The Babysitter

The Babysitter

Starring Judah Lewis, Samara Weaving, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne

Directed by McG

The Story:
Cole (Judah Lewis) is a freshman in high school, ad also is pretty much afraid of everything.  He's so afraid that his parents still have a babysitter for him when they go away, the beautiful Bee (Samara Weaving).  The two seem to be inseparable, best friends, and both have a unique knowledge of nerdy topics, despite Bee's obvious attractiveness.

One night Cole stays up past his bedtime to see what Bee does after he goes to bed, and finds that she has some people over.  Thinking it's going to lead to sex, he stays up and watches them play a game of Truth or Dare, which ends with Bee driving two knives into a boy's skull.  It seems that Bee and her friends have dabbled in the occult, and want Cole as a sacrifice.  Cole has to face all his fears and find a way out before he becomes their final sacrifice.

The Synopsis:
The slasher film has begun to show resurgence in recent months.  With surprise hits like "Happy Death Day," people are clamoring for classic slash and dash films without supernatural spirits, fake found footage or abysmal aliens - they want to see something frightening that could actually happen, and nothing strikes fear in the hearts of people more than the fear of being cut up by another person.

"The Babysitter" is a throwback to the classic slasher films, but it goes far beyond that.  It's more than just a cut-and-dry stalker movie, but it's also self-aware of what it's doing, serves as a coming-of-age film, and contains some of the best dark humor out there.  Famed director McG (who also directed "Charlie's Angels," "We Are Marshall," and "Terminator: Salvation") toned down his famed status to create this enjoyable little independent film about a young boy who is like most young boys in America - they have a crush on their babysitter.  Unfortunately, this babysitter worships the devil and wishes to sacrifice him, but still, she's very attractive.

While I typically nitpick a film like this (the acting is pretty abysmal, the story seems totally implausible, there's so many plot holes bigger than a double-decker bus), I found myself really enjoying it.  Maybe it's because the film only ran 85 minutes.  Maybe the cast had such charisma I could forego the obvious flaws.  In any event, it was just a fun, small film with a likeable cast who obviously enjoyed their experience, and I as a viewer enjoyed it because of that.

Even though I said the acting is pretty awful, it's not because of the caliber of talent, but rather because the script demands it.  Each character has a trope, and they play it to the hilt.  Judah Lewis's Cole is the typical nerdy kid who gets bullied and is obsessed with nerdy stuff.  Robbie Amell is your typical football quarterback (who is often shirtless, something that Cole hilariously mentions several times in the film).  Bella Thorne is your typical stupid cheerleader.  Only Samara Weaving has more wiggle room with her character, first portraying Bee as your everyday lovable babysitter before turning full cultist who wishes to sacrifice the blood of the innocents.

Yes, it's not a Oscar-caliber film, but it doesn't try to be.  It tries to be a deliciously devilish romp through the fields of slasher films, and to that end it achieves its goal.

The Summary:
Mixing classic slasher tropes with the typical boy-crush-babysitter coming-of-age film, "The Babysitter" is a delightful descent into devilish delights filled with self-aware humor, over-the-top gore and a likeable cast.

The Score: A