Netflix Horror Comedy Slasher With A Sequel Already Feels Left Behind
A great slasher film will typically have a single antagonist pursuing a handful of aloof victims, typically co-ed types that have trouble keeping their clothes on. As the film progresses, the characters are killed off one by one, often leading to the ultimate showdown between the crazed murderer and the last one standing. But the 2017 movie The Babysitter takes a different approach, instead having a handful of killers hunting down the movie’s unlikely hero as he tries to figure out a way to eliminate his would-be-killers one at a time.
An Unlikely Yet Unbreakable Friendship
The Babysitter follows a kid named Cole (Judah Lewis) who is struggling to fit in with other 12-year-olds. The lonely preteen only has a few friends and is subjected to constant bullying from a bigger neighbor named Jeremy who is making his life a living Hell. But Cole’s babysitter, Bee (Samara Weaving), lets the jerk have it and seals the bond between the two unlikely friends.
As The Babysitter continues, Cole’s parents arrange for Bee to stay at their house to mind him while they are out of town. Things get a little weird when the super attractive babysitter pours some booze for the boy, an offer that he pretends to accept but secretly dumps out.
Truth Or Dare, With A Hint Of Ritualistic Sacrifice
Cole does what many kids do when they’re put to bed for the night. He sneaks out of his room to spy on Bee and the friends that she has invited over. Things seem pretty typical as Bee and her small party are playing a game of Truth or Dare but takes a fast turn when the babysitter pulls out a pair of knives and plunges into one of the male visitors.
Cole realizes that Bee and her friends are part of a secret Satanic cult that uses ritual sacrifice to keep their pact with the Devil. It’s a matter of life or painful death as Cole tries to escape Bee’s clutches when he finds out that he’s intended to be the next victim.
A Preteen Survival Fantasy Come To Life
The Babysitter succeeds in carving out a solid film from a combination of adolescent fantasies and slasher horror tropes, giving audiences a finished product that is funny, intriguing, and laughably gory. The plot has Cole pitted against a small army of unapologetic Devil-worshiping murderers, dispatching them one at a time with cunning, creative weaponry, and a little bit of luck.
Seeing a 12-year-old character pull these survival skills out of his hat and succeed in a kill-to-live situation makes the movie feel like something that many preteen boys would have imagined, but it somehow translates to the screen in the style of a true comedy slasher.
A Self-Aware Slasher Comedy That Never Lets Up
It’s not a cast of A-list performers but Weaving and Lewis do lend the film great on-screen chemistry and help to make The Babysitter feel like it’s playing out with people familiar to the viewer. Director McG pulled out all the stops with The Babysitter, taking Brian Duffield’s script (No One Will Save You) and breathing vivid life into the sociopathic cult members.
McG captured the true feeling of a slasher movie, setting up great kill scenes, perfectly timed jump scares, and plenty of gore, enshrouded by a chilling cinematic score from Douglas Pipes (Krampus).
Stream The Babysitter And Its Sequel On Netflix
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The Babysitter garnered a sequel that was released to Netflix three years later in 2020. Weaver returned to her original character in a movie that lacked the creativity of the first but still manages to hold viewers’ interest.
You can stream The Babysitter with a subscription to Netflix.
