My Grandpa is A Vampire

Stars: Al Lewis (TV's "The Munsters"), Justin Gocke. Grandpa Munster (Al Lewis) plays another Grandpa in this low-budget Australian quickie that fails as either a comedy or a family film. On vacation, 12-year-old Lonnie (Justin Gocke) visits his Grandpa Cooger in New Zealand just in time for Grandpa's death. For some unexplained reason, the boys become locked onto a Casio keyboard whose cheesy mock horror music causes Grandpa to rise from the dead. Since having a dead grandfather in public can be a cause for social embarrassment, the boys hide the old man in the shed. But eventually he's spotted, of course, and Lonnie's aunt's boyfriend decides to hunt Grandpa, stake in hand. All of the adults are portrayed as basic droolers (except Grandpa who just wants to play and never grow old), and the boys engage in activities that won't exactly endear them to parents of young watchers (stealing Holy Water from a church, lying while swearing an oath to God, and stealing gin for Grandpa). Even if we forgive them these trespasses, we can't overlook the fact that this is another cheapie-made-in- Australia-flick with little relevance to today's youngsters. Audience: Adults will surely pass on this "PG" horror comedy, and kids will likely be disappointed by the utter lack of action, special effects, and humor.