Grabbers - Review

Too many movies in the horror genre devolve into lesser clones of those that came before using tired premises and overused villains. That’s why it’s refreshing to see a movie with an original concept executed in a fun and entertaining way. That movie is Grabbers, an Irish monster flick about bloodsucking alien squid that land off the coast of Erin Island and descend upon the small fishing village. In their way are Garda (Irish police) O' Shea; an alcoholic, Garda Nolan; a busy body on temporary assignment to the island, Dr. Adam Smith; a geeky British scientist and Paddy Barrett; a drunken fisherman.

The grabbers are a mix of CGI and practical effects but mostly CGI. They look pretty good though and it never takes you out of the film. They feed on their victims through a pointed tongue which shoots out like a frog grabbing their victims (hence the name) draining their blood. A grabber only needs two things to survive, water and blood, meaning the only time they can attack the island is when it’s raining and there happens to be a storm heading right toward Eden Island. Another of the grabbers’ weaknesses is none other than booze which basically means the Irish are the grabbers’ kryptonite. Once this is discovered it sets up the second half of the movie as O'Shea and Nolan struggle to keep everyone in town nice and hammered.

The humor in this movie is fantastic and is mainly brought on by the crazy situations into which the characters are put. Like in most alien movies they have to try and keep everyone alive and kill the monster, however a level of difficulty is added when they have to do all of this completely smashed and with almost no weapons besides a squirt gun flamethrower, which doesn’t work out well. People are falling down stairs, getting into fights, and walking right up to the monsters as O'Shea, the only sober one, tries to keep everyone safe.

Overall Grabbers is an extremely entertaining and well executed entry in the horror comedy genre. It features likable characters which help with its sense of humor which is never overbearing. The grabbers themselves could not be a more perfect monster to have in a horror comedy because they force their prey to get drunk creating comedy in a horrific situation. I highly recommend Grabbers to anyone looking for a lot of laughs and a solid monster movie.

Score: 4/5