Horror Movie Review: Rabid Grannies (1988)

There is so much to love in Rabid Grannies…the subject matter, the effects & the high levels of gore. This is pure entertainment & it had me grinning throughout most of it.

Two elderly sisters are throwing a birthday party at their expensive mansion in the country. They aren’t short of cash something their nieces & nephews are all too aware of. Each, having been invited to the party makes their way there making it clear to the viewer that they have only one thing in mind, money.

The horrible group are only interested in putting in the time so they can claim some the inheritance coming their way. Each is distinct & it makes for a more entertaining watch as their characteristics play a part in their downfall.

While dining the sisters are presented with gifts including one from the black sheep of the family. A nephew who dabbled in Satanism & black arts meaning he was removed from the sisters will & ostracised from the family. This gift though has a sinister purpose transforming the pair into vicious, blood-thirsty demons who begin attacking their guests.

What follows is a glorious demonic romp as guests are cut up, dismembered & left dead across the mansion. The demon sisters are ruthless but not against having a bit of fun with their victims. One particular scene that stands out involves the nephew who entered the priesthood. He is cornered by the pair & they give him a choice:

Die at their hands with all the torture that entails (they describe it to him in detail) or take the shotgun & kill himself even though that will condemn his soul to hell. It’s a tense scene & one that has way more thought involved than most of the movie.

The film isn’t afraid to push boundaries as well making fun of Christianity & not just having a child die but get dismembered also. There is so much glee in the horrible deaths that it’s impossible to not enjoy the tongue in cheek nature of it all. Characters are so unlikable that you won’t care about who lives or dies but that’s not really the point.

The acting is awful, it’s no surprise that many of the actors either hadn’t worked before or didn’t work afterwards. This is a Belgian movie over-dubbed with painfully-done English accents. It’s laughably bad but it won’t matter as it matches well with the slapstick gore & general feel of the movie.

The film bears some similarities with Dario Argento’s 1985 Italian horror, Demons especially within the transformation scenes which are pretty impressive for such a low budget horror.

The first 30 minutes drag but it’s worth sitting through it for the next 60. Gore-tastic!