Aiming for the giddy gruesomeness of Shallow Grave, [director Peter] Berg piles one sadistic thrill on top of another without noticing how flat and charmless the whole enterprise feels.

The trouble is that Berg doesn't seem sure how to draw matters to a close.

Berg is so in love with his escalating shock tactics that they quickly cease to shock.

But when you've got Tarantino and the Coens doing wild, bloody violence with memorable dialogue in the same era, it's easy to see why Very Bad Things is regarded as a pretty poor movie in comparison.