Review: Grandmother’s House (1988)

Directed by: Peter Rader
Starring: Eric Foster, Kim Valentine, Len Lesser
Written by: Gayle Jensen, Peter C. Jensen
Music by: Nigel Holton, Clive Wright
Country: United States
Available on: Blu-ray/DVD (Vinegar Syndrome)
IMDb

Grandmother’s House is the first film from Peter Rader, probably best known as a co-writer on the Kevin Costner epic (critical and box office bomb), Waterworld. And it’s produced by the infamous Nico Mastorakis, the crazed auteur behind the debaucherous Island of Death from 1976. That Vinegar Syndrome curated this title for release in 2019 would seem to ensure a foray into cinematic weirdness. And the movie definitely isn’t straightforward: David and his sister Lynn are sent to live with their shady grandparents after their dad dies, and David begins to suspects gramps and grams of murderous shenanigans when bodies start turning up. Spoiler alert, I suppose: I feel like I should warn there are some real pedo and incest vibes in this flick. Rader loves to linger on teenage Lynn, particularly when she’s in a bathing suit. And let’s just say that old pappy likes to keep things in the family. The twists in this movie are kept close to the vest until the last 10 minutes or so, though Rader does a good job of keeping up the suspense throughout. The setting on the property of a rural mansion works wonders despite being filmed almost entirely in broad daylight, and chases through an apple orchard and along a canal are as gorgeous as they are thrilling. The mystery in Grandmother’s House is interesting, absurd, and twisted enough, and the film looks great thanks to cinematographer Peter Jensen. But there are two really significant flaws that handicap this thing. First, the acting is uniformly awful from pretty much anyone who’s not grandpa (Len Lesser) or the mysterious woman who shows up everywhere David goes (played by genre stalwart Brinke Stevens). A lengthy exchange between David and a friend was painful to get through — and I’ve seen hundreds of movies with some of the worst acting on camera. Second, Grandmother’s House is surprisingly restrained when it comes to violence, especially considering the taboos it tackles. Thinking back, I’m not sure I saw more than a couple drops of blood. It’s perplexing that a movie that’s 90% PG-13 horror would embrace a twist destined to gross out most human beings. Or, vice versa, that a movie with such a perverse ending would suddenly shy away from showing a few axe chops. But the movie is compelling regardless, even if its payoff is incomplete.

Overall rating: 6.5 out of 10