It was the first movie I purchased in DVD format. It absolutely had to be the first movie I purchased once again in Blu-ray format. When the Criterion Collection decided to release it as one of their select offerings I was understandably ecstatic. “Trainspotting” was certainly an epic, defining work of mid- 1990’s cinema. But 2 years before that came the harrowing, finely-tuned masterpiece that is “Shallow Grave”. The title itself might lead you to expect a low budget, second-rate horror film. Technically its a "thriller". But any genre classification means a lot less (or more) in the hands of a truly genius director.
It's going to sound really pretentious to describe this as a character driven drama worthy of "Macbeth" but I'm going to say it anyway. Critics will say that "no one would ever hatch such a ridiculous scheme to hang on to a suitcase full of money". Seriously? Most people would do almost anything to hang on to a "suitcase full of money".