Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
This October I decided to watch and review some of those great horror movies (31 to be exact) that I missed on their initial release. And for Part 4 of my series of the 31 OF THE BEST HORROR MOVIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED we will be sharing a drink or two (or three) with monster flick Grabbers. Let’s get to it:
Day 4 of 31: Grabbers (2012)
Director: Jon Wright
Starring: Killian Coyle, Stuart Graham, Michael Hough, Ruth Bradley
IMDb Trivia: While writer Kevin Lehane was backpacking across the world and being bit by mosquitoes, he heard the urban legend that eating Marmite (a vitamin B rich yeast spread) prevents mosquito bites. Hearing that, he wondered whether mosquitoes also got hungover from drunk people’s blood. The thought stayed with him until he returned home and wrote the script for Grabbers based on the premise, “Get drunk to survive.”
Plot: When an island off the coast of Ireland is invaded by bloodsucking tentacled aliens, the heroes discover that getting drunk is the only way to survive.
Review: If you’re a fan of weird alien invasion horror movies like The Blob or Slither, boy have I got the movie for you!
Grabbers is one of those flicks that takes a ridiculous idea and delivers horror comedy gold in the process. This Irish tale of survival takes inspiration from films like Aliens and Tremors where a small town has to fend off an invasion of creatures that look like Starro from The Suicide Squad movie had angry sex with a Facehugger. Throw in the only way to survive is by being drunk off your behind, and you have yourself something truly entertaining.
Some of the actors here will be recognisable to those who watch a lot of British or Irish shows, such as Russell Tovey (Being Human) and Richard Coyle (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina). And they all seem to be having a ton of fun with their roles, especially lead actress Ruth Bradley who after a night of real-life drinking with the director discovered many quirks about her drunken self that she happily applied to her character.
The special effects are pretty good for a movie such as this one, and the plot made me think of James Gunn’s Slither. And while I don’t think Grabbers is as well-paced as Slither was, it’s the kind of movie that’s perfect for watching during October or even as an addition to an alien invasion marathon with a group of drunken friends.
So if these types of movies are your idea of a perfect night of horror and you’ve never seen this UK-Irish ode to horror comedy get good and sloshed and give Grabbers a go.
Sommer’s Score: 6.5 out of 10
And you can check out Part 3 of my 31 Days list Sightseers below as well as my Top 5 Body Horror Movies:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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