Ghastly Grandparents is a sad ploy at yet another so called scary movie for teens. Don’t waste your time.
Grandparents haven’t gotten this bad a rap since the Big Bad Wolf cross-dressed in an attempt to chow down on Little Red Riding Hood. Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan tries to mount yet another comeback and fans and critics alike hope the horror maestro comes to his (sixth) senses after flops such as The Happening and After Earth. There is reason for optimism.
Shyamalan is at his best when creepy-crawling his way through family dynamics. In The Visit, a mom sends her two kids to visit their grandparents. Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop-Pop (Peter McRobbie) look like the sweet, “spoil-the-kids-rotten” types, but when the kids are told to never leave their bedroom after 9:30 p.m., things get scary.
Nana acts like the girl from The Exorcist after the lights go out, while Pop-Pop may have some literal skeletons in the closet — and brandishes a shotgun like he expects the Hatfields and McCoys to show up. Justifiably, the kids want to end their vacation early, but Mom thinks they’re just homesick.
Bottom Line, Ghastly Grandparents is a real dud!