The Babysitter (2017) - Cinema is dying

Don’t let the kind of bland name, i.e. ‘The Babysitter’’ fool you into thinking this film isn’t anything special.  Yes, it’s a ‘Netflix original’ and don’t let that fool you into thinking that it’s just there to make up the quota of ‘in-house content’ on the web’s streaming service.  In the UK Netflix costs less than a tenner a month to watch a variety of film and TV and, before you think I’m being sponsored by Netflix, I’m merely pointing out that if you can get original films like ‘The Babysitter’ for that price, what’s the point in going to the cinema that often?

Anyway, onto the film.  If you check out the blurb of the film you’ll see that it’s a horror movie, but I won’t go into too much detail as I don’t want to give anything away that you might not have guessed.  It’s about a twelve-year-old boy who, much to his disgust, still has to have a babysitter whenever his parents go away.  However, despite his initial humiliation, it’s not so bad, as he’s head over heels in love with his sitter.  She’s a good looking young girl who is literally his ‘fantasy’ woman, as she indulges in everything he’s into (well, all apart from the obvious thing he’s interested in, but that’s left up to his teenage imagination).  In fact, she seems too good to be true and, whenever that happens, you know something is going to go wrong.  And it does.  And, in horror terms, something ‘wrong’ normally involves vast amounts of blood and guts. ‘The Babysitter’ happily provides such gore.

‘Meta’ is the word I’d use to describe the film.  Don’t expect to be scared, more amused.  The script is light-hearted and self-knowing, even when bodies are being diced it never takes itself seriously – and it’s all the better for it.  It’s your basic ‘horror-comedy’ (or should that be ‘black comedy?’) with the emphasis on the humour.  Of course the jokes are only really as good as the actors delivering them and I’m pleased to say that a film who stars a twelve-year-old as the lead could be a risk.  Luckily, he never comes across as brattish or annoying (like so many child actors do!) and he’s quite a believable and relatable hero to root for.  Then you have the babysitter herself.  She too is a joy to watch as she comes across as cool, caring and friendly, meaning the two leads can play off each other well.

If you’re into horror-comedies that are simple enjoyable (adult!) romps then you definitely have to watch this one – especially as you probably won’t be able to get it on DVD or see it in the cinema!  It’s definitely worth adding to your ‘watchlist!’

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one