Shallow Grave (1994)
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Reviews Counted: 46
Fresh: 33 | Rotten: 13
This black-humored thriller features characters who are more obnoxious than clever. During the second half, the movie descends into gratuitous violence.
Average Rating: 5.4/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 5
This black-humored thriller features characters who are more obnoxious than clever. During the second half, the movie descends into gratuitous violence.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 38,878
My Rating
Movie Info
The feature film debut of Scottish director Danny Boyle was a dark, hip, Generation X comedy about a trio of Edinburgh roommates whose narcissistic greed fuels murder and betrayal. Boisterous journalist Alex (Ewan McGregor), flirtatious doctor Juliet (Kerry Fox), and meek accountant David (Christopher Eccleston) possess very different personalities, but the roommates are bonded in mutual, self-absorbed cynicism. Seeking a fourth boarder to share the rent for their stylish flat, they cruelly
Jun 1, 1995 Wide
Dec 22, 1998
PolyGram Video
Cast
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Kerry Fox
Juliet Miller -
Christopher Eccleston
David Stevens -
Ewan McGregor
Alex Law -
Keith Allen
Hugo -
Ken Stott
Detective-Inspector -
John Hodge
Detective-Constable Mit... -
John Bett
Brian McKinley -
Peter Mullan
Andy -
Leonard O'Malley
Tim -
Robert David MacDonald
Lumsden -
Billy Riddoch
Newspaper Editor -
Gary Lewis
Visitor
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Shallow Grave Trailer & Photos
All Critics (50) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (34) | Rotten (13) | DVD (8)
Class has its place, but some of us prefer our cut-'em-ups a little more lowdown.
Top CriticThe situation is contrived, the relationships unlikely, the characters one-dimensional.
Since no reasonable person can remotely hope to identity with Juliet, David or Alex, the whole case drops through.
A reasonably enjoyable (for those captivated by this sort of thing) black comedy/noir thriller.
Boyle's cool manner and the performances ultimately ratchet Shallow Grave past the ranks of standard thriller fare.
A tight little thriller, filled with exhilarating twists, that quickly establishes its artistic contract with the audience.
I'm not surprised that in my youth I thought Shallow Grave was a pretty cool movie. What surprises me now is that the adults at the time gave this ridiculous movie a pass.
"Shallow Grave" is a story that goes from bad to worse to nasty during its duration. The performances are solid as you can never get a clear read on anyone's motives right until it's about to be revealed. One of the most solid debuts anyone could ask for.
"Shallow" is the right word for this stylish but overrated thriller, but fans should be pleased with the gorgeous transfer and generous smattering of extras.
While it is not a great film, it is a good first film, amply demonstrating Boyle's catchy visual flair and rat-a-tat sense of tempo, as well as Hodge's ear for dialogue and intuitive sense of character dynamics
At some point, ordinary human compassion must take up the slack. Boyle isn't a zippy enough director to make up for what's missing. No one is.
This stylish, exhilarating feature debut Scottish director Boyle shows impressive command over the film medium. It's new type of British film, more influenced by Tarantino and the Coen brothers than any British tradition--Boyle is a talent to watch.
Impressive cast fails to redeem rather overrated movie.
Nasty, mean-spirited, and heartless--perfect qualities for a thriller.
Horrific fun!
Regardless of how one feels about the film, there's no denying that it's absolutely brilliant as a cinematic calling card.
Smart and twisted with a nice ensemble.
An excellent little thriller!
Audience Reviews for Shallow Grave
Super Reviewer
The plot involves three self obsessed and rather cruel Edinburgh roommates who, after taking in a mysterious guy as their fourth tenant of their flat, find themselves in a world of trouble when the find him dead..with a big suitcase of cash under his bed. From there we are treated to a series of increasingly bad decisions, paranoia, and pretty messed up situations, all thanks to greed and man inhumanity toward his fellow man.
This is a really solid thriller that showcases Boyle's talent and trademark style and energy right from the get go. The film is absolutely pitch black with its offbeat humor, the cinematography and editing are kinetic and far from dull, and the twisty plot is a real delight to watch unfold.
None of the characters are really all that sympathetic, and normally I'd see that as a flaw. It is to an extent, but at the same time, it's also part of why the film works. We don't always need to be able to relate to everyone, and there really are people in this world as narcissistic and awful as our three leads.
Speaking of which, we get some fine performances from then pre-fame thespians Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, and Ewan McGregor. They have a natural chemistry with one another, and tackle some tough material quite well.
The film does a lot of telegraphing of what Boyle would deliver later on, and that's cool. The film makes the most of its low budget, and proves to be quite a memorable piece of work that you should definitely check out.
Super Reviewer
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- Alex Law: Tell me Cameron. Just tell me because I'd like to know. What makes you think that we would want to share an apartment with someone like you?
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- David Stevens: If you can't trust your friends, then what then? What then?
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