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Shallow Grave

Play trailer Poster for Shallow Grave R Released Feb 10, 1995 1h 32m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
72% Tomatometer 54 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
When accountant David (Christopher Eccleston), doctor Juliet (Kerry Fox) and journalist Alex (Ewan McGregor) are searching for a fourth roommate for their trendy flat, they settle on the aloof Hugo (Keith Allen). However, they soon find Hugo dead of a drug overdose, beside a large sum of cash. After some deliberation, the three others decide to keep the money and to dismember and bury Hugo's body. Soon, each roommate starts thinking about keeping all the money by scamming the others.
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Shallow Grave

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Critics Consensus

This black-humored thriller features characters who are more obnoxious than clever. During the second half, the movie descends into gratuitous violence.

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Critics Reviews

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Kevin Maher Times (UK) From the moment those electronic beats of Leftield start pounding on the soundtrack and Boyle’s camera begins racing around the cobbled streets of Edinburgh, the film announces itself as a propulsive thrill ride. Rated: 4/5 May 10, 2024 Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian A sour treat. Rated: 5/5 May 9, 2024 Full Review Anthony Lane New Yorker Danny Boyle does wonders with a small budget, and the suave, dense-hued look of his movie stays with you long after the horror has evaporated. Sep 7, 2020 Full Review Adrian Turner Radio Times Boyle's film bursts with energy and springs some deliciously macabre surprises, and he is rewarded with wonderful performances from Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston and Kerry Fox, whose characters are all outwardly ordinary yet inwardly strange. Rated: 5/5 Sep 6, 2024 Full Review Grant Watson Fiction Machine It presents a funny comedy that shifts into a bleakly amusing criminal caper, before descending into what is more or less a home invasion thriller. Rated: 10/10 Oct 5, 2022 Full Review Quentin Crisp Christopher Street It is not the narrative that is so new, but the way it is told. Apr 21, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jerod S These 3 roommates are a little off-color and when their flat mate winds up dead - they start to unravel to keep his money. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/06/24 Full Review Allan C A before-they-were-famous movie that really shows off the talent of the folks in front of the camera (Ewan McGregor in his first major role and Christopher Eccleston longer before DOCTOR WHO) and also the talent behind the camera (director Danny Boyle's film debut before TRAINSPOTTING and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, writer John Hodge in his debut before A LIFE LESS ORDINARY or THE BEACH, and producer Andrew Macdonald before going on to the likes of EX MACHINA, 28 DAYS LATER, and NEVER LET ME GO). McGregor, Eccleston, and Kerry Fox are flatmates in Edinburgh looking for a fourth, but when their new roomie turns up dead with a suitcase full of cash underneath his bed, the three decide to bury the body and keep the cash for themselves. As with most stories of this sort (think A SIMPLE PLAN, BOUND, or TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE), things do not go as planned and the former friends start to get greedy and turn on one another. While the cold calculating nature of the characters will likely turn off some audience members, it fits completely within the tropes of the genre, from OUT OF THE PAST to DOUBLE INDEMNITY, where characters cooly kill and wreck the lives of others for self-gain. I also love that the film is essentially a chamber piece, taking place almost entirely in one setting, with the flatmates turning on one another within the confines of their apartment. SHALLOW GRAVE even begins to have echos of psychological thrillers such as REPULSION or THE TENANT, with psychosexual undertones of both male flatmates being attracted to Fox in their own way, but especially when Eccleston holds up in the attic space with the money and drills holes in the ceiling to spy down on his former friends. Tonally, the film most resembles the Coen Brothers' BLOOD SIMPLE, which is another film that audiences either love or hate. My only complaint is there are a few plot gaps, such as how the gangsters track the money back to the three, but really, who cares when it's this fun? Highly recommend it for fans of 90s neo-noir! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/20/23 Full Review Gareth v A slick, and at times violent neo-noir debut from Boyle is this thriller based around one almighty moral dilemma. Worth checking out. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/19/23 Full Review Wayne K It's fair to say that Danny Boyle has had a directorial career that's been both compelling and eclectic. Whether he's making critically acclaimed prestige pieces like Slumdog Millionaire, gritty social dramas like Trainspotting, or trippy experimental flicks The Beach, he's definitely made his mark in the world of cinema. But we all have to start somewhere, and for Boyle, his first slice of the feature film pie was Shallow Grave. Made on a budget so small they allegedly had to sell a number of on-set props just to complete it, you can see the seeds of Boyle's later career being planted here, with his dynamic camera work, black humour and eye for the macabre evident throughout. People have complained that the characters are too cold and unlikeable in the film, but I think this was done intentionally, as it makes things more compelling as we witness them suffering the consequences of their actions. McGregor's character, for example, is abrasive and obnoxious, but not so much that you want him to disappear, instead you actively want to see him get punished. I felt David's psychological decline could have been handled better. Instead of going through a slow descent into madness, he acts like a bratty child for a stretch, then vanishes, then starts lashing out. That being said, it's still a very enjoyable and well-told story, and serves as a steppingstone to a career that still rolls on to this day. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/06/23 Full Review Michael M A beautiful movie about the simplest situation. Its so amazing to watch, how the power of our desires and obsession, change us from what we are, or what we planned to be. I totally recommend this feature Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/29/22 Full Review robert p What a great movie this is, take 3 obnoxious people who make fun of other during the process of looking for a 4th roommate. They finally pick a very quiet person, who just happens to have stole from 2 other people. The man shoots up with drugs and dies on them, that's when they discover that he had money in a suitcase under his bed. Then throw in streaks of insanity and you have a really great black comedy especially when the 3 turn on each other to keep the money. I love black comedy's and thus I rate this movie *4 & 1/2* stars!!!! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Shallow Grave

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Movie Info

Synopsis When accountant David (Christopher Eccleston), doctor Juliet (Kerry Fox) and journalist Alex (Ewan McGregor) are searching for a fourth roommate for their trendy flat, they settle on the aloof Hugo (Keith Allen). However, they soon find Hugo dead of a drug overdose, beside a large sum of cash. After some deliberation, the three others decide to keep the money and to dismember and bury Hugo's body. Soon, each roommate starts thinking about keeping all the money by scamming the others.
Director
Danny Boyle
Producer
Andrew Macdonald
Screenwriter
John Hodge
Distributor
Miramax Films, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 10, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 23, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.7M
Runtime
1h 32m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
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