Shallow Grave (1994)

Three friends discover their new flatmate dead but loaded with cash.

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writer:

John Hodge

Stars:

Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, Ewan McGregor

14 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kerry Fox	...	Juliet Miller
Christopher Eccleston	...	David Stephens
Ewan McGregor	...	Alex Law
Ken Stott	...	Detective Inspector McCall
Keith Allen	...	Hugo
Colin McCredie	...	Cameron
Victoria Nairn	...	Woman Visitor
Gary Lewis	...	Male Visitor
Jean Marie Coffey	...	Goth
Peter Mullan	...	Andy
Leonard O'Malley	...	Tim
David Scoular	...	Cash Machine Victim
Grant Glendinning	...	Bath Victim
Victor Eadie	...	Freezer victim
Robert David MacDonald	...	Lumsden

Storyline

The new flatmate of three preexisting roommates turns up mysteriously dead but in possession of a large sum of money. When the roommates decide to keep it for themselves, their action sets in motion a destructive chain of events that spiral out of control.

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Plot Keywords:

roommate | money | friend | holding head underwater | latex gloves | 

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Taglines:

What's a little murder among friends?

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for scenes of strong grisly violence, and for some language and nudity

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Petits meurtres entre amis

Filming Locations:

Tyne Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£734,340 (United Kingdom), 20 January 1995

Gross USA:

$2,881,508

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,500,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel Four Films,The Glasgow Film Fund,Figment Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Danny Boyle was warned by people not to work with Keith Allen , but Boyle loved him and had a great experience working with him. "He felt like a person who was gonna move in and take over the film," he said.

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Goofs

Obvious dummy when the corpse of the first intruder is thrown down from the loft.

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Quotes

Detective-Inspector McCall: Only three people here? You're sure?
David Stephens: Yes, absolutely. Who said there were four?
Detective-Inspector McCall: Make a note of that, Mitchell. Only three, rather than four. Write it down. You can use numbers or words. I have no preference. Which are you using?
Detective-Constable Mitchell: Both, sir.
Detective-Inspector McCall: Excellent.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits appear over images of the three main characters in happier times, ironically all laughing hysterically.

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Connections

Referenced in Sean Bradley Reviews: Breathe (2017)

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Soundtracks

Release the Dub
Written by Neil Barnes and Paul Daley
Performed by Leftfield

User Reviews

Pretty effective thriller, but could have been more

Shallow Grave is directed by Danny Boyle, the genius behind Trainspotting. Shallow Grave is about three friends, who live in the same apartment and try to study and work normally. They want to find one person to fill the room that is empty in their apartment, and soon they find the right one. However, one day something horrific happens and the friends find something very interesting in the new tenant's room. After this incident, their friendship starts to change and weird murders appear. I won't tell you more about the story as this must be seen without knowing too much about it. I hope others have not spoilt you and disturbed your viewing experience.

This film is about themes of friendship and greed and greed for money especially. Which one is more important, huge amount of money or a true friend? Ewan McGregor's voice at the end of the film tells us everything what the main character learned about life and these things throughout the film. This is pretty mean spirited and too much for others, because there are so many mean characters and some graphic and gory violence in Shallow Grave and everyone will not tolerate that. After all, this is very important film and gives us some difficult questions and something to think about. A human being can easily been seduced and once it has happened, everything the one has kept important may not be that anymore and the person's set of values has changed..

Technically Shallow Grave is very great and effectively scary. There are great camera movements and angles and weird ways to use camera. Music is okay but nothing too special, in my opinion. The atmosphere is pretty disturbing and this should have been enjoyed in the big screen. The real skills of this director are visible more completely in Trainspotting, a masterful drama about the world of drugs, also starring Ewan McGregor. The scenes in forest are especially spooky and as a horror thriller, Shallow Grave is very noteworthy.

There are, unfortunately, couple of scenes or characters' reactions, that I couldn't tolerate and that affects to the rating a little bit. The youngsters act sometimes stupidly and are too irritating. And the other fault in this film is that the clues for the gangsters to find these youngsters are not explained and all seems to happen too easily. But these are not too dangerous considering the great horror and cinematic elements of the film. I was waiting a little too much I think, because I had read many praising reviews about this film but still, I'm definitely not disappointed, even though the film could have been closer to perfection.

7/10