I'm a huge fan of 80's horror, especially that of the slasher genre, so I try to stay on top of what's good. Since so much was produced in the decade I often miss some hidden gems along the way, which is the case with Grandmother's House. The film plays off as more of a mystery for the first half then slowly blends itself into a slasher, which sadly, is where the film also begins to lose many of the positive aspects it had in the begriming and replace them with plot-holes, cliches, and predictability.

The story follows a couple young siblings, who've just lost their father and are now forced to move in with their grandparents. The adventurous young brother begins to suspect that something is up with the grandparents and eventually discovers that they may in fact be killers. The first half of the flick plays around with the idea, which kept me interested and actually thinking it may be a good film. However, like I said before, once the second half came 'round I began to realize that I might've spoken a bit too soon.

Being from the 80's the movie does suffer from some bad acting at times, especially from B-genre actress Brinke Stevens, who's better off keeping her mouth shut and showing some skin like he usually does. Although, she does play a pretty good crazy person. As the film begins to wind down, plot holes become more noticeable, especially when the twist is revealed towards the end. Then, as if they ran out of time and money, we're given an incredibly abrupt and ridiculous reveal and a dubious final sequence.

In the end, the movie isn't necessarily a bad genre piece, in fact, I'd consider it a hidden gem of sorts since it offered some positive aspects (mostly in the beginning) that keeps the viewer glued and guessing. Had the filmmakers tried as hard on the second half as they did with the first, it could've been a good, possibly sought-after film.

A flawed, but underrated 80's slasher that offers an interesting mystery in the first half that keeps the viewer guessing, while the second half becomes your standard, plot-hole ridden and cliched slasher. Worth a check if you're a fan of 80's slashers and wouldn't mind a little mystery aspect thrown in.