cheesy horror moment of guy stuffing boxes in his truck for ten minutes waiting for the horror to happen, but not many of us are going to this to be fully intellectually stimulated.

Overall, great story, great effects, good production, definitely worth some summer or halloween fun!

Picked this one up at the library, thus thankfully saving myself any expense, mostly because of the deceptive blurbs on the DVD case: "Refreshing and ambitious," (thoroughly wrong on the first count, debatable on the second) "Easily one of the most original horror films of the last year," (possibly, if you've never seen another horror film that year, or have extremely low standards) "Winner Best Picture, Dead by Dawn Film Festival 2004" (not a terribly glowing recommendation to attend any future DbD festivals, I can assure you), and several others that were mercifully covered with library stickers.

Others have already sufficiently commented on the weaknesses of this low-budget effort, including the choppy editing, the meandering, slapdash plot in hopeless search of focus (and intelligence), the forgettable acting, the serviceable but otherwise unremarkable camera-work, the competent but undistinguished score, and the effective but pointless gore effects.

Who greenlights crap like this? Who is dumb enough to put up the money for a project that only serves to prove Sturgeon's Law? Do no-name actors actually swell with pride at having a joke like this on their resumes? One can only scratch one's head and wonder.

Safe to say, a wreck like this makes films like "High Tension" or "Saw I/II" or even "Hostel" look like Oscar contenders.

Invest your time in this one only if you are really, really desperate for entertainment. Whatever promise its creators have or had was completely squandered on this turkey.

I had an epiphany after first submitting this comment, noticing as I did that one of the supporting actors is thanked in the credits, a guy who just happens to run an acting school. No doubt the school was in the vicinity of this film's shooting locations. No doubt the school provided a number of warm bodies for various roles. No doubt the school was counting on an influx of students and their cash via this movie. No doubt this school has failed to produce any recognizable talent since its inception, which is a shame, since it appears that the actor running this school works steadily, if only in television (and I say that facetiously, knowing that teeveeland offers far more and steadier work than film could ever hope to do). Which, if nothing else, once again goes to prove the truth of Sturgeon's Law.

A blood-covered, naked teenage boy walks into a small town sheriff's office. The two deputies on duty think they've got a maniac on their hands. Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

SHALLOW GROUND is a twisted tale of supernatural revenge. There's a serial killer on the prowl, but this is a relatively minor problem.

A huge dam is being constructed, forcing the town into near extinction. Most residents have already left. The remaining skeleton crew find themselves caught up in a battle between the guilty living and the vengeful dead.

This is a low-budget (well under $100k) film that makes good use of its funds. The effects are wickedly well done, and the acting is believable. The wonderful Patty McCormack plays a central role in this flesh-crawler. The "family dinner" scene toward the end is unforgettable.

Recommended for lovers of the disturbing and macabre...