It’s a daft sounding premise, but Grabbers plays it straight, and by doing so, manages to turn a potentially silly idea into something rather wonderful. It’s not that it doesn’t have a sense of humour – it’s definitely a comedy horror, and it’s frequently hilarious – but the comedy doesn’t come at the expense of its characters, or of the film’s sense of realism. Comedy is only one aspect of the film, and it’s not even the most important one: above all, this is a love story. Erin Island is a small fishing community, the kind of sleepy small-town where everyone knows everyone else. The one outsider in the story is Lisa Nolan, a young Garda from the mainland who’s been drafted in to keep the peace while the head Garda goes on holiday for a fortnight. Lisa is enthusiastic, dedicated to her work to the point of being kind of uptight – and she’s a teetotaller. Her temporary partner, Garda Ciaran O’Shea, is older, grumpier, and an alcoholic. You can maybe see where this is going. When a storm rolls in, preventing any external help from reaching the island, the grabbers start attacking – so it’s down to Nolan and O’Shea to work through their differences and find a way to save the day. Their relationship is the heart of the film, and if it’s a little predictable, well, it’s so sweet it’s tough to argue with it. Ruth Bradley is fantastic as the strait-laced Nolan; her drunken scenes are almost painfully funny, and she quickly establishes an easy chemistry with Richard Coyle’s O’Shea that’s immediately believable. For his part, he’s convincingly world-weary, and pulls off an almost flawless Irish accent. And then, of course, there are the aliens – because this isn’t just a rom-com, it’s a monster movie. The grabbers are like nothing you’ve ever seen before. They’re part octopus, part lamprey, part facehugger, all Lovecraftian nightmare. It’s clear that a lot of care and attention has gone into designing and creating the grabbers – yes, they’re mostly CGI, but it doesn’t take long to forget that. They’re formidable beasts, and they’re made all the scarier by the fact that you actually find yourself caring about the characters. There really isn’t much wrong with this movie, and you can’t help but applaud writer Kevin Lehane and director Jon Wright. Okay, so maybe it’s not hugely ambitious, and maybe it won’t change your life – but then not every film has to. As a piece of entertainment, it’s just about faultless. It seems like a weird thing to say about a horror movie, but this is a film to cherish. We defy you not to fall at least a little bit in love with it. Grabbers screened at Frightfest 2012, is currently on general release at Frightfest, and will be released in the UK in December. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.