The Babysitter
Netflix
This review is for all the people who were burned by Jennifer’s Body: I know you’re scared to trust again. Maybe you thought it would be more like Juno, but full of lesbian scenes, and instead it was weird and exploitative. I know you aren’t ready to come back into the fold. Fear not little ones, for I have the perfect new film for you to see: The Babysitter. A member of The Blacklist for many years, and directed by the always quirky McG, this film is the horror-comedy that you have craved since you wondrously watched Teeth on your parent’s futon all those years ago.
It’s a very simple concept: Cole (Judah Lewis) is a twelve year old nerd who doesn’t understand the outside world or the people in it. His babysitter, Bee (Samara Weaving) is the coolest person on the planet, and though Cole would rather not get bullied for still having said babysitter, they have a great time together. On one of the nights when his parents are away and he’s left in Bee’s care, Cole happens upon her and her friends sacrificing a geeky guy during Spin the Bottle. After that all Hell breaks loose. Most of the movie involves Cole running from various baddies who have no remorse about stabbing a kid, as long as the Devil grants them their utmost desires. The story provides a great parallel to the present culture of entitlement that this generation blatantly displays and in general how selfish one can become when faced with desire.
The humor and gore are aplenty, harkening back to both John Hughes’ tales of teenage rebellion and the work of horror directors Tom Holland, John Carpenter, and Wes Craven. Judah Lewis is an exceptional lead and is well balanced alongside a cast who regularly plays teens, including Hana Mae Lee (Pitch Perfect), Robbie Amell (The DUFF), Bella Thorne (The DUFF), and King Bach of Vine fame. Horror and comedy go well together because they both rely on the incongruous elements of reality. You can laugh at something amiss, or recoil in horror, and done incorrectly you’ll have people laughing at your gore and shuddering at your gags. McG, who hadn’t made a film in three years before releasing this to Netflix, has always been a solid director, but he never delved headfirst into genre. It really shows that when you find the right script and the right producers you can make something solidly satisfying.
