Halloween Movie Month: Grabbers

Grabbers (2012)
Netflix streaming

Grabbers is a delightfully enjoyable Irish horror-comedy about alien squid that can't hold their liquor.  Ok, so there is a bit more to the plot than that.  A small Irish island is being attached by blood-scucking alien squid creatures and the only hope for the townspeople is to get drunk to avoid being eaten, because the alcohol is toxic to the creatures.

Grabbers was a bit of an odd mix for me.  It is definitely a horror-comedy with some good lines and a production value that makes the deaths and the creatures not be distractingly bad cgi.  I really like the use of orchestral music for the soundtrack, but it was a bit too pervasive and in the foreground when I felt like it would have been better served by being in the background.  There was good acting throughout, but the only way you know that the main character is supposed to be a drunkard is because one of the characters keeps saying that he is (rather than a convincing presentation of an inebriated individual).  The grabbers have a definite presence in the film, but in retrospect I feel as though they weren't actually on screen all that much.  You find yourself rooting for the two main characters to get together, but there isn't much to explain the relationship between them.

But despite all of the apparent shortcomings, I still really enjoyed Grabbers!  Maybe it's because it felt like an Irish version of Slither (which I love).  Maybe it's because I've not really seen too many Irish horror movies, so this felt like a relatively new experience for me.  Maybe it's because most horror-comedies go to the extreme of being horrorible, where you watch it because of how ridiculous and/or bad it is, rather than for actual cinematic enjoyment.  Whatever the reason, there is definitely something in the gestalt of the Grabbers that made it a delightfully enjoyable experience overall.

Rating:  3.5/5

Recommendation:   Watch it!  Good production value, good one liners, good cgi, and good acting help Grabbers to be a fun Friday night creature feature.  Although, there is enough swearing in it to make it not be family friendly.  But, if you are sitting down to watch a horror movie (of just about any variety), you probably shouldn't have your kids with you anyways.

Be sure to check back soon for more reviews in Halloween Movie Month!  In the meantime, leave comments on this (or any other) review, follow me here and on twitter (@GargyleReviews), and let me know what movies you'd like for me to review for Halloween Movie Month!



-The Gargyle