Directed by Les Mahoney
The only thing more troubling than the prospect of an elderly person getting taken for a ride by a swindler is when said elderly person knows when the jig is up, and doesn’t even bat an eye to correct the situation. Trust me when I tell ya, sit through At Granny’s House one stinkin’ time and see if you don’t agree with me – this one will have you scratching your skulls for sure.
The plot centers around sweet little old bitty Marion (Brown) and her rapidly declining life skills (or so her son thinks) – she’s been getting a little forgetful and at times is a bit unsteady on her feet, so he calls for a little assistance, and it comes in the stunning form of caretaker Rebecca (Alig). Marion is initially a bit put off by the yell for aid, but slowly starts to come around after some time, and really gets hooked in when Rebecca proposes that Marion uses her amply spaced residence as a bed and breakfast, directly connected to a travel site online. Well, Marion’s obviously been sippin’ on the spiked prune juice, because she not only agrees to the proposal, she doesn’t even notice the bodies that begin to pile up after they’ve checked in for a respite…talk about oblivious!
Seems to be that sweet, wholesome healthcare aide Rebecca has some rather violent tendencies towards tourists and people who want turndown service – sad thing is, the motive is really never breached even remotely. What’s even more troubling about this twisted little tale is when Marion finally catches on to Rebecca’s doings, she keeps her yap-trap locked tight and allows the murderous actions to keep on keepin’ on! I guess there’s a lot to be said for allegiance to your keeper, but in the overall scheme of things, this maladjustment only added to the frustration I felt when checking this one out. The only shining spot in this confusing clutter was the performance of Bill Oberst Jr as a police detective who stops by to ask more than a few investigative queries – as good as he was, his screen time was far too short, and after that point I was ready to tune the hell out. Alig is fun to watch when she’s playing the duplicitous damsel, especially when she uses her bright eyes to reel in a potential victim, and the double-duty of actor/director Les Mahoney was a nice touch, but this particular trip to Grandma’s rest-stop needed far too many answers that just weren’t given, and that’s why I’ll be staying at a 4-star hotel next go-round (can’t afford a 5-star on my salary, that’s for sure).