Grandmother's House (1988) User Reviews

Grandfather's orange farm shud have been the title.

[Fella_shibby · 5/10 · 29 January 2021]

I first saw this in the early 90s on a vhs.

Revisited it recently. The film disappointed me then as ther was nothing scary or anything horror bah it but aft revisiting, i am surprised at the end revelation, which is dark n harrowing.

The effects are really bad, a cop gets stabbed repeatedly but we dont get to see the wounds.

The locations are picturesque, the Victorian house, the orange farm, the tall trees, etc are all lovely.

The film has many absurdities.

The woman somehow always gets an upper hand while chasing the kids, the hospital sneaking out scene is absurd, there is a dead cop, a bullet injured man n missing people but the authorities are shown as lax.

At one scene a woman is shown stuffed in a refrigerator, then later tied in a car, then being wrapped n pulled as a dead body, in the beginning, she is shown strolling in the middle of the road, somehow she pops up everywhere and in the end, nothing is explained what happens with all the characters apart from the harrowing revelation.

The grandmother never pamapers the kids but the tagline refers about pampering. The movie is shot less in the house and more in the orange farm.

Not A Bad Film.

[lukecronin-82005 · 5/10 · 25 April 2021]

Wasn't expecting much from this, to be honest. Discovered it by chance on Prime Video.

I know this genre has been well used, but I found the film to be an enjoyable. Can't believe that I'd never seen it before, as it's some 33 years old now. Yes it does still stand the test of time.

Basically creepy grandparents, living on a creepy farm.

I'd recommend you watch this, if you've not done so already.

Don't poke your nose where it don't belong.

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 14 January 2014]

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").

Shocking, unpredictable thriller.

[bigpappa1--2 · 23 June 2000]

Two teens go to live with their grandparents after both their mom and dad die, but grandma and grandpa have a few skeletons in their closet that are about to explode. Film is tightly paced and well edited. It also has many shocking and most important believable twist and turns and once you think you have it figured out, it throws another surprise at you. Very unpredictable. Film also has Brinke Stevens only good performance, though the rest of the cast is so-so. A very little seen gem of a film. Not a horror film like many believe it to be, but more of a suspense film. My Rating: 8 out of 10. I still can't believe this film got so many negative reviews.

Atleast it started off good

[tampaaries · 3/10 · 7 November 2021]

This movie kept my attention up until about 45 mins into the movie then it took a turn for the worst, all type of crazy stuff started happening that made no sense,it must've been at this point when the director said f### it im going home and then handed the rest of the director duty to his 7 year old nephew.

??

[shalondawells · 3/10 · 19 April 2021]

This movie reminds me of M. Night Shyamalan's The Visit but just a little different plot twist. It had brother and sister visiting grandparents on a farm except no modern day technology. I had fun comparing the two movies. Enjoy!

Who knew Uncle Leo had an evil side?

[aarpcats · 5/10 · 1 May 2021]

Kids get orphaned and have to go live with grandma and granddaddy,

How many times have you heard this premise? Never mind, this time it's gory 80s fun with a couple of twists

So get that the mousse on your hair, put on some spandex and enjoy crank up the cassette player, You'll enjoy this schlock.

Offbeat kids-in-peril horror flick

[drownsoda90 · 7/10 · 24 April 2020]

"Grandmother's House" follows two teenage siblings who are orphaned and sent to live with their grandparents in their large Victorian farmhouse in California. Soon after arriving, a mysterious woman begins stalking the property, and the teenage son comes to suspect his grandparents might be murderers.

This offbeat flick was produced by Niko Mastorakis, perhaps best known for his utterly grotesque directorial debut, "Island of Death." Peter Rader, who wrote "Waterworld" some years later, directs the film, and it is a surprisingly stylish low-budget effort with higher production values than you might expect. The whole film takes place over a span of two days, largely in daylight, and much of the action is staged in orange orchards and irrigation canals, which make for an unusual but picturesque location for the action to unfold.

The performances here are mixed, with Len Lesser being a notable face as the demented grandfather. Kim Valentine and Eric Foster play the lead teenagers fairly well, and genre favorite Brinke Stevens is unexpectedly sinister as the mysterious woman following the kids' every move. The last act of the film is quite a lot of fun, replete with chase sequences in vintage automobiles, a vicious stabbing, and a firework explosion, though things do start to feel a bit clunky in the last fifteen-twenty minutes. Given that it all takes place in an approximately 48-hour period, the film feels something like an extended "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" episode, though with slightly higher stakes and a truly sick twist ending.

All in all, "Grandmother's House" is a real treat for fans of late '80s or early '90s horror. It ticks all the boxes for the horror flicks of this period, and has a gothic, sleek sheen to it that elevate the proceedings above a run-of-the-mill slasher flick. Despite some clunkiness in the final act, the plot twists alone make this one worth viewing. 7/10.

Promising start, but the ending ruined it.

[paulclaassen · 4/10 · 13 March 2021]

'Grandmother's House' is a mystery thriller about to kids going to live with their Grandparents, who are very happy to welcome them into their big home. However, the kids soon realize things are not what they seem.

I enjoyed the characters and the sense of mystery. The film also features good performances, especially the young boy, David (Eric Foster). 'Grandmother's House' is unpredictable and there's a constant eerie feeling. One can't help but always expect the worst. The film hits us with quite a few surprises! I must be honest, I enjoyed this film almost until the very end - until the film's final moments. The twist ending is not very clear (in fact, I had to read up about it to fully understand it), and ends so abruptly, it almost looks as if they ran out of production time or money. The ending could and should have been better explained. The viewer isn't even given time to process the information he's just been given. By the time you understand the twist ending, very little about the movie makes any sense. What a pity.

Would I watch it again? No.

The beauty of the house is defined by the evil in the basement.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 19 October 2021]

Better than I expected, this obscure horror film is surprisingly good even if there are several really stupid moments throughout. The very good Eric Foster is a real gem as the grandson, and makes even the dumbest moments of the film a lot better because of his presence. Along with Sister Kim Valentine, they are sent to live with their grandparents after the death of their father, and there's something going on that Foster becomes instantly suspicious up. It appears that the grandparents are killing young women and keeping them in their basement, and then the presence of a mysterious young woman changes the whole plot line when she is discovered handcuffed in the Grandfather's jeep. This leads to a ton of action and more than just a few questons

While there aren't any real names in the cast, it is a very good ensemble. Len Lesser and Ida Lee are complete scene-stealers as the grandparents, adorable in every way. The presence of a weird family that comes over for a picnic as more questions as it's very apparent that something is up especially when the teen son shows Foster how to blow the bodies out of a local river.

Foster has a weird situation when he gets stuck on the roof and is basically hanging over his grandparents as they removed mysterious objects out of the basement. Another scene of David (Foster's character) running into a pipe really jolted me. There's actually more action than horror, although it definitely has elements of that throughout. Regardless of whether these elderly people are killing younger women, they are plenty creepy, although the twist with the stranger coming out of nowhere does show what's really going on. A lot of fun, and certainly better with unknowns than big stars in the major roles.

I did not expect much from this film- and got even less.

[eagleye · 1/10 · 24 August 1999]

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!

Something is creeping in the dark of grandma's house.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 8/10 · 9 January 2010]

"Grandma's House" is an overlooked suspenser from late 80's. After the death of their father Lynn and her younger brother David go to stay with their grandparents. But there David has dreams of his grandparents hiding bodies in the cellar in the middle of the night and the next day this turns out to be true. They meet the woman that their grandparents keep handcuffed in the barn. But she tricks them into freeing her and then relentlessly pursues the two of them. Unpretetntious little shocker with plenty of dreamlike mood. The hallucinatory atmosphere of the film is so thick that you could cut it with a chainsaw. A horror icon Brinke Stevens plays the kids' insane mother and the performance of Len Lesser is surprisingly creepy. Recommended.8 out of 10.

Grandmother's House

[ryan-10075 · 6/10 · 18 July 2018]

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.

Awful acting...

[newslogger44 · 2/10 · 2 November 2022]

No need for me to write a plot synopsis here since other commenters have already done it, so I'll focus my rant upon the appalling acting and a few of the glaring plot holes--of which there were too many to count.

Most annoying in my opinion was David, the teenage boy played by Eric Foster who must have been dragged out his high school drama class a day prior to being cast in this dismal film.

Throughout most of the film, the kid remained wide-eyed and strangely mute but with his mouth agape throughout (just like you see in his IMDb photo). I kept hoping that a fly would zip inside to make him gag.

Then, there was David's pretty sister Lynn (Kim Valentine) who, incredibly, didn't seem to mind the attention of the local, conceited slob Kenny (Michael Robinson) whom wiser girls would have avoided like the plague and whose only "claim to fame" could only have been his pristine, 2-door 1959 Chevy.

As for grandma, grandpa, those yakking visitors stuffing their faces, the dumb-ass sheriff, etc., made me groan, "No...no...NOT THESE stereotypes, please!".

Strange, too, that the wacko, presumably mentally-challenged mother of the teenagers always seemed energetic and savvy enough to be able to chase and catch up to the fleeing kids no matter how fast they ran, no matter where they tried to hide, etc., plus the fact that David and Lynn couldn't seem to realize the folly of running directly in front of the pickup truck wacko mother evidently had no trouble handling Why didn't the kids simply jump behind the adjacent trees and dash away in the opposite direction?

But then, what can we expect from turkeys like this?

One of the best horror films of its (admittedly pretty sorry) era

[lazarillo · 3 January 2008]

This film was made in the late 1980's--basically at the nadir of the horror genre when most alleged "horror" films being made were either half-ass comedies with some wise-cracking Freddy Krueger knock-off, or softcore sextranvaganzas with a bunch of no-talent "scream queens" running around half-naked in some "haunted" house in the San Fernando Valley. This, however, is a genuinely spooky film. It kind reminded of a couple underrated slasher flicks from the early 1980's, "Silent Scream" and "Funeral Home". Like those films it's fairly bloodless, but atmospheric and creepy. But it also has a nice little sting in its tail with some surprising revelations in the final reel.

The plot involves a recently orphaned brother and sister who go to live in their maternal grandparent's house after the death of their father. The grandfather is played by Les Lesser, an actor best known as "uncle Leo" in "Seinfeld", but who was actually quite an accomplished drive-in horror actor, also appearing as a brutal murderous handyman in the lost 70's minor classic "Blood and Lace". He's equally effective here. Strange things begin to happen in the house--the boy thinks he sees his grandparents disposing of a body. Even more disturbing a weird young women seems to be stalking the children. The woman is played by Brinke Stevens, one of the most famous 80's scream queens. Like the rest of her ilk, Stevens was not much of actress, but she did have at least one talent beyond displaying her incredible naked body, and that was playing a mute psycho like she does here and in Fred Olen Ray's "The Haunting Fear". It might not be saying much, but this is easily Steven's best role--she is genuinely scary. The two kids are kind of weak link, but it's good to see Kim Valentine, a strikingly beautiful teenage girl, actually play a strikingly beautiful teenage girl instead of being typecast as a sub-Molly Ringwald type in a sub-John Hughes movie like she was in all her other roles (although I am sad to report that neither she nor Stevens has any nude scenes in this movie).

The best part though is the end, which I REALLY don't want to spoil in any way. Let's just say the film does a really good job keeping you guessing who the real villain(s) is/are. This movie ranks with "the Stepfather", "Parents", "Pin" and "The Reflecting Skin" as one of the best and creepiest films of its (admittedly pretty sorry) era.

Awful

[matt-dalton80 · 3/10 · 6 February 2021]

Here's a movie that's so badly written that it gets its title confused. I'm not sure why it's called Grandmother's House when the grandfather is actually just as bad and is actually the heart of the movie. Character motivations are murky and nonsensical. Wildlife sound effects are used to the point of absurdity. Zero suspense, zero surprises (the "mystery" is obvious 20 min into the movie), and laughable acting. Skip it.

Nothing much going on

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 23 March 2021]

GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE (1988) is a less well-known American horror film, shot in California and featuring a non-supernatural plotline. Oddly I found a HD print showing on Amazon Prime at the same time I learnt that 88 Films are bringing it out in blu-ray. It's certainly a handsome-looking film given the low budget, but is it any good? My answer has to be a resounding "no!". The simple truth is that this film just doesn't have an interesting enough story to sustain the viewer's interest throughout the running time.

The protagonists are a couple of teenage kids, a brother and sister called David and Lynn. They move in with their grandparents and soon notice something sinister about their activities in the basement. So far so good, an addition to the 'crazy old people' sub-genre of horror. But very little happens from this point until the end. There's a lot of relationship building that goes nowhere, and some well-directed set-pieces including a truck chase and a kid hanging from a roof, but it just doesn't do much with the plot ingredients and it's so tame that the horror is almost non-existent. Scream Queen Brinke Stevens has a pivotal role but fails to make an impression, although the younger stars are better. I just didn't find much to get excited about here.

This is the ultimate in CRAP

[sutcal · 2/10 · 26 November 1999]

I feel compelled to advise any would be watcher of this movie not to. In the reviews some have marked it 10/10. The only people that could ever think this would be the actors in the movie themselves (although even they would consider this garbage) or some really deranged person.

The plot is ordinary, the acting worse than D grade.

Do your self a favour, avoid it at all costs.

Good but missing that something

[acidburn-10 · 6/10 · 27 April 2022]

'Grandmothers House' is an interesting little horror movie that I went into totally blind, I never even heard of this before or heard any sort of mention towards it whatsoever. After buying the newly released Blu-Ray of it, I was quite pleasantly surprised as it has some good tense moments, an interesting mystery surrounding the grandparents and some neat twists and turns throughout.

The movie has a surreal dreamlike quality to it, a strange and suspenseful flick that really keeps your attention throughout. Okay some of the twists were predictable and the ending was way too abrupt, but nothing here is especially bad, the performances are decent, the movie is well shot with some nice stylish scenes here and there and competently directed.

But I do feel like it's missing that something special that could have made this truly great, maybe it's the sluggish pace at times or the flat ending, I'm not really sure, but anyway its still a decent time waster with a good build up.

Mixed up.

[stephen_dines-79394 · 4/10 · 14 April 2022]

There is a decent premise in here somewhere but this plays out in ways that are utterly ludicrous. As the plot develops and spins into something else it becomes disjointed and the lack of emotion on display at critical moments lends itself to unbelievability.

don't waste your time

[djlazar · 1/10 · 11 May 2021]

Terrible story. Ending is dumb. Bad acting. Bad writing. I opened this account just to rate this total waste of time.

An unexpected treat

[c.lewis · 8/10 · 19 July 2000]

When you come across a movie that no one else has heard of,even amongst fellow horror enthusiasts,and discover it to be both a tense and enjoyable romp,it gives a great deal of pleasure,grandmothers house gave me that feeling.The story itself is nothing to write home about,kids go to live with their grandparents,who have a dark secret, there's a mad woman in the house!! hardly original but then not many films are. But this film has some good heart stopping moments,yes there are some rather gaping holes in the plot and the ending is a bit of a let down but if getting the girlfriend to jump into your arms is a major benefit you can do a lot worse.

Grandmother's House

[a_baron · 3/10 · 2 December 2017]

On the death of their father, two orphans are sent to live with their grandparents. He is young but feisty; his older sister is of an age when lookers like her come to the attention of the opposite sex. All good and fine until they see, or think they see, their grandparents dragging a dead body into the house. Have they murdered someone, are they serial killers? If the film had been developed along these lines it might have gone somewhere, but there is a big twist, then another, and the final scene is, well, maybe you can follow it.

What else can be said? Well, it is doubtful if child actor Eric Foster did his own stunts on top of the house.

* * * out of 4.

[brandonsites1981 · 31 May 2002]

Better then you would expect picture about a two teenagers who have lost both of their parents. They are shipped off to their grandparents house to live, but the sudden arrival of a mysterious woman eventually results in an outbreak of violence. Twisty, complicated thriller with its fair share of surprises throughout. The movie is well plotted and thought out, but is negated by routine performances. Still, very suspenseful and thrilling at times.

Rated R; Violence, Adult Themes.

A mediocre kids-in-peril horror.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 9 February 2020]

After the death of their father, teenage siblings David (Eric Foster) and Lynn (Kim Valentine) go to live with their grandparents on a farm in California. Soon after, David begins to suspect that something untoward is afoot, having seen a mysterious woman (played by '80s scream queen Brinke Stevens) with a guitar apparently being accosted by his elderly guardians.

Grandmother's House has one or two well executed moments of tension and features a nicely twisted denouement, but the bulk of the film is uneventful and slow making it a rather tiresome movie overall. Too much time is dedicated to David sneaking around the farmhouse and the surrounding orange groves, with very little in the way of plot progression to keep things interesting.

Of the good stuff, a scene in which David becomes trapped on the farmhouse roof is fairly suspenseful as the boy almost comes a cropper several times trying to find a way back inside, the poor lad running headfirst into a metal pipe took me by surprise, and the ending delivers the deviancy one might expect from a film produced by Nico Mastorakis, the director of infamous video nasty Island of Death.

4.5, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.