Estrada da Morte

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.