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YMMV / Shallow Grave

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  • Awesome Music: The haunting score by Simon Boswell.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: Alex is a Child Hater. Ewan McGregor has done work for children's charities, including UNICEF.
  • Moral Event Horizon: Morals are pretty thin on the ground with everyone in this film, but after David is forced to dismember and mutilate Hugo and no longer trusting his friends, he eventually crosses the line.
    • Juliet crosses this line at the end when she brutally and slowly hammers David's knife into Alex's shoulder, despite Alex having saved her life seconds ago, and despite there being no reason to do so as he was in no state to stop her taking the money, and leaves him in agony while grinning at her good luck. This just makes her subsequent karmic payback all the better.
  • Nightmare Fuel: David, sitting alone in the attic, letting a torch shine on his face repeatedly as he covers the beam with his fingers. This is cut with scenes of him dementedly bashing in the faces of the two crooks, in horrifying silhouette with the van's red glow as the only source of light. It's a truly chilling moment as the viewer realizes that the former timid, sweet accountant has truly lost his marbles.
    • The torture scenes, where the mob thugs are seen drowning someone in a bathtub of blood, then locking another person in a freezer while trying to extract information on Hugo's whereabouts. What really seals it, particularly for the first one, is that the film intersperses the torture scenes with shots of Alex and Juliet going hedonistically crazy with spending their ill-gotten cash.
  • Retroactive Recognition:
  • The Woobie: Cameron, with his velcro shoes and bag from Forbidden Planet, is mocked relentlessly when he applies for the room and again at the charity ball. He takes A level in badass though, and beats up Alex as revenge.
  • Unintentionally Unsympathetic: The final shot of the film was supposed to indicate how money ruins even the closest of friendships but the characters involved are so unlikable that they come off as Asshole Victims at best.

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