Premise: A 12-year-old
boy stays up late one night to discover that his babysitter is a member of a
satanic cult preparing to sacrifice him.
I'm not sure who the target audience for The
Babysitter is. The premise suggests something for kids. The mystery of
wondering what your babysitter is up to after you go to bed is something you
grow out of by about 10. This premise is great for something like a Scary
Stories to Tell in the Dark or a Goosebumps book. The movie is
violent, but not in a way that would excite the SXSW Midnight crowd who are all
about that kind of excess. It confuses meta-commentary a lot with humor, thinking
that pointing something out is the same as crafting a joke. It's not really
trying to scare anyone either. I guess this is fitting for a McG movie. When
has he ever delivered exactly what people wanted? His Charlie's Angels
movies are...fine. We Are Marshall is one of the more forgotten
"inspirational sports movies". Terminator Salvation is mainly
known for being the one that Christian Bale went ballistic on the set of. This
Is War somehow doesn't exist despite having three stars with a massive
cross-section of appeal. You could point to some of his TV work, but he's only
ever been a pilot for-hire guy.
I liked parts of The Babysitter.
Specifically, the cast. Pre-Ready or Not Samara Weaving is a natural for
this tone. Hana Mae Lee gets to actually be more animated and less creepy than
she is in the Pitch Perfect movies. Emily Alyn Lind grew up a lot just
between this and Doctor Sleep. Bella Thorne and Robbie Amell really get
into the cheerleader and jock stereotypes they're playing off. While I may not
care much for McG's movies, he sure has the connections to cast well.
Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend
No comments:
Post a Comment