The Babysitter is a 2017 horror film about the events of one evening take an unexpected turn for the worst for a young boy trying to spy on his babysitter.
It doesn’t take long to know where McG‘s The Babysitter is headed, the opening few moments working hard to set the fable-like tone, with a series of stylized character introductions that make it clear this isn’t anything more than a wild fantasy. It’s an often clever, sometimes funny, occasionally warped, always off center romp that keeps this one of the weirdest movies of late, a modern Grimm’s fairy tale that revels in its madness. In short, it’s almost perfect.
Cole (Judah Lewis) is a standard movie twelve-year-old, a slightly nebbish, bullied nerdy smart kid, an only child to two supportive parents (Leslie Bibb and Ken Marino) who is still left under the supervision of a babysitter. Fortunately for him, that babysitter is Bee (Samara Weaving), a stunning blonde with a streak of her own nerd that makes her not only his best friend but the girl of his dreams. She genuinely likes Cole and treats him well. What Cole is most curious about though is what goes on when he goes to sleep, she staying up all night. With the encouragement of gal-pal neighbor Melanie (Emily Alyn Lind), he decides to take a peek and watch what happens. Turns out, that’s not such a good idea, and what he sees is well, more than a little disturbing. Now he’s just got to survive.
It’s a little hard to say more without giving away the numerous twists The Babysitter has on call, but be sure it’s got plenty of campy gore, over-the-top personalities and a boatload of style, even if most of it’s nothing new. That includes flashy titles and graphics on screen, a herky-jerky camera and all sorts of sharp visuals, sort of like Edgar Wright‘s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, though unlike that film, The Babysitter is a bloody, chaotic comedy horror that acts like Home Alone if it were directed by Eli Roth. It’s funny and gruesome. And even as tarantulas. It’s hard to do something innovate with home invasion movies these days, but clearly McG understands this, looking to flip it around a bit, even it there are trappings of the genre even he can’t escape.
What’s best about The Babysitter is how smart it treats the subject while paying homage of sorts to the carnage. If you’re a fan of the genre and have even a passing knowledge of horror, there’s a lot here that is just plain fun with McG embracing the goofiness, and layering it in some surprisingly impactful moments that truly lift this to unexpected places. With a great supporting cast, including Bee’s friends, sassy cheerleader Allison (Bella Thorne), cocky quarterback Max (Robbie Amell), creepy Sonya (Hana Mae Lee) and smart alec John (Andrew Bachelor), each playing into their stereotypes with gobs of enthusiasm. The movie constantly runs down a path that seems like a dead end but always finds ways to steer it around.
This is unabashedly one ridiculously whacked out movie that rides its rocket of crazy straight through the roof. Lewis and Weaving are sensational and pack tons of great moments into the material, all peppered with a terrific soundtrack and excellent direction. A movie that gets better the longer you stay with it, The Babysitter is a sleek, energetic good time that earns a strong recommendation.