Search - Shallow Ground on DVD

Nicole W. (sterju3) from SCRANTON, PA
Reviewed on 5/16/2009...

I loved this movie! I was actually frightened, (wow, that takes a lot to scare me)...very low budget, unknown actors, but a great new fresh horror idea. some times it takes me a while to find these movies, because there is no press for these low budget horror films...this one is good, frightning and gory! For true horror fans only...2 thumbs up for Rocky Marquette, not a line spoken in the movie for him, but he was truley scary!

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Simply awsome considering the budget

Raul Duke | Pittsburgh | 05/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Shallow ground only cost 78,000 to make, but you couldnt tell just by watching it. all the effects, camera work, and acting are all far beyond what ive come to expect from straight to DVD horror.

It feels like a callback to classic horror, from the hundreds of gallons of blood, to the rural forest setting.

theres about 8 different storylines going on throughout the movie and you might lose track of some of the subplots as things go on. it might have been trying to say too much at times, but things always stay interesting. basically its the story of a backwoods slayer capturing and torturing those unfortunate enough to wander alone, but there are also strong super natural elements at work. to reveal to much about that here would ruin a lot of the fun to be had with the movie. ill just say it was all very well done (never cheesy or campy), although some of it could've been explained a little better.

this movie is full of interesting twists and great gore effects. the story kept me quessing till the end. everything was very well done, and considering the budget restraints, this is a HUGE achievement."

Fantastic microbudget flick.

Robert P. Beveridge | Cleveland, OH | 06/28/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Shallow Ground (Sheldon Wilson, 2004)

It sometimes pains me to pick up straight-to-DVD horror releases. Not because they suck-- though, assuredly, most of them do-- but because I inevitably compare something like Shallow Ground (or the more recent Deadbirds) to (a) the complete unwatchable trash that shows up as "Sci-Fi Channel Original Movies" and (b) the complete only-slightly-more-watchable crap that's coming out in theaters under the horror banner. I can't begin to tell you how much more Shallow Ground deserved to be on a big screen than did the recent Hills Have Eyes or Dark Water remakes or, Jehosephat help us, Haute Tension. Yeah, it's got its problems, but when you put it up against any of the three other films mentioned, or scores of others, it's Oscar material.

The plot: a small town, made into a boomtown by an influx of temporary workers building a dam, is deflating again after the dam is finished. Sherriff Jack Sheppard (Skeleton Man's Timothy Murphy), his deputies Stuart (character actor Stan Kirsch) and Laura (Lindsey Stoddart, whose biggest role until now has been a minor part in The Ring), and town paramedic Darby Owens (Scab's Natalie Avital) are all getting ready to go their separate ways when a stranger wanders into town, naked and covered in blood. Suddenly, there's a reason to hang around town, especially when Jack starts to suspect that to silent man killed Amy Underhill (Tara Killian, of American Pie Presents Band Camp), whose murder still haunts him. The truth, however, is a whole lot weirder...

The script could have used a good rewrite or two for the purpose of patching up holes and doing a bit more character development. This, however, is true of a lot of microbudget movies, and we can't really give points off for it here any more than we did for El Mariachi. Besides, lack of character development is pretty much a staple in horror films, no? I can't help but think, though, this one's got enough stubs from which real characters could grow to make a rewrite (and a remake, preferably with the same connections) worthwhile, in the same way El Mariachi grew into Desperado. But if you look past the script's shortcomings and a relatively silly final scene, this is a fantastic little shocker-- well thought out, with enough plot twists to keep you looking like you're trying to follow Wimbledon, some decent acting (coupled with some scream queen action, but again, in a horror flick that's kind of forgivable), and a good deal of convention-flaunting.

I liked this movie a whole bunch, and I hope it ends up getting the attention it deserves. It's the kind of fresh, new horror film that Hollywood needs to understand is what's going to hook a new generation. Cranking out crappy remakes of good films is going to do nothing more than inspire contempt and desensitization. *** ½"

Bloody hell!!.......

Puzzle box | Kuwait | 08/31/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This low budget straight to video horror film was quite intresting, it has an amazing and inventive storyline I don't think that I can complain about that. The plot at the begining was mysterious and the suspence was at an all time high, you just wanted to know what was going to happen next. The story begins when the staff and two policemen are ready to leave the small town police station when something disturbing happens, a naked teenage boy thats covered in blood enters the station, everybody is just curious about this boy but he doesn't seem to talk and their is also a missing persons report that seems to be conected to this boy. I won't say anything more as not to ruin the story but what you get with this film is alot of blood, gore and nudity and an original story which your not going to get from a hollywood horror film since they like to remake everything they can get in their greedy little hands. While Shallow ground is nothing ground breaking it was still good and I deffinently recomend this to fans of low budget horror."