Tony March

Lisa Stahl

Tom Law

Carol Cadby

Donna Baltron

Just Kelly

Vincent Tumeo

Gregg Todd Davis

Merry Rozelle

Roy Smart

Shannon Ratigan

Kimberly Johnston

Charmaine Stratos

Kevin Quigley

Heidi Brown

Greg Truesdale

Thomas Schuster

David Schain

Chuck Seubert

Marc Gray

Antonio Criscitello

Daniel Chernau

Tony Kafcas

Jackie Nespral

Judith Navarro

Page Hopkins

Tommie Hall

Ellen Dostal

Tonda Weeden

Patrick Selts

Armando González Posada

William Burns

Jeffrey Rubiera

Richard Styles

Elizabeth Guyton

Mason Daring

Ed Fernandez

George Edward Fernandez

Corky Irick

Gary Roberts

Shelley E. Reid

Ralph Clemente

Shirley Stone

Orson Ochoa

Jerry Macaluso

Mel Kiser

Clifford Guest

Carolyn J. Horton

John Dinicola

Alan Avchen

Barry H. Waldman

Horror

Thriller

Shallow Grave

Elfe Productions

United States of America

**_“Hidden gem” from the mid-80s in the thriller/horror category_**

Four females from a Catholic college in Virginia head to Fort Lauderdale for Spring Break, but inadvertently see something they shouldn’t have seen in a Southern town along the way. Havoc ensues.

"Shallow Grave" (1987) begins with an homage to “Psycho,” but it’s more of an adventure/crime thriller than a slasher. Movies from the early 80s like “First Blood,” “Trapped,” aka "Baker County, USA,” and “Murder in Coweta County” come to mind. It starts fun and amusing, keeping with the college girls traveling to Spring Break motif, yet takes a deadly serious turn in the second act, becoming suspenseful till the uncertain climax.

Brunette Donna Baltron stands out on the feminine front as Rose; too bad her role isn’t bigger. On the other side of the gender spectrum, Tony March is notable as the hairy-chested Sheriff.

There’s an interesting subtext on the domino effect of negative decisions, which can lead to desperation and committing the most awful acts imaginable. Even the best of us is susceptible, so don’t make the initial bad decision in the first place (in this case, adultery). Other themes include injustice, the corruption of an authority figure and the responsibility of those in subordinate positions.

It runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and was shot in Medley, Florida, which is 15 miles northwest of Miami and 30 miles southwest of Fort Lauderdale.

GRADE: B

English

SHALLOW GRAVE (1987) Trailer [#shallowgrave #shallowgravetrailer]