Grotesque (1988)

"Society won't accept ugliness." - Rod

A family is terrorized by a gang of punks, but this family has a terrible secret!
Starring: Linda Blair, Tab Hunter, Brad Wilson, Guy Stockwell

Link to IMDB

Lisa and Kathy

Lisa Kruger and her friend Kathy are driving out to the country for the weekend to spend time with Lisa's parents at their cottage in the mountains. It's usually a peaceful little community, but the girls encounter a van full of rowdy punks on the highway that almost ruin their day.
Lisa's dad is a famous special-effects master for Hollywood, and these punks are planning to break into the Kruger house with the hopes of finding a stash of money that the dad is rumoured to have.
When the Kruger family have settled in for the night, the hoodlums launch their attack! These bad guys waste no time, as they begin torturing the family for information on where the secret stash is hidden.



Things get bloody intense, and the mom and dad are quickly murdered when they refuse to help their captors. Lisa and Kathy hide in the house, while the punks tear the place apart looking for cash and jewels. Well, it turns out that the secret stash is not a something it's a someone! This person is mysteriously connected to the Kruger family, and also very displeased about unwanted house guests!

Lisa escapes into the frozen forest with the punks on her trail, and in pursuit of them is the mystery man that plans to kill the interlopers with his bare hands! We are only 35 minutes in, but it feels like the movie is building to its climax... Everything is about to change.

The next day, Lisa's uncle Rod arrives at the grisly scene and contacts the police. A search party is formed to find Lisa, but Rod is keeping the family secrets to himself. The movie now becomes a police procedural, and then evolves into a tragic revenge drama when Rod realizes that he's the only one that can save what's left of his family.

Uncle Rod

Was this movie made by aliens!?
Although it's never truly outstanding, it earns a lot of points for surprising me and drastically switching tone more than once. That is impressive.
I also had some good laughs at almost every aspect, especially the wobbly script and odd editing choices, but somehow it fits perfectly with the unusual structure. Yes, it is an awful mess, but the good type of awful that's loaded with ambition. The unforeseeable shifts in atmosphere and storytelling kept me hooked even through the mundane parts.
It's a perplexing mix of styles, but Grotesque somehow becomes much more fascinating than it has any right to be.



Be sure not to miss:
- I'm not sure how I feel about the final two minutes. You'll know what I mean when you see it.
- Robert Z'Dar is one of the punks!
- Lisa's dad has some masks from Halloween 3 in his collection. (the skull and jack o' lantern)
- Fuck yeah, Burger King!

Internet review:
"This is schizophrenic storytelling at its best." - Ritualistic Brown

Should I watch it?
Yes, just be in the mood for anything.

Where can I find it?
The vidzi link here, or on YouTube with annoying subtitles.

Grotesque gets... ( just barely )