Watch The Babysitter on Netflix
Written by: Brian Duffield (screenplay)
Directed by: McG
Starring: Bella Thorne, Samara Weaving, Leslie Bibb, Robbie Amell
Rated: TV-MA
Plot
In this horror-comedy, a boy infatuated with his babysitter discovers she's part of a satanic cult that wants to kill him.
Verdict
This is an over the top zany adventure, mixing Home Alone with Scream. While I hoped it would develop the sub-plot of a boy learning life lessons as he escapes from crazies, this goes for excess instead. It doesn't deconstruct horror movie tropes, but it does laugh at them. That is its goal, but it had potential for depth instead of remaining shallow. The Babysitter holds no real surprises, completing exactly what it set up.
Skip it.
Review
This starts with a oft used premise of nerdy kid Cole getting bullied. His savior is his baby sitter, Bee. Cole is twelve and he's getting to that age where he doesn't see Bee as just a baby sitter. She's portrayed as incredibly cool. She drives a classic Ford Bronco, loves sci fi, and is attractive.
It's easy to see where this is going, but I thought it might try to juxtapose a child becoming a teen and developing feelings for someone out of his reach within the horror movie. This could have been more than just a slasher.
The Babysitter is always over the top and in your face. While it had been overtly sexual to a point, when Cole stays up late to see what happens when he's asleep it goes very sensual in a PG-13 way. Cole gets to see a gratuitous kiss followed by comical gore. It just so happens that Cole's baby sitter is part of a cult. Cole must survive these teen tormentors or become a sacrifice. There is very little explanation about the cult, but that's just an excuse for the plot anyway.
He's quickly captured, tricking his captors into talking about their plans as he cuts at his bonds with a knife. The teens point out they can see what he's doing as there's a mirror behind him. They tease him as he continues to break free. This seems like it wants to deconstruct horror tropes but it can be hit or miss. I don't know what this is trying to be as it goes from clever jokes to blatantly defying physics in the same scene. A gunshot to the heart doesn't kill, but it will send you flying back ten feet.
This has a music video vibe to a degree which reflects McG's background, and I was surprised at the high amount of licensed music.
Text frequently would fill the screen as an extension of Cole's feelings, but at one point the text "Pocket Knife" flashes on the screen over an image of a pocket knife. It didn't add anything like some of the previous quips did.
This isn't a bad movie, but it doesn't live up to its potential. I would love to see this with Cole stating a fact adults know, but a kid doesn't necessarily realize, discovering life lessons throughout his ordeal. It could be him muttering to himself, or better utilizing the text on screen with it flashing "Life Lesson #10" on the screen as a parallel to the adventure. Even in Home Alone Kevin came to a few realization about being an adult. That feels like it should be the backbone to this movie, but maybe I just wanted too much. With a few tweaks I could see this being a classic. I'd love for Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost to work on this concept. Shaun of the Dead did a great job of blending over the top with a little bit of introspection.
This genre of mocking horror movies doesn't have a lot of entries, and what we have is pretty solid. Even Netflix's other horror spoof Little Evil felt more focused and had some nice character twists. Read my review. The Babysitter isn't trying to deconstruct horror tropes, instead making fun of them.
Cole's plan to defeat his foes coincides with accidentally impressing a girl his own age, but that's not really the point. While it brings a girl introduced in the beginning full circle, it's an idea that's not fully developed. The movie brings a lot of plot points back like Cole's fear of needles or his driving lessons, but it just felt perfunctory. It was completely transparent that the movie is congratulating itself for the call back. I wanted a big reveal or some kind of metaphor about how Cole no longer needs a baby sitter, but we don't get that. While he states he doesn't need a baby sitter at the end, the scene just didn't have the impact it should have. It's a big finale, certainly, and while this exploits a few tropes, it doesn't take that far enough.
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