The Babysitter (2017) Review
Be careful what you wish for, just like having a babysitter. I never really had one while growing up, but I've heard funny stories from people who did while growing up. I remember a friend of mine who told me of one he had that almost had his younger brother initiated or something, crazy story. Which brings me to today's review of the movie The babysitter. It's the kind of movie where the title totally leaves you clueless from the whole concept of the movie. But just like we don't judge a book by its cover, I think we should also not judge a movie by the title.
The Babysitter is a horror-comedy movie released in 2017. It's the kind of movie you may like to have a look at when you feel like unwinding. It narrates the story of a boy, Cole, whose character is played by Judah Lewis. So Cole is this nerdy 12 year-old who is still looked after by a babysitter, Bee, who is played by Samara Weaving. Cole finds Bee to be this cool, beautiful and unusually charming unlike the typical depiction of Babysitters. And aside from that, this 12 year old actually has feelings for his supposed babysitter.
Things literally go into slow motion when he's around her. Bee is equally fond of Cole and they both get along pretty well. These two equally sweet characters are charming, which only serves to make the inevitable betrayal that much stronger. Then one faithful evening, when Cole parents are out on a vacation and leaves him under the care of his babysitter who thinks he's asleep, out of curiosity, he decides to stay up past his bedtime in order to spy on Bee. But what he ended up seeing with his two eyes was nothing like an an innocent teen party at all. Instead, he observes as Bee and her set of perfect-seeming friends, sacrifice someone to the devil in a brutal satanic ritual and then Lee wakes up.
From there, the film becomes a “Home Alone”-styled race for survival, with Cole the hunted, and Bee’s cultists the absurd, killer hunters. One of the greatest things about the movie is it strikes an amazing balance with its horror and comedy. Sure, there’s undoubtedly a lot of blood and violence (along with a fair amount of opportunistic killing, with quite some obvious special effects), but the irreverent sense of humor that threads through the film keeps it from ever taking the kind of deeply disturbing turn you might expect from a horror title of this nature.
The comedy comes from the ridiculousness of it all — the outsized portrayals of the cultists and Cole just being hysterical (and frequently quite funny) in his efforts to outsmart them, just like how Kevin tries to to do the to the thieves in Home Alone, only those ones were not ritualists at least. I really commend how it manages to maintain a lighthearted, fun tone even amidst the dismemberment.
Samara Weaving's performance as Bee is a major highlight in the movie. Her ability to embody the dual nature of her character: first, the dream babysitter, full of charisma and warmth, and then, the terrifyingly ruthless cult leader is just something that is worth applauding her for. The supporting cast, including Bella Thorne, Robbie Amell, and Hana Mae Lee as the eccentric cult members, also greatly contributed as the film's comedic backbone. Not to mention King Bach, who just took the comedy to another level. Even with his death and the rest of the cult members, it was still an amusing thing to watch.
McG, the director of the movie, generally serves the film well. The movie really did excel in many areas, but it has its shortcomings as well. For one, there are few instances where CGI doesn't quite match the quality of the practical effects. Additionally, a few early scenes, while necessary for character development, might feel or seem to be slowpaced espy for those eager to jump straight into the action.
But regardless, I can say that The Babysitter is a highly enjoyable and effective horror-comedy. I found it to be really entertaining and I believe that most people would see it that way also. I rate the movie 8/10. That's it for my review. Thanks for reading