Shallow Ground (2004)

Director:

Sheldon Wilson

Writer:

Sheldon Wilson (writer)

Release Date:

28 April 2005 (Russia)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Fear your past... it will find you.

Plot:

A naked teenage boy covered in blood appears at a remote sheriff's station one year after the brutal unsolved murder of a local girl...

Plot Keywords:

Woods | Small Town Sheriff | Public Nudity | Flashback Sequence | School Bus

Cast

Rocky Marquette	...	Boy
Timothy V. Murphy	...	Jack Sheppard
Stan Kirsch	...	Stuart Dempsey
Lindsey Stoddart	...	Laura Russell
Patty McCormack	...	Helen Reedy
Natalie Avital	...	Darby Owens
Chris Hendrie	...	Albert Underhill
Tara Killian	...	Amy Underhill
Myron Natwick	...	Harvey
Steve Eastin	...	Detective Russell
John Kapelos	...	Leroy Riley
Christine Avila	...	Mrs. Underhill
Ori Pfeffer	...	Curtis
Victor Campos	...	Bus Driver
John MacKane	...	Passenger #1

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, nudity and some language.

Runtime:

97 min | Germany:93 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Germany:18 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Finland:K-18 | Sweden:15 | Australia:MA | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Deco Filmworks

Goofs:

Factual errors: The sheriff carries a Ruger Mini-14 rifle throughout the film, however there is never a magazine in the weapon. Though Ruger does make a version of the rifle with a fixed internal magazine, you can clearly see the open magazine well in a few shots; he's carrying an empty weapon.

Quotes:

Detective Russell: Mark's dead, they found him in his patrol car this morning.
Stuart Dempsey: Oh my God, what happened?
Detective Russell: You remember that little junkie, Curtis Weaver?
Stuart Dempsey: He was a dealer...yeah...what's that got to do with anything?
Detective Russell: That's what I was hoping you could tell me.
Stuart Dempsey: Look, the only person who knows for sure what happened to Curtis, is Curtis, and he's dead.
Detective Russell: And that would be a problem.
Stuart Dempsey: And how is that my problem?
Detective Russell: Stuart, they've come to clear the books, they've come to make things right once and for all.
Stuart Dempsey: Who?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mortuary (2005/I)

Soundtrack:

No One Leaves

Too complex for it's own good with a silly twist - thank god for the gore!

Well, shallow Ground delivers a fairly original take on a very mundane horror film idea; but unfortunately, it doesn't come off that well as the plot is delivered in a very confusing way and as the film isn't all that interesting - working out exactly what's going becomes more of a chore than anything else. Director Sheldon Wilson obviously appreciates atmosphere, which is a good thing and the film also looks rather nice. The story takes place around a police station near to a dam. This provides a decent setting as much of the surroundings is made up of woodland area, which gives Shallow Ground a backwoods slasher sort of feel. The film kicks off properly when a naked, knife-wielding kid who just happens to be covered in blood arrives at the station. The cops handcuff him to a chair, and then we get shown what happened to the chief's girlfriend one year previously. Naturally, the coppers want to know who the boy is and where he came from; and the investigation leads the chief to confront 'his own personal demons' (blah blah).

Shallow Ground is something of a weird horror film, as its style is that of a dull ghost story - but it's also really quite gory by modern standards! The gore is definitely what saves it as if it wasn't for the buckets of blood, this film would have been too torturous to bear. There's not a great deal of 'stand out' gore scenes, however; the one towards the end which goes on for ages is the only real memorable part of the movie. The cast isn't anything to write home about, but I was excited to see Patricia "The Bad Seed" McCormack on the cast list, as I haven't seen her in anything since the 1956 horror classic. Her performance here is something of a disappointment, however, as she fails to make an impression along with the rest of the performers. The influence of the buffoon M Night Shyamalan can certainly be seen on this film, as the director sees fit to chuck in a completely absurd twist to go along with the questionable plot. The final climax doesn't make any sense at all, and leads me to think it's there just to add 'ambiguity', or because Sheldon Wilson hoped to get a budget for a sequel. I hope he doesn't get it.