Reviews: Grandpa's Psycho

Grandpa is nuts. Read all about him right here. 

Grandpa's Psycho is an odd little film. The plot is biblically inspired, bringing to new light the classic tales of individuals who have taken it upon themselves to do the work of God. In Grandpa's Psycho, Grandpa Murry (Gunther Grambo) sees himself as an instrument of God, and he devotes his existence to cleansing the world of sin, one lost soul at a time. 

Hi sweetie!
Want a ride in Uncle Fredo's boat?

In many ways he sees himself as a modern day Benaiah, or the muscle/ punisher of God. Unfortunately, the execution leaves plenty to be desired. The dialogue is very frank, as characters interact with short ping pongy conversations that often end with long awkward moments of silence.  These scenes were most likely meant to give the audience a reflective moment to absorb the attempted conveyed emotions, but it doesn't have the intended impact in this film. It fails to achieve the depth that gives well written scripts their cohesive flow, and it feels needlessly dragged out as repetitive questions and unemotional content do little to advance any type of character development. 

Another shortcoming is the lighting. There are a handful of scenes that are under lit. While the use of shadows and silhouettes are often used in film to great effect, it isn’t properly achieved in Grandpa's Psycho. It looks as if was attempted, but drastically comes up short. There are some scenes that play out in near darkness. It’s an obvious lack in skill and technique, resulting in several blackouts. The lack in execution, along with the poor writing make the film an uphill climb. Its biggest mistake is the title - Grandpa's Psycho. Before the film even begins, the title makes the audience’s mind up for them. This sadly doesn't allow the viewers a subjective experience. The title is a subconscious manipulation that tells the audience what to think. It takes away from the attempted suspense, and robs itself an allure of mystery. A more reflective title would have at least inspired a conflicted spark of interest, or allowed viewers the opportunity to come up with their own conclusion. Instead LeGare presents an eye catching bait title that sounds edgy and cool. 

The end result is like building a boat and immediately drilling a hole in it. It’s a shame considering films and television shows that reinterpret religion and portray it in a new light are fast becoming a popular theme. With current shows like Lucifer, Hand Of God, and the upcoming AMC series Preacher generating a lot of buzz, the timing for this release couldn’t have been better, but it unfortunately fails on too many levels. 


Change grandpa's diaper. Share this review, ya sicko!


Score

Lee L. Lind