Shallow Grave

Three flatmates in Edinburgh — Alex, a journalist, David, an accountant, and Juliet, a doctor — interview candidates for a fourth person to share their large apartment. They settle on Hugo, a quiet and mysterious man who dies in his room from an overdose shortly after moving in. Along with the body they find a suitcase packed with cash, and rather than call the police they decide to keep the money and dispose of the corpse. The decision forces each of them to depend on the other two, and as the situation grows more difficult to control, the arrangement puts their long friendship under strain, especially once others come looking for the money.

Shallow Grave is a British crime thriller released in 1994 and the first feature directed by Danny Boyle, made from a screenplay by John Hodge with Andrew Macdonald producing. Ewan McGregor plays Alex, Christopher Eccleston plays David, and Kerry Fox plays Juliet, with Ken Stott appearing as a police inspector. The film was made for about 3 million dollars and took roughly 8 million dollars worldwide, a strong return for its budget.

On IMDb it holds 7.2/10 from around 71,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 7/10 from a much smaller base of about 1,200 votes. A critics' rating of 7.1/10 from 54 reviews places it close to the audience scores. Its modest scale and limited cast of 26 credited performers reflect a compact production, and it stands first among Boyle's 17 films, ahead of Trainspotting in 1996.