--- title: "Shallow Grave: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/shallow-grave/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/shallow-grave" critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 7 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Shallow Grave (1994): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 7 reviews: 5 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics welcome Shallow Grave as an assured, fast-moving black-comic thriller, with praise clustering around Danny Boyle’s direction, the tightly framed interiors and the lead performances. The reviews find energy and invention in its confined setting, while John Hodge’s screenplay earns credit for keeping the moral dilemma moving towards nastier consequences. Ewan McGregor receives particular attention, and the strongest notices enjoy the characters’ greed and unpleasantness as much as the macabre humour. The spread runs from enthusiastic approval to mixed responses, with characterisation the main dividing line. RogerEbert.com finds the central trio too unpleasant and boring to sustain involvement, despite flashes of visual style. The Los Angeles Times objects to the sealed-off atmosphere and strained sophistication. Other reservations concern excessive cleverness and a diminishing comic edge as the violence increases: most critics enjoy the film’s sourness, but the dissenters find too little to engage with beyond its technique. ## Radio Times — Adrian Turner Rating 5/5. Danny Boyle's directorial debut is a slick, inventive and at times gruesome movie owing a great deal to the Coen brothers' Blood Simple. It bursts with energy, springs macabre surprises and features wonderful performances from the leads; it gave a much-needed shot in the arm to the British film industry. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-br5urz/shallow-grave/) ## Empire — Caroline Westbrook Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic hails Shallow Grave as the best British thriller in years, a chilling and claustrophobic heart-stopper centred on a moral dilemma. They single out the frighteningly realistic characters and relentless pacing that packs a lot into its short runtime. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/shallow-grave-review/) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 9 May 2024. The critic praises the film's macabre black-comic crime caper as a triple-crossing treat and sour delight, highlighting its cynical take on nasty, greedy characters and the standout early performances, especially Ewan McGregor's. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/09/shallow-grave-review-danny-boyles-edinburgh-noir-debut-is-a-triple-crossing-treat) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 6 February 1995. A smart, stylish Scottish shocker whose visual suavity and formal framing are its greatest strengths, though it is at times too clever for its own good. It is thoroughly modern, quick and enjoyably excessive. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/02/13/scare-tactics) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 24 February 1995. The film has the makings of a respectable modern murder story but never quite gels because the three central characters are too unpleasant and boring to identify with. Boyle shows flashes of style in the body-disposal scenes. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shallow-grave-1995) ## Los Angeles Times — Peter Rainer Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 10 February 1995. A black comedy that turns progressively darker and bloodier as three unpleasant roommates descend into murder and paranoia after finding a corpse and cash. It aspires to class but ends up feeling hermetically sealed and vaguely futuristic rather than enjoyably lowdown. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-10-ca-30232-story.html) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★☆. 10 May 2024. The review calls it a gritty noir that launched the Brit-film boost of the Nineties, praising its propulsive thrill ride and amoral characters capturing smug materialism. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/shallow-grave-1994-review-danny-boyles-noir-is-still-thrilling-xkbtkdfw2) ## Time Out — TCh 10 September 2012. The film is an impressively assured and highly accomplished British feature that doesn't dwell on moral niceties but goes straight for the gut. John Hodge's screenplay has unrelenting forward momentum, and Boyle's direction is agile and invigorating even with most action in one flat; as the friends fall out it loses some black comic edge but gains in mayhem. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/shallow-grave) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. The critic praises Danny Boyle's balanced direction of tension and wit in this dark thriller about flatmates who keep a dead lodger's money, highlighting the paranoia and greed revealed. The actors are perfectly matched, though the ending has a note of unintentional absurdity. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/shallow-grave-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/shallow-grave.md