The Restoration at Grayson Manor delivers camp and a wickedly toxic mother-and-son dynamic.

Sometimes you come across a film with the recipe for sheer chaotic success, but it gets distracted by juggling its various threads and loses the glorious spark that captivated the audience at the start. The Restoration at Grayson Manor falls into this category, but does find a way to right itself in the end. Directed by Glenn McQuaid, who co-wrote the screenplay with Clay McLeod Chapman, what starts as a story of eternal strife between mother and son explodes into a conspiratorial concoction of mad science, amphibian bodily fluids, and death.

The opening of The Restoration at Grayson Manor quickly establishes the fraught relationship between Boyd Grayson (Chris Colfer) and his mother, Jacqueline (Alice Krige). After bringing home a lovely male friend for some “dress up,” Boyd and Jacqueline verbally lash out, and much of the conversation reveals their grievances with one another. Though the setup drags on longer than necessary, the dialogue is important for setting the baseline before tragedy strikes the family in a freak mirror accident that leaves Boyd handless.

Jacqueline uses this mishap to bring Boyd to heel and, more disturbingly, tries to render an heir out of him by any means necessary. In this case, that means bringing in a desperate scientist, Dr. Tannock (Daniel Adegboyega), his assistant Lee (Declan Reynolds), and physical therapist Claudia (Gabriela Garcia Vargas). As the three work to restore Boyd with new hands, the wheels of Jacqueline’s other schemes grind ever slower in the film’s meandering middle, with life only breathed in again once the third act kicks into high gear.

Alice Krige and Chris Colfer and terrific together.

Chris Colfer stars in The Restoration of Grayson Manor

The hateful relationship between mother and son is one of the major highlights of The Restoration at Grayson Manor, and arguably the glue that keeps the film from falling to the wayside. Alice Krige’s Jacqueline is equal parts catty and cold, full of venom, and waiting for a new victim to unleash on. The role itself is in no way a stretch for Krige, but she’s a delight to watch onscreen. Colfer’s Boyd struggles at times with coming across as one-note, but when met with someone who might actually care for Boyd, Colfer uses the opportunity to explore Boyd’s vulnerability and let the walls drop.

With such a dynamic pairing, adding the trio of medical professionals is almost distracting. Their individual trajectories seem designed to fill the time, but they end up slowing the pacing considerably in the middle, losing the momentum built from the high highs of the first act’s conclusion. While Lee’s and Dr. Tannock’s paths in the story are the most seamless, Claudia is the wild card whose vignettes feel disconnected (albeit beautifully orchestrated visually) from everything else going on. You never feel like you know her before she treads down a darker path of Jacqueline’s making.

The titular Grayson Manor is a character in its own right. The many portraits of ancestors line its walls, staring down at Boyd and Jacqueline in a perpetual reminder of continuing the family line. The lighting casts shadows that emphasize the gradual decay of this once great estate, and the literal bodies in the garden show that, try as they might, they can’t keep what they’ve been burying down for too long. And despite its size, the Manor is oppressive, trapping everyone who enters its doors within it.

The bottom line.

Alice Krige as Jacqueline covered in blood

Where The Restoration at Grayson Manor struggles in its second act, the third act completely resurrects itself and gives the film energy. The combination of practical and visual effects used to bring Boyd’s new hands to destructive life is impressive, while fully embracing the silliness of the scenario. A surprise death punctuates the film’s later twist before the hands set their sights on new victims. It becomes a guessing game of who will die next, bringing some murderous fun to the audience.

Overall, The Restoration at Grayson Manor is an unevenly paced viewing experience, with a solidly campy start and finish that shows what McQuaid envisioned when evoking soap opera-esque sensibilities. Even when the middle slows down to a crawl, the buildup towards what is to come is well worth the watch, even if some parts leave you scratching your head. If anything, though, watch for the purest demonstration of a toxic mother/son duo. These two are meant for each other in all the worst possible ways.

The Restoration at Grayson Manor is playing now in limited theaters. The film will be on VOD starting November 6, 2026, and then stream on Shudder (US & Canada) on December 1, 2026. Watch the trailer below.