After nearly getting expelled for a Psycho-inspired prank, four college girls head off to Florida for some fun in the sun. Along the way, they meet some cute hunks and eat at a dive bar. But their good times come to an abrupt halt when a flat tire in the middle of nowhere spoils their fun. While waiting for help to come along, one of the girls witnesses a murder while going out for a peepee in the woods. Now the girls’ numbers are dwindling as the killer will stop at nothing to silence these ladies before they have a chance to go to someone of authority (that isn’t also trying to arrest them for murder or kill them).
While it initially starts as a comically typical slasher film, Shallow Grave (1987) quickly changes course. It veers off its kooky and light road movie right into a taut and grim cat and mouse thriller that will blow out your tires. Clearly, I didn’t start this review with enough road trip puns! Director Richard Styles deftly handles his excellent cast and brings a claustrophobic vibe as well as nail-biting tension to Shallow Grave that I wasn’t expecting. Don’t get me wrong, this movie also has a thick layer of microwaved gas station cheese melting all over it with its corny songs and lovable goofball characters.
Speaking of goofballs, our quartet of ladies are all distinct characters and are each portrayed by totally bitchin’ actresses. TV actress and “Baywatch Nights” alum Lisa Stahl plays Sue Ellen, our fun-loving final girl who witnesses the murder. Carol Cadby plays Patty and she showed up in Sergio Martino’s totally insane American Rickshaw (1989) as a cop. Donna Baltron who plays Rose was in Hide and Go Shriek (1988) of all things. On the male side of things, Tony March is very convincing as the naughty sheriff. I could’ve sworn I’d seen him in something else before but alas, he didn’t do much on the silver or video store rental screens.
A big “Thank you yet again” goes out to Vinegar Syndrome for rescuing this obscurity (well, obscure to me anyway) and launching it into my hungry eyeballs. Given their track record, Shallow Grave looks and sounds stunning. I especially love the subtitles so I can read the lyrics to the magical songs on this soundtrack. This disc has two commentary tracks, one with director Styles and another with the always entertaining and informative Hysteria Continues podcast. There’s also interviews with both the director and screenwriter George Edward Fernandez. Styles discusses how he got plopped into the director’s chair very suddenly before filming began and gives a little peek into the magic of filmmaking. Fernandez discusses how the script was initially very different from the final product.