Review of The Grandmother (1970) by Kenneth S — 20 Jan 2009

I must admit that I was utterly terrified the first time I watched this film. I had a similar reaction eleven years before when I was ten years old and watched THE EXORCIST the first time. Well, I have since watched THE GRANDMOTHER many additional times, and I absolutely love it. Even more, I actually understand it! Once you give in to the world David Lynch is presenting you, you are able to understand the film. It's a world where people are born like plants. The film begins with a mother and a father coming up out of the ground. They partake in a form of strange love-making and a son rises out of the ground. The parents treat the son very poorly, especially when the son wets the bed. The boy finds a bag of seeds in the attic, and he brings in a pile of dirt and pours it on the bed in the attic. He plants the seed in the dirt on the bed and begins to water it and watch it grow. It grows into a tree which gives birth to an old lady - The Grandmother. She turns into the boy's guardian angel, so to speak. So, in a way, the film is kind of sweet and sad. As I said before, once you give in, you appreciate the story for what it is.

Long-time Lynchian actor Jack Nance once said about THE GRANDMOTHER, "It's like sitting in an electric chair for half an hour." I say, "You may be a little too much of a David Lynch fan when you can watch THE GRANDMOTHER and make perfect sense out of it!".