Written by: Ryan Dailey
Grimcutty, despite the fact that, at times, it looks and plays out like the straight to streaming horror movie that it is,like an onion, has a delightful amount of layers to it. And much like when chopping said onion, one must put up with the stink to enjoy the end result.
The film is actually a fair representation of how youth is obsessed with their devices and parents forcing them into the exile that leads to the over use of social media and the dopamine addiction to having likes and followers. While Grimcutty does push this message of youth being addicted to social media clout and having an unhealthy dependence on their phones and laptops, the film is not shy about exploring the flip side of that coin even more so.
While the titular monster is a delightful amalgamation of popular Internet Creepypastas, such as Slenderman and Momo, the real “villains” are the parents. The idea behind the film is good enough, but is executed poorly.
Parents Leah (Shannyn Sossamon) and her husband, Amir (Usman Ally) decide to limit the use of their son, Kamran (Callan Farris)and his sister, Asha’s (Sara Wolfkind) electronic devices. The local parents follow the advice of a parenting blog, locking all Internet-enabled inside of a “detox box.”
This is where the movie becomes even more predictable. The teens now need to sneak around, looking for the WI-FI connection they need to, ironically enough, battle the terror born from the Internet.
From this point forward, the movie becomes typical cookie cutter popcorn fodder.The monster chases the children, the parents do not believe said children about afore-mentioned monster, a bit of back story is revealed, repeat.
Grimcutty is an idea that looks good on paper, but when it is dumbed-down and forced into the film industry mold, it becomes drab and a bit of a chore to watch.
Grimcutty, essentially, is an episode of Goosebumps, sprinkled with a few expletives and mild gore. This is a detriment to hardcore horror fans, but it does make the film a decent introduction for a preteen to get started on their horror movie journey.
Grimcutty is currently streaming on Hulu.