Music video director McG's first feature, Charlie's Angels, received a fair amount of critical backlash, but I found it to be pretty entertaining in an inconsequential and undemanding way; however, the subsequent stinker of a sequel and the abysmal Terminator Salvation had me writing the director off as a no-hoper. Now, Netflix original The Babysitter, a tongue-in-cheek tween horror, sees McG bouncing back, delivering a film that, while short on logic and heavy on the gimmicky music video style editing, guarantees a lot of mindless fun.
Judah Lewis plays timid twelve-year-old Cole, the target of local bullies; Cole's only friends are pretty neighbour Melanie (Emily Alyn Lind), and his sexy babysitter Bee (Samara Weaving). When Cole's parents leave for the weekend, leaving him in the care of Bee, Melanie dares the boy to stay awake to see what his babysitter gets up to after he is in bed. Spying from the landing, Cole sees Bee and several friends playing spin the bottle followed by a spot of ritualistic murder and some dabbling in the occult. Panicking, Cole tries to make his escape, but in doing so, alerts Bee and her pals, who give chase. What follows is like a demented version of Home Alone, Cole using household items and cunning to prevent himself from becoming the next victim of Bee and her friends.
Admittedly, it all gets a bit far fetched at times, particularly with the surrounding neighbours seemingly oblivious to the explosions, gunshots and general mayhem occurring across the street, but solid performances, the fast pace, and the creative and gory death scenes all go to making this a very enjoyable time-waster.
Judah Lewis plays timid twelve-year-old Cole, the target of local bullies; Cole's only friends are pretty neighbour Melanie (Emily Alyn Lind), and his sexy babysitter Bee (Samara Weaving). When Cole's parents leave for the weekend, leaving him in the care of Bee, Melanie dares the boy to stay awake to see what his babysitter gets up to after he is in bed. Spying from the landing, Cole sees Bee and several friends playing spin the bottle followed by a spot of ritualistic murder and some dabbling in the occult. Panicking, Cole tries to make his escape, but in doing so, alerts Bee and her pals, who give chase. What follows is like a demented version of Home Alone, Cole using household items and cunning to prevent himself from becoming the next victim of Bee and her friends.
Admittedly, it all gets a bit far fetched at times, particularly with the surrounding neighbours seemingly oblivious to the explosions, gunshots and general mayhem occurring across the street, but solid performances, the fast pace, and the creative and gory death scenes all go to making this a very enjoyable time-waster.