THE BABYSITTER
While this will come across as quite the pissy statement
(which lets face it, that isn't far from the truth), my biggest
surprise of 2017 was that the director who goes by the name of “McG”
finally made a good film. Not only that, but I loved the hell out of
it. The film in question is none other than the Netflix produced
horror-comedy “The Babysitter” starring Samara Weaving and Bella
Thorne.
This film had so many black marks against it before
watching, that there was no way I had any chance of watching it, let
alone loving it. First and foremost was the fact that it was
directed by McG. Until now, I have not been able to stomach a single
film this man has made, with his “This Means War” even being my
least favourite film of 2012. When my brother and I talk about bad
movies, his name always inevitably becomes the punchline of one of
our jokes. He is the go to name to go to when bad mouthing a film.
Secondly, I am not really a fan of comedy with my horror. And
thirdly, to say that I am a fan of Bella Thorne, well that would be a
lie. All of the above elements, have been mixed up and made into a
special brew known as “The Babysitter”, so just how did I end up
watching the film if it had so much going against it? The simple
answer was word of mouth.
A lot of my horror websites I frequent reviewed the film
stating just how great it was, and once I watched the trailer of it,
I saw the film's secret weapon: Australian actress Samara Weaving.
This has been an amazing year for Weaving as she has stood out in two
leading roles in both this and Joe Lynch's “Mayhem”, (and she
even stands out in a very brief role that I will talk about later in
my top twenty films of the year). She just oozes charisma and is so
much fun in the title role of this film. She is also stunningly
gorgeous too!
The plot of the film centres around Cole, a young
tweenager, who is convinced by his friend to stay up past his bedtime
to find out what his babysitter, Bee, really gets up to once he has
fallen asleep. Expecting to find some sexual hijinks or a case of
heavy petting, Cole is shocked to find out that his beautiful
babysitter, who he adores with all heart, is actually a devil
worshipper and that she and a group of her friends are about to
sacrifice someone to the Devil. Cole must then try and survive the
night before his “innocent blood” is spilled next.
Ok, so the film sounds a little silly, and it is but it
is also so much fun. I was entertained thoroughly throughout the
whole of the film. It is beautifully shot in bright bold colours and
when it comes to spraying the red stuff around, it doesn't skimp on
that either. In fact this is a very bloody film, however due to the
light tone of the film, it is hardly offensive. Speaking of the
light tone, I was also quite amused by the comedy in “The
Babysitter” which is very rarely the case for me when horror and
comedy become cinematic best friends. I actually laughed quite a bit
through the film. And the annoying Bella Thorne? Turns out that she
is the least featured of all of Bee's friends and was actually quite
good in this smaller than usual role.
I have to mention the absolute highlight of the film
which is the final death scene. It is so ridiculous, and so over the
top and yet so perfect. The music is pumping, the action on screen
crazy and then............well, lets just say that I was super pumped
and felt like cheering when it was done. It is a perfect moment,
that is so well earned that I defy anyone not to love it (later you
can be embarrassed for loving said moment, but when it happens, sit
back and enjoy).
So there you have it, McG's “The Babysitter” was my
biggest surprise of 2017. Seeing as Netflix produced the film, it
appears unlikely to ever make it to blu ray, but I certainly hope it
does sometime in the future, as I want to add it to my collection.
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