Home invasion films are a dime a dozen nowadays, with this year alone seeing the wide releases of The Strangers: Chapter One and Abigail. But surplus can often breed creativity, with filmmakers forced to seek innovative ways to make their films stand out from the pack. That’s just what Jason Krawczyk (He Never Died) does with Don’t Mess With Grandma, a gleefully violent comedy that has fun subverting various home invasion tropes.
While working for his company Trusted Trays, a meal delivery service that caters to the elderly, mild-mannered Jasper (Michael Jai White) also drives two hours outside of his hometown every night to do chores for his cantankerous grandmother Granna (Jackie Richardson). While fixing her bathroom sink one evening, Granna’s house falls victim to a home invasion by a ragtag group of bumbling thieves led by Stan (a nearly unrecognizable Billy Zane). Little do these masked burglars know that Jasper is a decorated marksman who will go to any lengths to protect his Granna, including working overtime to ensure that she never finds out the invasion is even happening.
Krawczyk, who also penned the screenplay, subverts expectations by eschewing the terror from the home invasion in favor of a gleefully violent comedy anchored by a very game White, who proves himself to be as good a comedian as he is a martial artist (though this should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen Black Dynamite). There is a distinct lack of suspense to the proceedings, as there is never any point where the burglars have the upper hand on the situation. This forces Krawczyk to put a heavier emphasis on comedy, which reduces the film to a(n albeit humorous) series of gags. There is a slight mystery as to why the burglars specifically targeted Granna, but it’s just that: slight.
This means that the success of the film relies solely on its effectiveness as a comedy, and Grandma earns solid marks in that department. It is at its funniest during Jasper’s dialogue-driven interactions with Stan’s crew, who shoot out as many social niceties as they do bullets. There hasn’t been a group of criminals this incompetent since the Wet Bandits in Home Alone, and the film gets a lot of mileage out of their misguided attempts to enter Granna’s house (a running gag involving Jasper throwing them out of doors and windows never gets old). Given the Billy Zane of it all, it’s surprising that Krawczyk gives each member of his crew their own moment to shine. This unfortunately means that focus is pulled from Zane in favor of the ensemble, but Zane, who spends most of the movie with several rolls of toilet paper strapped to his mauled ass cheek, is just as effective a comedian as White.
It is White who carries the film, though, and watching Grandma reminds one of not only how talented he is, but also how Hollywood has underutilized him for years. Krawczyk’s screenplay sometimes fails the actor, with Jasper frequently talking to himself for the sole reason of spelling things out to the audience, but White is so charming he is able to overcome the occasionally stilted dialogue. This is to say nothing of Rufus, Granna’s dog who is initially aggressive towards Jasper, but slowly comes to embrace him as the night goes on, aiding him in his takedowns of the robbers. It’s this relationship, rather than the one between Jasper and Granna, that unexpectedly forms the heart of the film.
Don’t Mess With Grandma is another solid product from the consistently surprising Tubi, a streamer that is really starting to corner the market in better-than-you’d-expect low budget genre fare. Leaning into heartfelt sincerity, hilariously awkward confrontations and plenty of violence, Krawczyk has crafted an enjoyable crowd-pleaser that’s sure to earn plenty of laughs.
Don’t Mess With Grandma premiered at Fantastic Fest and will debut exclusively on Tubi. No release date has been set.
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