Shallow Ground
Encyclopedia
Shallow Ground is a 2004 Horror
film
written and directed by Sheldon Wilson and starring Timothy V. Murphy, Stan Kirsch
, Lindsey Stoddart, Patty McCormack
, and Rocky Marquette
. A naked teenage boy (Rocky Marquette) appears at a soon-to-be abandoned sheriff's station, drenched in blood, on the one-year anniversary of the murder of a local girl that remains unsolved. Sheriff Jack Shepherd (Timothy V. Murphy) searches for the boy's true identity and intentions, while dealing with his guilt over failing to save the girl or solve her murder.
Meanwhile, an unseen stalker is killing and butchering people in the woods. The audience is led to believe that the weird bloody boy is some sort of supernatural killer, similar to Jason Voorhees
or Michael Myers
.
It is revealed near the end of the movie that the dead across the world are rising up and seeking revenge on the people who killed them. These dead manifest as blood-covered humans that seek out and kill their original killers. If a killer has more than one victim, all the victims merge together into a single composite being. The blood-covered boy is one such being, made up of 6 people from the community who were killed by the stalker some time before. He is going around reading people's minds to learn the identity of his killer.
The killer stalker turns out to be a local older woman, who has been murdering people in the community for some time. Her family was killed when the local dam broke, and in revenge she has been killing everyone involved with the dam, as well as their families. The bloody boy eventually tracks her down and kills her, just as she is about to kill Jack.
The movie ends with a shock ending. The bloody boy is walking through the woods, when he is suddenly attacked and killed by another blood creature, this one much larger and more demonic-looking. The identity of the second blood creature is never explicitly revealed, but from the creature's appearance it is implied to be the old woman from earlier.
and Rocky Marquette
receiving favorable reviews.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written and directed by Sheldon Wilson and starring Timothy V. Murphy, Stan Kirsch
Stan Kirsch
Stanley Benjamin Kirsch is an American actor, screenwriter and director.His first acting job was at the age of 4 when he appeared in some Campbell's soup television commercials...
, Lindsey Stoddart, Patty McCormack
Patty McCormack
Patty McCormack is an American actress with a career in theater, films and television.She achieved success as a child actress, and received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Bad Seed...
, and Rocky Marquette
Rocky Marquette
- Biography :Early LifeRocky Marquette was born in Muskegon, Michigan. He studied at Reeths Puffer High School and then attended college at Grand Valley State University on a Shakespeare scholarship.Film Career...
. A naked teenage boy (Rocky Marquette) appears at a soon-to-be abandoned sheriff's station, drenched in blood, on the one-year anniversary of the murder of a local girl that remains unsolved. Sheriff Jack Shepherd (Timothy V. Murphy) searches for the boy's true identity and intentions, while dealing with his guilt over failing to save the girl or solve her murder.
Plot summary
Sheriff Jack Shepherd is tasked with investigating a mysterious blood-covered boy who shows up at his station one day. The boy appears to be supernatural in nature, and manifests unusual powers such as the ability to read minds or show other people his memories by touching them.Meanwhile, an unseen stalker is killing and butchering people in the woods. The audience is led to believe that the weird bloody boy is some sort of supernatural killer, similar to Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees is a fictional character from the Friday the 13th series of slasher films. He first appeared in Friday the 13th , as the son of camp cook-turned-murderer, Mrs. Voorhees, in which he was portrayed by Ari Lehman. Created by Victor Miller, with contributions by Ron Kurz, Sean S...
or Michael Myers
Michael Myers (Halloween)
Michael Myers is a fictional character from the Halloween series of slasher films. He first appears in John Carpenter's Halloween as a young boy who murders his older sister, then fifteen years later returns home to murder more teenagers...
.
It is revealed near the end of the movie that the dead across the world are rising up and seeking revenge on the people who killed them. These dead manifest as blood-covered humans that seek out and kill their original killers. If a killer has more than one victim, all the victims merge together into a single composite being. The blood-covered boy is one such being, made up of 6 people from the community who were killed by the stalker some time before. He is going around reading people's minds to learn the identity of his killer.
The killer stalker turns out to be a local older woman, who has been murdering people in the community for some time. Her family was killed when the local dam broke, and in revenge she has been killing everyone involved with the dam, as well as their families. The bloody boy eventually tracks her down and kills her, just as she is about to kill Jack.
The movie ends with a shock ending. The bloody boy is walking through the woods, when he is suddenly attacked and killed by another blood creature, this one much larger and more demonic-looking. The identity of the second blood creature is never explicitly revealed, but from the creature's appearance it is implied to be the old woman from earlier.
Reception
The film received positive reviews, and became widely popular among horror fans, with Patty McCormackPatty McCormack
Patty McCormack is an American actress with a career in theater, films and television.She achieved success as a child actress, and received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Bad Seed...
and Rocky Marquette
Rocky Marquette
- Biography :Early LifeRocky Marquette was born in Muskegon, Michigan. He studied at Reeths Puffer High School and then attended college at Grand Valley State University on a Shakespeare scholarship.Film Career...
receiving favorable reviews.