Grandmother's House (1988)

Purely Joyful Movie!

From my favorite movies..

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

The father of two siblings has just died. They now have no living parents, so the two must now live with their grandparents. In time the quiet David (okay performance by Eric Foster) starts witnessing things that lead him to believe his grandparents are murderers. Things are not always what they seem. The second half works much better than the first. It also does the ridiculous stereotypical garbage a lot of horror movies of the 80s did (e.g. tripping and falling down when being chased, car won't start when being chased). It is the second half though in two big twists that bring this movie out of the ordinary. Some things may have worked better if they were done differently including an ending that does seem a little abrupt once the final twist is revealed. So, it is a rather blemished horror movie and far from one of the best. Nevertheless, I still would recommend it. Also starring Len Lesser as the grandfather who I will always remember as Uncle Leo from Seinfeld and Brinke Stevens.

David (a solid performance by Eric Foster) and his older sister Lynn (an appealing portrayal by the pretty Kim Valentine) are forced to move in with their grandparents on an old farm after their father dies. Things go awry after David uncovers a dark secret from his family's grim past.Director Peter Rader, working from a compellingly twisted script by Peter Jensen, relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, does a sound job of crafting an intriguingly spooky and mysterious atmosphere, stages the lively and exciting last third with real brio, makes good use of the idyllic rural locations, and concludes things on a startling downbeat note. Ida Lee and especially Len Lesser are both excellent as the sinister grandparents while 80's scream queen supreme Brinke Stevens attacks her juicy role as a dangerously unhinged woman with frightening intensity and ferocity. Moreover, the character of David is drawn in a realistic manner; he snoops around and causes trouble because there's quite simply nothing else to do. Jensen's crisp cinematography gives this picture a pleasing polished look. The spare shivery score by Nigel Holton and Clive Wright hits the spine-tingling spot. Worth a watch.

When I borrowed this particular film from a friend I was expecting something rather similar to the 1989 horror comedy "Parents" and "Grandmother's House" does start out like that aforementioned film, but in a much serious and second-rate manner. It does go for that psychological edge, but it lacks the finesse and deft touches to carry it along. It's quite straight-up, nothing subtle. But then it takes a sudden turn into mundane psycho-killer territory with one very long chase sequence, to only turn back on itself revealing one very demented, if sudden revelation that comes out of nowhere and which I didn't see coming. By this you can say it's a makeshift of ideas that cheaply executed (there's a made-for-TV feel), but does have its moments. After the death of their father, David and his older sister Lynn go to live with their grandparents. One day David sees his grandparents dragging a bag, which looks like the shape of a person and strangely enough a body is soon discovered near the lake by their property. Suspicion arises for David even more, especially when he sees them dragging a body of a drifter lady. Going further into the oddball plot can destroy certain twists. The stilted script has some dumb dialogues and ridiculous inclusions, but it stays entertaining. Suspense kind of comes and goes, being the highlight of a rooftop walk. So does the atmosphere, where it's the music arrangement that keeps it fairly eerie. Performances are ideal with the unnerving Len Lesser giving it his all. Eric Foster and Kim Valentine acquits themselves well enough as the two kids. Then there's Brinke Stevens in a small, but important role. Director Peter Radar does a steadfast job and producing this enterprise happens to be Nico Mastorakis ("Island of Death" & "Blind Date").

Warning- possible spoilers here-although I don't think you will mind since the movie has no plot to spoil.Re-released on DVD, I picked up a copy with a coupon and figured, How bad could it be for $6 ? I now feel as if I fell for an internet scam or something. There ought to be laws against films this bad. There were entire scenes missing. Characters just disappeared for 20 minutes at a time without knowing what they are doing. Characters were brought in for a few seconds, then disappear, then re-appear dead without even knowing what happened to them or how they got there. Grandma disappears for the entire last half hour, you never find out what happened to her. You also never find out what Grandpa was up to in the basement, although about one forth of the movie takes place there. The boy never tells his sister what he has seen in the basement, he never tries to call or get help. This movie seems like it was torn up by vandals in a break-in and then they taped it together the best they could, and threw out the rest. Truly, the absolute worst movie I have ever seen. Not even worth one rental. Don't make the same mistake I did. Just run!