There’s something charming about the shot-on-video horror films of the 1980s and ‘90s. I’m a fan of several of them, and here on Life Between Frames we’ve featured write-ups on the likes of Goblin, Truth or Dare?, Woodchipper Massacre, and Tempe’s Ozone, The Sandman, and Polymorph, as well as their infamous six pack (Zombie Cop, Kingdom of the Vampire, Maximum Impact, Humanoids from Atlantis, Chickboxer, and Galaxy of the Dinosaurs). Filmmaker Bobby Canipe Jr. has an appreciation for the shot-on-video classics that he has funneled into his slasher Grandma, which he actually shot on ‘90s Mini-DV camcorders and has described as “a love letter to straight-to-video VHS flicks of the late ‘80s / ‘90s”.
The movie begins with a back story montage that could have been a movie all in itself. We’re told that a woman called Grandma used to run a bed and breakfast that was appropriately called Grandma’s – and the homecooked meals she served in this place were so good, the restaurant side of the business was the busiest breakfast spot in the south. Problem was, Grandma had a habit of killing the tourists who stayed in her place and turning them into the meat she put in those tasty meals. She killed dozens of families so she could cook them up. When her secret was discovered, Grandma and her son went into hiding. The restaurant was torn down, but the house was left standing. For over twenty years, the house has stood abandoned. And Grandma and her son have never been located.
This opening montage features one of the movie’s selling points: cameo appearances by scream queens Brinke Stevens (The Slumber Party Massacre), Michelle Bauer (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers), Deborah Dutch (Hard to Die), and Courtney Lercara (Slaughterhouse). Don’t expect to see a whole lot of them, but they are indeed in there.
Then we move ahead to modern day... and this did feel a bit awkward to me at times, as there’s no attempt to hide the fact that the story is set in the here and now. The characters even use smartphones, which is incongruous with the presentation of the movie, as it's made to seem like we’re watching it on an old VHS tape, complete with slightly messed up picture and a buzz on the audio track. Canipe said he wanted it to actually feel like “a low budget, dirty, gory video store find”, so it seems like the story should have been set no more recently than the late ‘90s. Of course, that would have made the production more complicated and would have required more money, so I understand why the setting is 2023.
Anna Clary stars as Mallory, a young woman who has recently lost her parents. She has fond memories of eating at Grandma’s with her dad when she was a kid, so she has decided to buy the property and fix up the house. She hits the road with her friends Quinn (Angel Bradford) and Lana (Kelsey Baker) so they can go to what used to be Grandma's and start the clean-up process... and while Mallory and Quinn were hoping this would just be “girls time”, Lana has also decided to bring along her ridiculous boyfriend Sludge (Ryan Carpenter). That’s okay, Sludge won’t be around very long.
That’s because someone wearing an old lady mask has started hacking their way through the supporting cast before Mallory and her pals have even reached the messed up old property. And soon enough, this maniacal killer has set their sights on our lead trio.
As a fan of shot-on-video movies and slashers, I really enjoyed watching Grandma. It moves along at a good pace, the title character racks up a decent body count, and I liked that there was a dramatic story going on with Mallory and her reason for buying the property. This isn’t just another slasher about party-minded youths drinking, smoking, and boning their way to the grave... although I do like slashers that take that approach as well. It’s just nice when one does something a bit different. The cast members do well in their roles, right up to the point when Grandma turns their characters into bloody messes.
If you have nostalgia for the VHS and shot-on-video days and an appreciation for slashers, Grandma is a must-see.
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