The Granny

This is the worst movie I have ever seen, but it made me laugh more than most of the hit comedies coming out of hollywood these days. In fact, I've rented it more than once to share with my lucky friends. You just don't know what you are missing if you haven't seen The Granny!

I went to the video shop to rent a really cheesy horror flick, and boy did I get one. The Granny caught my attention because it stars one-time beauty and decent actress Stella Stevens, and looked like it might be fun. Alas, Stevens is barely recognizable, and the show is not only not fun, it is agonizing to watch. I rate it -**, and recommend it as a candidate for worst movie ever made.

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.

This dark comedy features a spirited performance by Stella Stevens as "Granny". The actors have great makeup, and there is rarely a dull moment. Granny on her deathbed is chosen to get a second chance at life and immortality. Unfortunately the carefully explained three step process gets derailed by a cat, and Granny comes back from the dead seeking revenge on her jackal-like family. There are a few similarities between "The Granny" and "Ed and His Dead Mother", which precedes this film by two years. A couple low budget effects slightly detract, like in the fur closet when hand puppet minks attack, but overall the movie succeeds as entertainment. Shannon Whirry and Heather Elizabeth Parkhurst showing some skin doesn't hurt either. - MERK

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!