The Granny (1995) Reviews

• Silly but fun!

  rosscinema2003-06-20

  This is one of those cheap horror flicks that was made strictly for video and you just can't take a film like this seriously so either skip it altogether or just have fun watching it. Story has a granny (Stella Stevens) who's family comes for a visit but they really try to knock her off for her inheritance. A strange man named Namon Ami (Luca Bercovici) comes by and gives her a potion that will give her eternal life but she can't allow it to be subjected to sunlight or else! Well, or else happens and when granny finally drinks it she later turns into a demon and she starts killing everyone in her family. The film is bloody and gory but its not the type of gore thats realistic so it remains on a lightweight level which helps the viewer. Of course in this type of exploitation there is nudity and Shannon Whirry and Heather Elizabeth Parkhurst are eye popping beautiful! No reason to really dislike this film because since it doesn't take itself seriously and the humor is tongue in cheek why would a viewer pick this apart? If you like these low budget horror films this one has some genuinely funny moments so just sit back and have fun!

• Thumbs up from me!

  capkronos2000-02-18

  The people who have reviewed THE GRANNY here are obviously NOT horror movie fans, and thus should stick to reviewing films like FREE WILLY, PART 10. Anyway... What an improvement for Luca (GHOULIES, ROCKULA) Bercovici, who wrote, directed and co-stars! THE GRANNY is wonderful, tasteless fun and easily one of the best direct-to-video horror films of the decade. Stella Stevens is not only the Granny of the title, but the reigning Granny of B-grade direct-to-video flicks. She's terrific chewing the scenery as Anastasia Gargoli, mother to some rather objectionable jerks who (along with their children) are trying to kill her for her inheritance. The only person kind to Granny is her bastard niece Kelly (well played by soft-core queen Shannon Whirry). Before dying, a magical elixir that promises eternal life is injested, and ends up backfiring. Since Kelly is screwed out of an inheritance, Granny returns as a cannibalistic zombie to settle the score. THE GRANNY is thankfully played out in tongue-in-cheek fashion, so we get a lot of black comedy (such as gags involving incest, decapitation, castration, grave robbing and more). Gore FX are effective and creative, but pretty mediocre. The performances are campy and fun. On the negative side, the tone of the movie (fluctuating from camp to drama to comedy to horror) may turn some off, and the (open) ending is unnecessary. But in a movie with this much energy and good things going for it, those aspects are quite easy to overlook.

• * * out of 4.

  brandonsites19812002-05-25

  Granny (Stella Stevens) has had it with her family. They are greedy, ruthless people who probably want her dead. And how right she is, as they try to attempt to poision her on Thanksgiving day and change her will so they inherit everything. The only good that comes out of the family is her son's illegmate daughter (Shannon Wherry) who has token care of granny most of her life and is supposed to be sole heir to Granny's estate. Well one day, Granny recieves a potion that will give her eternal life, if she and the potion stay out of the sun though. Well guess what, it gets exposed to the sun and granny dies. However she comes back to life as a homicidal, ax swinging demon. Instead of trying to be your standard, routine slice and dice horror film this feature just goes all out sparing nothing in the process. Stella Stevens is in great form and has some of the funniest one liners in recent memory and Shannon has never been more appealing. The death scenes are possibly some of the most creative and violent in horror film history and the ending is a knockout, especially the dinner table scene with the whole family gathered including dad. Much better then you would expect. Rated R; Extreme Graphic Violence, Nudity, Profanity, and Sexual Situations.

• Actually a really good horror flick

  jimmyplm1999-12-12

  I read some of the user comments on this movie and I was kind of shocked to see that all I saw was negative comments about this movie. To say it is the worst movie ever made is ridiculous. I found it to be quite a good film. There was a lot of gore for horror fans, a lot of funny one-liners (like with Freddy in the Nightmare on Elm Street series) for those looking for laughs, and a cast of characters that you actually loved to watch get killed off. Oh, and the actress that plays the seductive Antoinette was very fun to watch. My only complaint is that I can't figure out for the life of me why movie-makers will always put glasses on a female character (who is obviously very attractive) and then act like all the characters think she's ugly. Is being visually impaired such an ugly thing in America? Well, anyway, I think this is a great movie for die-hard horror fans. Just don't watch it if you're one of those uptight movie-goers

• Something new, and something interesting.

  demonictoys552001-04-29

  At first when I saw this movie I thought it was gonna be another one of those cheap lame horror films that made no sense. But to my surprise I enjoyed it. Basically it's about an old woman who recieves a visit by a man and he gives her a bottle that is considered to be the "The Fountain of Eternal Youth". She doesn't follow the rules right drinks it, dies, and later comes back from the dead to kill off her greedy family. If you like a movie that has bad launguage, nudity, and blood rent this one. Hey, I gave it a 10 straight up!