The Grave (1996) is an independent film from the mid-nineties that attempts the Coen Brothers flair for well scripted genre hybrids. The Grave was the brainchild of brothers Jonas and Josh Pate that looked to combine elements of the crime thriller with a little folk horror in the milieu of Southern Gothic. The framing device establishes the narrative as a kind of urban legend that helps shape and inform the viewer’s participation in the things to come.
There’s plenty of gallows humor in The Grave that would feel more at home in a traditional horror film but adds a kind of twisted menace to the proceedings. The Grave has more plot twists than a barrel of pretzels but at its heart it’s the story of an escaped convict named King (Craig Sheffer) who sets out to rob a grave of buried treasure only to be double crossed a couple of times, culminating with his demise at the hands of his lover Jordan (Gabrielle Anwar). As The Grave drifts its focus from one loathsome character to the next a number of excellent actors appear in tiny supporting roles that strengthen the sense of atmosphere and purpose in the film (particularly Josh Charles and Eric Roberts).
The Grave does really well with visual composition, characterization and general atmosphere but suffers when it comes down to structure. A lot of the film begins to feel repetitious as if there isn’t enough variance to the content between visits to the cemetery. As the film progresses the narrative beats tighten up, presumably to increase tension. However this is never really achieved so what happens instead is that the sense of specificity to the milieu and characters is sacrificed for a speedier resolution.
The Grave is one of those classic indie thrillers from the nineties like Red Rock West (1993), The Temp (1993) and Storyville (1992) that are gorgeous to look at and roughly equal to, in terms of writing, anything that the Coen Brothers were doing. The sad thing is that these smaller films never found a wide theatrical release and just went straight out on video.
