Grindstone Road (2008)

Director:

Melanie Orr

Writer:

Paul Germann (writer)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

There goes the neighborhood

Plot:

Cast

Fairuza Balk	...	Hannah
Greg Bryk	...	Graham
Joan Gregson	...	Linda
Walter Learning	...	Ted
Dylan Authors	...	Daniel Jenkins
Matt Gordon	...	Martin
Zachary Bennett	...	John Dodson
Felix Pennell	...	Danny Sloan
Kyla McMahon	...	Young Hannah
Sean Jordan	...	Parking Lot Attendant
Andrea Davis	...	Overworked Nurse

Also Known As:

Grindstone Rd. (Canada: English title) (DVD title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Red Duck Films

Not good or bad...it just is

Grindstone Road is one of those forgettable but not altogether bad ghost story flicks that are about a dime a dozen. I say "ghost story" instead of "horror" because I don't think there's anything anyone would find even remotely scary going on here, but it still manages to worm it's way into what most people would consider a horror flick. Hey...if you can pass off The Messengers as a horror flick then the sky's wide open.

The movie starts with our protagonist Hannah (Balk) having a flashback to a car accident that left her son in a coma. Now you might be tempted to think the accident is why Balk looks so awkward throughout the rest of the film, but then you remember that she's always looked that way. I swear, it looks like someone slammed a tennis ball into her mouth and she just left it there. It's really borderline distracting. Ugh. Oh...and a side note...when going to visit your vegetable son in the hospital it's probably bad form to wear high-heeled hooker boots. Kinda makes it look like you're not really that interested. Just a thought. Anyway...moving on.

After becoming painfully aware of the movie's subplot (the accident and ensuing drama) via way too many flashback sequences, we see Balk and her husband move out to the country to start over...which seems weird because their kid isn't really dead, he's just comatose. Way to be great parents. Long story short the new house plays tricks on Hannah's mind (but only her...how predictable) and her husband starts to think she's nuts until all is made clear in an ending so anti-climactic and out of left field you'll wonder what the hell the last hour and twenty minutes were about. I mean, it all ties together and you saw it coming, but it still seems pretty lame and off topic.

The cast isn't bad and the director does a good job of making the house as creepy as possible, but the movie just never really gets to where it wants to go. Or maybe it does and I just didn't care. Either way I'd say this is a fair bet if you've got nothing better to do/watch. Might not be a bad way to waste a Sunday afternoon. Then again, that can be said for a whole lot of movies that aren't very good.