Released: October 13, 2017
Director: McG
Screenplay: Brian Duffield
Tagline: "Dream girls can be a nightmare"
Cast:
Judah Lewis as Cole
Samara Weaving as Bee
Robbie Amell as Max
Hana Mae Lee as Sonya
Bella Thorne as Allison
Andrew Bachelor as John
Emily Alyn Lind as Melanie
When 12-year old Cole stays up past his bedtime as part of a dare to spy on his hot babysitter, he discovers that she is the leader of a Satanic cult of teenagers that will stop at nothing to keep him quiet about their murderous activities in his living room. The Babysitter joins a growing list of impressive horror comedies that have graced our screens, big and small, in the last few years. Others include Cooties, The Final Girls, and What We Do in the Shadows, among a few others. These films are all quality, they're all entertaining, and they all know how to make a send-up of the genre that's filled with just as much love as it is humor.
The Babysitter is gory, it's funny as all hell, and it is also surprisingly touching. It's a silly story with a crazy plot, but somehow it all works, and I think a big part of that is that this film allows time for sentimentality to coexist in the story alongside the nonsense and the slicing and dicing. Cole and Bee have such a sweet, endearing friendship. It's genuine, even with all of Bee's Satanic tendencies and her willingness to do awful things in order to keep hr cult's secrets. It's this friendship that makes the movie sing, and gives it that John Hughes-esque touch mentioned earlier.
Samara Weaving, aka Bee, is the standout for sure. She has great range and can switch Bee from tender to insane just by shifting her eyes. It's great stuff. Given her position as the film's ultimate baddie, you feel that you should hate her, but just like Cole, you can't quite bring yourself to despise her or want to see her dead. And she's working with a great cast. Robbie Amell is surprisingly funny, and Andrew Bachelor has equally great comedic timing. He delivers these one-liners that will have you rolling. And Judah Lewis rocks it as Cole, the heart of the movie and excellent stand-in for all of us when we were in that phase where we wanted to grow up but just didn't quite know how to do without sacrificing our identities. Good on you, kid.
The Babysitter is a pleasant surprise and definitely worth your time. My podcast co-host Miss Mel and I gave it a view on a whim as part of our Boos and Booze segment (you can listen to that episode on iTunes and SoundCloud soon) and expected to be completely underwhelmed, but just ended up laughing, cheering, and noting how clever the movie was throughout the runtime. So, sober or otherwise, stay up past your bedtime and give this one a watch.
The Babysitter
5-Totally Terrifying
4-Crazy Creepy
3-Fairly Frightening
2-Slightly Scary
1-Hardly Horror
No comments:
Post a Comment