If you liked "Trainspotting", then you
should really, really see the lesser-known but equally worthy
"Shallow Grave". The film features the same razor-sharp
Scottish production crew (with director Danny Boyle) at the same
level of savvy. Ewan MacGregor fans will like seeing him in fine
early form.
Three close-knit roommates take on a mysterious fourth boarder to help make ends meet in their expansive but expensive apartment suite. The boarder promptly overdoses, and is found with a suitcase full of cash... enough cash to bring the three great joy and leisure for the rest of their lives. After some deliberation, they decide to go for it. Wouldn't you?
Well, after seeing this film, you might very well not!!
The loot, and the acts required to claim it, puts the three on an extremely slippery moral slope, and their bonds of friendship and their grips on individual sanity and decency begin to disintegrate in ways not foreseen. The prize also entails scrutiny from a pair of bounty hunters who are among the most dangerous, cold-blooded thugs ever to appear on film. (Their search tactics truly boggle the mind and chill the soul.) They make the police (who are also on the trail, by the way) look like kindergarten teachers by comparison. It all adds up to a very funky situation.
"Shallow Grave" is the epitome of what a psychological thriller can be: engaging, clever, scary, shocking, and at times very morbid. The film doesn't give you time to prepare yourself, the way some thrillers do. It strikes suddenly, and cuts right to the bone. If you're in the mood to watch a little something to keep you on the edge of your seat, this pic is as good as it gets.