SHALLOW GRAVE (1994) starts off almost like a sitcom, with three friends trying to find an interesting housemate before it evolves into a deal with the devil type plot about paranoia and how money can ruin even the closest of friendships. Danny Boyle's debut was the movie that allowed him to make the iconic TRAINSPOTTING and features many of the director's stylistic and cinematic flourishes including the use of fish eye lenses, dance music soundtracks, a constant sense of momentum in the plot and terrifying fake babies. Ewan McGregor, Kerry Fox and Christopher Eccleston are all pretty good as co-leads but the script makes them so obnoxious I didn't care who kept the money which is a bit of a problem in a movie like this and it's not even particularly clear why McGregor's Alex wins. A scene where a ginger person's Velcro shoes are cruelly mocked earns the film an additional star.
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