A nightmare-inducing horror keeps it in the family by seizing the #1 spot on streaming

We are but 24 hours away from the spookiest date on the calendar, and fans of all things frightening have responded in kind by checking out as many horror movies as humanly possible on every notable streaming service. While that’s a completely expected development, Spanish-language nightmare The Grandmother reaching the summit of a major platform has come right out of left field.

As per FlixPatrol, REC co-creator Paco Plaza’s unassuming chiller has become the number one most-watched feature on HBO Max’s global charts, and it’s placed a stranglehold on the top spot in an impressive 20 countries around the world. Initially released to very little fanfare earlier this year, the timing couldn’t be more perfect for the haunting hybrid of family drama and supernatural terror to return to prominence.

Almudena Amor’s Susana is a Paris-based model who returns home to Madrid to take care of her grandmother after she suffers from a stroke. Once there, though, it becomes clear that there’s something a great deal more sinister going on than simply an old woman having suffered a serious medical issue, with hallucinations and visions leading our hero to believe that there may actually be a malevolently otherworldly force at play.

The Grandmother favors atmosphere and nail-biting tension as opposed to buckets of blood and jump scares, and the end result is a hugely rewarding (if occasionally very uncomfortable) experience that’s going to make you a little less willing to spend more time with your family by the time the third act piles revelation on top of revelation.