The Babysitter (2017)
Film Review
By the Geezer of Oz
“The events of one evening take an unexpected turn for the worst for a young boy trying to spy on his babysitter.” (IMDb)
Director McG (Charlie’s Angels 1&2, We Are Marshall, Terminator Salvation, This Means War, 3 Days to Kill) has had a somewhat impressive, but overall patchy career. The Babysitter continues that trend. This film is about a boy whose parents leave in the care of his hot babysitter (whom he has a crush on) for the night while they go to a hotel for some “alone time”. He spies on said babysitter and things take a sharp turn from there.
While the film is of high production value, well-acted and is a fun ride for a teenage audience, it is filled with references teenagers may not get and simply lacks a certain quality as a film for adults. There is very little originality here, gore for gore’s sake or possibly for comedic effect yet the film isn’t funny and is simply… well… a bit too simplistic, even for mature teenagers. The clichés run fast and free and there is very little substance overall.
The film’s two leads are Judah Lewis (Demolition), who is good but forgettable as our young hero, Cole, and Samara Weaving (Mystery Road, Bad Girl, Monster Trucks, Mayhem) who is fast becoming quite the charismatic actress with lead potential for the future. She is a delight to watch almost every second she is on the screen.
Other familiar faces include Robbie Amell (Left for Dead, The DUFF, ARQ, When We First Met, TV’s The Flash), Bella Thorne (Amityville: The Awakening, You Get Me, Keep Watching, Big Sky, The DUFF, Blended), Leslie Bibb (The Skulls, Iron Man 1&2, The Midnight Meat Train, Law Abiding Citizen, Hell Baby, Flight 7500, Awakening the Zodiac) and Ken Marino (Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten, In a World…, Bad Milo, Goosebumps, TV’s Party Down, Childrens Hospital) in supporting roles.
The Babysitter is a bit of fun, but still felt like an opportunity to do something with some substance, which was somewhat wasted. 6/10.
