Shallow Grave

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L-R: Obi Wan Kenobi, some chick, the Doctor.

Shallow Grave (1994) is a British crime Thriller Film and Black Comedy starring Ewan McGregor in his first major film role, alongside Christopher Eccleston and Kerry Fox. Danny Boyle's directorial debut, the movie follows three friends who share a flat in Edinburgh. When their new flatmate, Hugo, dies suddenly of a drug overdose, they discover that the suitcase he brought contained a very large amount of cash. They decide to keep the money, disposing of the late Hugo in a shallow grave, and all seems well, until some of Hugo's associates come looking for him...

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Tropes used in Shallow Grave include:

• Beware the Nice Ones: David of course, and also Cameron.
• Black Comedy
• British Coppers: The film features both a kindly old one and an up-and-coming bright young one.
• Catapult Nightmare: Alex has one near the end of the film.
• Charity Ball: Cameron is mocked at one.
• Chekhov's Gun: Alex and the bundle of newspapers with "Triple Corpse Horror" on the headline.
• Continuity Nod: Implied in an audio commentary for Danny Boyle's second film Trainspotting. Hugo was played by Keith Allen, who played a dealer that was given a suitcase filled with money by the main characters in film Trainspotting, which suggests that that dealer was Hugo.
• Creepy Doll: The crawling baby doll which Alex and Juliet mount the camcorder on.
• Deadpan Snarker: Alex definitely seems to be having more fun than David or Juliet.
• Deal with the Devil
• Dies Wide Open: Both Hugo and David. Hugo's eyes are seen staring back at David as he's about to smash his face in. When David is later stabbed his eyes remain open even as he is taken to the mortuary.
• Disc One Final Boss: The criminals who spend the first half of the film tracking down the money are disposed of with frightening ease by the film's most truly dangerous character around the halfway mark.
• Disposing of a Body
• Drawing Straws: This turns out to be possibly the worst idea Alex ever had.
• Drugs Are Bad: Naturally.
• Even Evil Has Standards: David has no problem cutting people up (after the first instance), but he can't bring himself to watch Juliet undress.
• Fan Disservice: No one needed to see Keith Allen's dead, pasty, corpulent nudity.
• Fan Service: See Modesty Towel.
• Freak-Out: Mild-mannered David completely loses it after being coerced into dismembering Hugo's corpse and rendering his face unrecognizable with a hammer.
• Gold Digger: Juliet decides to try and get back on David's good side by sleeping with him. This is lampshaded by Alex: "I'd try the same thing, only I'm not his type".
• Hint Dropping: When David tries to escape with the suitcase full of money Alex suggests to Juliet that they should "let him take it all". This leaves her to discover far too late that Alex has replaced the cash with newspaper.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Alex gets nailed to the floor with a knife through his shoulder, but survives.
• Jerkass: Alex, at least to begin with. Though none of the three could be considered particularly likeable, even before the money is found.
• Kick the Dog: Used by all three of the characters to some extent, but David takes the dog biscuit.
• Locked in a Freezer: The two men looking for Hugo use this as an interrogation tactic on someone whom they suspect knows his whereabouts.
• Love Letter Lunacy: Juliet's love-letters, which are definitely not written by Alex:

"Aroused and inflamed?! He even signs them in his own name, can you believe it? I'd sign someone else's name... I'd sign his name!... If I wrote them that is, which I don't."

• Modesty Towel: In one scene, Juliet wears a towel around her waist, rather defeating the purpose.
• Mr. Fanservice: Alex. So very, very much. Especially in the 'Strip The Willow' scene where Juliet puts her foot... yeah.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Used to great effect by Alex.
• Old Cop, Young Cop
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Christopher Eccleston's Scottish accent is passable, but still cracks from time to time.
• Smarter Than You Look: Alex. "As smart as you are you're going to need some help".
• Soundtrack Dissonance: Andy Williams doesn't exactly gel with the ending.
• Terrible Interviewees Montage: At the beginning, when the three leads are interviewing for a new flatmate. Simon Cowell could have been taking notes.
• Took a Level in Badass: David starts the film as a terribly meek and bookish accountant, until he's forced to chop up Hugo (see Freak-Out above). He soon starts threatening strangers with violence, kills two murderous thugs who are looking for Hugo and tries to kill Alex.
• Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: All three of them.
• Where the Hell Is Springfield?: The opening voiceover states that "this could have been any city", though wherever it is, it's apparently in Scotland.
  • Word of God says it is set in Edinburgh. Though quite a bit of it was filmed in Glasgow.
• Wouldn't Hit a Girl: averted by David when he punches Juliet, played straight by Alex when he tells David he shouldn't have hit her.