Rabid Grannies
It is an annual family tradition approached with dismay and disdain, the gathering of the twisted branches of the poorly trimmed Remington family tree for the joint birthday celebration of sisters Victoria and Elizabeth, spinsters elderly and, most importantly, wealthy, their various nieces and nephews obliged to attend and feign affection in hopes that it will be they who is favoured upon the occasion of the inevitable demise of their hated aunts and the subsequent reading of the will.
Percival having entered the priesthood, he alone does not desire the fortune directly but has been instructed to ensure that the coffers of the church benefit, while playboy Roger has already squandered his mother’s estate, Fred has just acquired a youthful second wife, Helen is disappointed in the lack of success of her businessman husband and publisher Erika’s lesbian dalliances have left her in the grey, only arms dealer Harvey seemingly doing well, but the undoubted black sheep of the family remains Charles, the uninvited Satanist…
The contribution to world cinema by the Flemish region of Belgium is perhaps not the most widely recognised or influential, and within that the presence of horror is likely less significant still, meaning that writer and director Emmanuel Keryn stands out for having succeeded in attaining wide distribution via Troma for his 1988 splatter comedy Rabid Grannies (Les mémés cannibals), shot in Ingelmunster Castle in West Flanders with the actors reading their lines in hesitant English to increase international appeal.
More correctly translated as Cannibal Grannies, either descriptor is correct, though the title is misleading in that neither Elizabeth nor Victoria (Danielle Daven and Anne-Marie Fox) are actually grandparents, the assembly composed solely of nieces and nephews and their offspring and disposable domestic staff, but more importantly nor does the film live up to the outrageous promise of the title despite the copious though intermittent gore unleashed in the second half of the film.
The opening scenes recounting the travels of the family members to their destination while the kitchen staff make preparation for their arrival and the subsequent family dinner of lobster and bickering finally interrupted by the delivery of Charles’ unexpectedly disruptive gift, while the backstories of each are different they are all essentially played with the same personalities, selfish, spineless, ruthless and money-grabbing even before the box is opened and the curse falls upon the chateau.
Continuity maintained by the persistence of the jaunty neo-classical soundtrack through the radical change in style as dinner terminates, adding class to even the most ghastly of proceedings as etiquette is abandoned, Rabid Grannies is uneven, the dismemberments punctuating the ongoing squabbles rather than signalling an overall change of tone, but in the ensuing crisis the characters continue to be exactly who they were expected to be, each of them given the chance to disappoint one last time before they die.
Rabid Grannies is available on Shudder now
