Film Exposure

Home invasion movies are a dime a dozen, but not many star Micheal Jai White… in a comedy. Granted, the action star is no stranger to comedies, but this particular combination of genres is not something we’d necessarily expect him to headline. Forever associated with bone-crushing movies such as Undisputed 2 or Blood and Bone, the action DTV regular flexes his acting muscles under the unique direction of Jason Krawczyk, a much too rare filmmaker whose previous feature film He Never Died made quite the impression back in 2015. He finally returns with Don’t Mess With Grandma (or Sunset Superman outside the US), a surprising exercise in subverting expectations within the confines of low-budget filmmaking.

Every time JT visits his grandmother, he has to drive a few hours, which is inconvenient. Tasked with fixing the leaky sink of her isolated country house, he also soon finds himself fending off mysterious but largely unprofessional home invaders as quietly as possible: his grandma must not realize what is happening!

The unusual mix of comedy and action leans heavily on the shoulders of the film’s leading man Michael Jai White, who after bringing a character such as Black Dynamite to the world, should have nothing left to prove in the genre. It is little surprise then that he absolutely slays here as an unwilling defender of his grandmother’s house against what appears to be a bunch of scheming, clumsy, but still potentially dangerous hillbillies. The bad guys’ motivations will remain unclear for most of the runtime and that’s fine: the point is to deliver a good few laughs and to sneak in a couple of smart surprises along the way.

The limited budget obviously does not allow for expansive fight scenes. The filmmaker therefore makes the clever choice of keeping the best for last, delivering a very fun climatic one-vs-many brawl. All the action that precedes is decidedly less impressive and sometimes filmed to simplify stunts, but it’s a small price to pay and the film retains its momentum thanks to Michael Jai White’s energy. Humour remains an important part of the action design, often playing a key role in the way the protagonist dispatches some of his enemies.

Outside of the action, the humour is also omnipresent, and sometimes relies on very smart blocking and shot composition. For instance, a character who is injured in the buttocks stands for a while in the background as his friend tries to help him by attaching rolls of kitchen paper to his wounds, all the while other characters continue to have a conversation in the foreground. Later, the director switches things around as two characters struggle to load a dead body in a pick-up truck in the foreground, while we can see others talking further away.

This style of comedy goes a long way to humanize all the players quickly and efficiently, portraying both sides as highly fallible, sometimes frankly incompetent people who must bite the bullet and soldier on. At the heart of Krawczyk’s project is the desire to play against some of the tropes through which cinephiles have come to recognize the home invasion genre. Michael Jai White’s protagonist is combat-proficient but never willing to fight, only using violence as a last resort, and if the “grandma-can’t-find-out” gimmick allows for solid comedy moments, it’s in the relationships between characters that the script creates the most memorable surprises, especially when it comes to the interactions between JT and the home invaders.

The script thus explores a pretty wide spectrum of emotional possibilities, going from the horror slapstick (the hilarious bathroom scene) to the thriller pastiche (“chicken corn chowder” dinner and rummy with Karl), to the heartfelt moments when characters find each other on a meaningful level despite the preceding mayhem. Two characters fall off a balcony after an intense fight and start talking like old friends reaching the end of a quarrel, only for the film to carry on with a discussion on the proper use of “defenestration”.

Krawczyk’s latest is also a film about how we define home, what it means to have one, and what it might cost to protect it. Just like he managed to strike the right balance between deadpan humour and darker moments in He Never Died, the director switches back and forth between outrageous situations and intimate moments here, taking the audience on a bit of a tonal ride. The obliviousness of the grandma is perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the film, which suggests that JT isn’t afraid his grandma fears the home invaders themselves, but rather that she might be terrified of change. Yet change is inevitable, as is illustrated by the evolving relationship between JT and his grandma’s dog Rufus.

Don’t Mess with Grandma is a refreshing take on the home invasion genre, a smart little film that delivers comedy and action while allowing Michael Jai White to show off his range. Its logistical limitations become too obvious at times, but Jason Krawczyk’s talent for exploring unusual territories in the genres he works with should keep cinephiles engaged throughout.

Don’t Mess with Grandma is part of the Fantastic Fest 2024 program. Thanks to Katisha Shaw for making this review possible.

Don’t Mess with Grandma – No European release date yet
Directed by Jason Krawczyk
With Michael Jai White, Billy Zane, Miles Farber