Since its release, this film has been on my Netflix list patiently awaiting my arrival. After finally making time to see this film, I realized I could have better spent that hour and a half taking a nap, wasting time on Twitter, or staring at the ceiling with an empty brain. Any of these activities would have provided a better use of my time. I was physically speechless after watching this film, but definitely not because it had any good value. The Babysitter is one of the most confusing, ineffective, and poorly-directed horror comedies of all time. This movie suffered from just about every negative aspect a movie could suffer from, and it is a miracle that its story ever saw the light of day from Netflix.
The absolute biggest issues with this film were its writing and its directing. The story throughout the film took many turns and was extended for way too long of a time. This idea would honestly work better for a comedy short film, and not the half-assed attempt of a horror-comedy that this was. The story, I have to admit, was very interesting and engaging in the beginning. The characters of Cole, played by Judah Lewis, and Bee, played by Samara Weaving, were very interesting characters. They seemed to have great chemistry together and their relationship was already pre-developed, which boded well for both of them. The start of the plot was quite creative: a kid who wonders what his babysitter/best friend does after he goes to bed. Obviously, the writing was setting the audience up for something to go wrong, but instead, it was the entire film that was erred. This was a very original idea for a film, but was executed painfully. After Bee invited her group of friends over, everything went to hell. Once the initial sacrifice was made, that is where any common sense screenwriting fell apart. The story then followed Cole as he attempted to escape his crazy babysitter and her friends who are all trying to kill him. The root of the problem with the writing is that a certain tone was never established. Given that this film was trying to be a horror-comedy, it did not utilize that genre at all. Movies like The Cabin in the Woods or Zombieland blend the two aspects excellently, but The Babysitter could not even get one of the genres right. There were moments throughout the film that were very out-of-place and did not fit with the tone of that specific scene. This included all of Cole's humor in his dire situations and the actions of the teenagers trying to kill him, which were ridiculous. The group of teenagers wanted to kill one little boy, but their ludicrous behaviors did not fit their roles one bit. And this is, painfully, only some of the problems with this movie.
The other massive problem with the story was that there were a lot of pieces that just did not fall into place and made no sense whatsoever. Cole was being hunted by these teenagers, and in his quest to survive, ended up killing all five of them. I understand that it is legally self-defense, but there were no consequences at all for his personal actions. No parental, moral, or legal consequences, just an awfully-placed cheesy line to top off the final scene. The teenagers, before they were killed, seemed like they were picked out of other movies and thrown together at random. Maybe High School Musical 4 and a real estate commercial were filming the same day, and they decided to waste time by making this movie. The teenagers' stories were so weak and the motives behind their actions were nonexistent. The only thing that they had in common was the fact that they were all performing this Satanic ritual. But even then, there was no explanation or even minimal background as to why Bee and her friends needed all of that blood and why they decided to summon Satan. The final thing that made no sense was the romantic subplot between Cole and his neighbor Melanie, played by Emily Alyn Lind. Her character solely existed as a plot device to provide safety for Cole and there was absolutely no substance behind her. At this point, I must assume that all of the budget for this film went straight to the special effects and use of blood, because it definitely did not go to the screenwriters. Even then, the effects were extremely cheesy and gratuitous. The only decent aspect about this film besides the first ten minutes was its camera work and editing. The cinematography was halfway-decent, and the editing actually kept me involved. It reminded me of Edgar Wright's early style, incorporating quick cuts and lots of movement, and surprisingly did work well for this movie.
The Babysitter is a jumbled mess of a film, and failed to provide any entertainment in the horror-comedy genre. The writing was disgusting and made no sense in the slightest, among many other problems. I would not recommend this film at all, and for once, Bella Thorne actually wasn't the cause of the trouble.
My Rating: ★
No comments:
Post a Comment