Review by: Monkey Fist
SCUM Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
It’s been a while since I got really excited over a creature feature and I was indeed glad to have come across this gem whilst I was shopping at Amazon UK! This film is pretty much in the same vein as the 1990 classic Tremors (Starring Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward). Both films have a great blend of horror and comedy and they do not come across as pretentious. Come to think of it, the title “Grabbers” seems to be taking a direct reference from the term “Grabboids” in the movie Tremors. For an Irish film with a limited budget, the movie boasts an impressive mix of both CGI and actual special effects make-up to showcase the creature. In retrospect, the beastie does resemble a starfish with a ton of tentacles (hence the title I guess) and a nasty set of fangs smacked in the centre! On the whole, the effects look slick and polished. Although the screenplay shamelessly exploits all the typical clichés and stereotypes that are linked to the Irish people and their culture, the self-parody still works amazingly well.
The film actually takes place on one of Ireland’s islands – the ‘Erin Island’. Garda (Irish term for Police Officers) Ciarán O’Shea (Richard Coyle) and his colleague keep the law and order on the island. When his colleague goes on a holiday, rookie Garda Lisa Nolan (Ruth Bradley) is sent from the mainland to replace him for two weeks.
The only problem is her arrival coincides with an asteroid that has crashed off the coast of the island. The meteor contains a semi aquatic alien life-form. This strange beast then goes on an offensive (the feeding frenzy starts within 10 minutes of the film!) and proceeds to snack on all the locals – drinking their blood. The small local police contingent of O’ Shea and the rookie Nolan soon discover the creature’s hideout and figure that the monster needs rain to move around on land. The only problem is, with an upcoming bad storm that will completely isolate them and the locals on the island, the outlook is not ideal; but somehow they discover a somewhat unorthodox way of protecting themselves and everyone against the creature – alcohol. Lots of it!! Overall, this is a very good and effective movie. It has good pace and it’s entertaining with lots of laughs and wit thrown in. If you’ve enjoyed Tremors, you will like this.
