Shallow Ground (2004)

The fright-fest Shallow Ground (2004) presents the chilling tale of a murdered girl, a mysterious blood-covered suspect (Rocky Marquette), and a small-town sheriff (Timothy V. Murphy) who is conjuring up more than he bargained for trying to uncover their mysterious connection. A true low-budget success, Shallow Ground was filmed in the Topanga Canyon for $72,000 using unpaid SAG actors from the Experimental Program but went on to win the Best Picture Audience Award at the 2004 Dead by Dawn convention. You can see where the filmmakers saved money on wardrobe costs by having Tara Killian go topless when she’s chained to a tree.