The director of Scream and The Hill Has Eyes, Wes Craven was one of the horror directors of the 70’s and 90’s that led to a lack of filming and also… working for Disney, the family firm!
Sam Donahue (Pat Hingley, Commissioner Gordon in Tim Burton’s and Schumacher’s Batmans) is a retired cop who keeps his neighborhood safe. He is visited by his grandchildren, Jamie and Allie, who also plan to patrol the neighborhood. During a seemingly innocuous investigation, Jamie and Ali stumble upon a case of counterfeit money.
Jamie, Ali and their new friend Ski
After the release of Les Griffes de la nuit in France in 1985, Wes Craven directed the television horror film Cold Terror, Episodes of the Fifth Dimension and the horror film L’Amie Mortale for television. Between the two, he signs this weirdo Casebusters (Super Grandpa in French). It is a 46-minute medium-length film from Disney’s Wonderful World series.
Pat Hingley
Aside from a brief car chase in the middle and two car stunts at the end, the episode routinely unfolds with a penniless grandpa who’s not really cut out for work, a trio of kids in “Club 5” mode. and a trio of unscrupulous counterfeiters. Both form and content suggest that we’ve just seen the pilot for the upcoming TV series, but that’s not the case, as this movie never got a sequel.
Beneath the “family-friendly” steamroller that made the Disney studio famous, there’s nothing left here to remember Wes Craven’s gory and gruesome style, except perhaps for a sequence of visits to an abandoned house that can be (distantly) recalled. Common topics for a filmmaker. Casebusters is for completists only.
It is currently available on Disney+.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
