Netflix Review: The Babysitter (2017)

"If John Hughes made a Horror movie..."

A great Horror Comedy is a rare thing.
 
Over the past few years, some really great Horror Comedies have come our way. Movies like Deathgasm, Cooties, What We Do in the Shadows, The Final Girls, and Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse have entertained the hell out of us in their own special ways, and they stand above their peers in quality.

We're happy to say that The Babysitter can join that short list with pride, as it's the most fun we've had watching a genre flick all year.

*This review is going to contain some spoiler-ish material, but we won't spoil anything the trailer didn't give away.

Cole is a timid yet lovable 12-year-old kid who's afraid of needles, gets bullied at school, and has the hottest babysitter that has ever been know to man, Bee. Bee is a sexy, witty, closet nerd who really likes Cole, and they spend their time together nerding-out about Sci-Fi flicks and discussing how Cole should put the moves on the neighbor girl.

BUT UNDERSTANDABLY, COLE IS A BIT TOO IN LOVE WITH BEE TO GO MESSING WITH OTHER GIRLS.

Bee is also an insane Satanist who needs sacrificial blood to make the dark spells in her evil book come to life. Cole is supposed to be sleeping when Bee and her Satanic Scooby Gang decide to offer their latest sacrifice to Gog, but instead he witnesses the act, which puts him at deadly odds with Bee.

...and we've already said too much.

SHE'S ABOUT TO LOSE HER SHIT.

Gory, funny as hell, sexy, and oddly touching, The Babysitter is one of the best genre flicks that we've seen this year. Somehow, McG made the crazy plot (and even crazier visuals) work, where they should have made for a silly mess of a flick.

And the real surprise was that the movie had some sentimentality going for it, in the form of Bee and Cole's friendship. Sure, Bee is a crazy Satanist and all, but she genuinely cares for Cole, and the way that played out gave the movie a John Hughes-esque quality. Samara Weaving and Judah Lewis made the movie special.

Speaking of Samara Weaving (Hugo's niece), she's a star in the making. Not only is she gorgeous, but she's got range; she's got these insane looking eyes that go from wicked to tender on command, and even though she's the movie's big bad, we couldn't help but love her character. She was the heart of this movie, and she rocked it.

And to be honest, everyone else in the cast delivered as well, every one of them making us laugh. Robbie Amell is surprisingly funny, and I don't know where in the hell Andrew Bachelor came from, but dude had us rolling.

The only part of the movie that didn't jibe with us was the part with the car, but that's a small thing considering how much fun the rest of the movie was.

AND LET US NOT FORGET ABOUT BELLA. SHE SPECIAL.

The blood flows freely in this one, including some creative fire poker usage, gun violence, throat slitting, and neck skewering.

HE PROBABLY HAS AIDS NOW.

Aside from Robbie Amell going shirtless, there's no nudity here. There is, however, a kiss between Samara Weaving and Bella Thorne that makes the sapphic kisses from movies like Jennifer's Body and Wild Things look like amateur hour.

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY!

"All that blood was just in his boner."
"Carrie would have been better is she was black. She would have been covered in Hennessy."
"What the hell are you wearing? Lookin' like Big Bird's side-bitch."
"Why is he shirtless?"

BIG BIRD'S SIDE-BITCH.

Wat a genuinely pleasant surprise this movie was. Where we expected The Babysitter to underwhelm, it instead spent 90-minutes making us laugh, and left us marveling at how clever it all was. McG still has a stupid name, but if he keeps making movies like this, we might just end up being fans of his.

See it, and see it now.

A-

The Babysitter is streaming now on Netflix.

Samara and Bella might be the sexiest babysitter tandem ever.

VOD Review: Better Watch Out (2017)

"It's never too early to get in the Christmas spirit."

(aka Safe Neighborhood.)
Release Date: October 6th.
Country: Australia.
Rating: R.
Written by: Zack Kahn.
Directed by: Chris Peckover.
Starring: Olivia DeJonge, Virginia Madsen, Patrick Warburton, Levi Miller, and Ed Oxenbold.

Do yourself a favor: if you haven't already checked out the trailer for Better Watch Out, skip it, and just watch the movie.

I know that no one really watches movie these days without seeing a trailer first, but in this case, the trailer gives away too much of the movie's Holiday cheer, which is a real shame.

It's the Holiday Season, and Ashley has a babysitting gig. Luke, the kid she's babysitting, is in love with her, and he's planning on confessing his love while his parents attend a Christmas party. After his awkward attempt to seduce her with the winning combo of Horror movies and wine, a brick flies through the window with the message "You leave, you die" written on it, and any plans of romance go out the window as Ashely and Luke have to face a masked home invader with bad intentions.

I know that's pretty vague, but the less you know going into this one the better.

Home Alone-style savagery ensues.

WELL, THEY'RE NOT EXACTLY HOME ALONE...

Better Watch Out looks great, boasts a smart script and equally smart direction, offers plenty of darkly humorous moments to balance the demented parts, and overall, it's a lot of fun. This is a Black Comedy that feels a lot like Funny Games, and yes, I suppose there's a bit of Home Alone-ish action to draw a comparison, although that really paints the wrong picture.

Sure, this movie has a Christmasy feel about it, but it's a twisted commentary on the ils of suburban life. And how boys are evil and treat girls wrong. And how babysitting is for suckers.

Levi Miller showed some chops as Luke, which truly took some range, and Ed Oxenbould made for a competent enough best friend type, but this is Olivia DeJonge's movie, make no mistake. She was good in The Visit, and we loved her supporting role in Scare Campaign (review HERE), but she ascended to the next level in this one, carrying the movie with her performance. She plays terrified and tough equally well, and she's got great screen presence.

THAT'S GOTTA BE COLD.

Luke was a bit over-the-top with some of his mannerisms. I know they were trying to illustrate how unhinged he was, but it came off like he was some kind of goofy edgelord. That was by design, but it irked us at times.

WILL THEY SAVE THE GIRL?

I really loved the ending to this one... which is why I didn't really dig the mid-credits scene. It ended perfectly, so why ruin it with some obligatory "See you in the sequel!" crap like that?

THIS GIRL DON'T PLAY.

A paint bucket, some rope, a shard of glass, and bullets give this one just the right amount of bloody goodness.

IT'S JUST A LITTLE HEAD WOUND.

Plenty of sexual themes and discussions throughout, but nothing gets visceral. 

NICE TRY KID, BUT SHE'S NOT SHARING HER PIZZA WITH YOU.

Better Watch Out was a really good movie that balances dark humor with twisted violence. It's also one that's going to put a lot of people off with its subject matter, and the dynamic shift that happens about halfway in might throw some people off, but overall it's a great movie to watch this October... and probably again in December.

B+

Better Watch Out is available on VOD now.

Olivia DeJonge is quick becoming a Scream Queen to reckon with.

VOD Reveiw: 68 Kill (2017)

"AnnaLynne McCord is a sexy savage."

Until now, we thought that Trent Haaga was just a B-grade actor who has starred in movies like Sutures, Starry Eyes, and a bunch of old Troma flicks like Citizen Toxie.

But no, he's also a writer who penned two movies like  Deadgirl (review HERE) and Cheap Thrills (review HERE), both of which had a decidedly nasty bent to them. Based off of his work on those two movies alone, and the fact that AnnaLynne McCord is a walking sex bomb, we knew that we had to see 68 Kill.

Having now seen it, I'm even more baffled by the fact that AnnaLynne McCord isn't a bigger star, because she's hell on wheels in this one.

Chip is a shit-shoveling loser whose insanely hot, whiskey-tango girlfriend, Liza, wants more out of life than living in a trailer and struggling to make ends meet. That "making ends meet" part involves her having sex with guys for money, which Chip isn't exactly thrilled about, so the two of them hatch a plan to rob her sugar daddy for $68,000, which will put them on easy street. I'm not sure how 68k puts anyone on easy street, but hey, times are tough.

YEAH, SHE INSPIRES THOSE KINDS OF SICK, LONGING LOOKS IN PEOPLE.

Of course the robbery goes horribly wrong when Liza reveals her insane, murderous true self, and she and Chip are forced to kidnap a girl named Violet who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. No worries though, because Liza plans to sell her to her way-creepy brother, who makes Liza look like an angel by comparison.

OH GIRL, YOU NEED TO RUN.

Chip being the nice guy that he is though, isn't sure that the he can let sweet Violet suffer such a cruel fate, and so things go from bad to worse to WTF! as he tries to do the right thing and not become a degenerate like everyone around him.

Crazy, bloody twists and turns ensue.

LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES.

This movie is basically about a likable guy who has a crazy girlfriend, and all the shit he has to go through to get rid of her... and that shit is all pretty bloody, twisted, and insane.

The script is what makes this movie so good, that and the actors. As for the written part, yes, this world of 68 Kill is crazy, over-the-top, and more than a bit twisted, but it's populated by genuine people who all feel real, instead of merely being the type of goofy caricatures that tend to populate these types of movies. In a movie that features three prominent female characters, it's nice to see that it was written deftly enough not to feel like male bashing was the intent too, given the amount of shit that Chip had to suffer through.

AnnaLynne McCord is brilliant as the sociopathic sex kitten, Liza. I say brilliant because she doesn't play her in a cartoonish, over-the-top way the whole time, but instead brings a realistic vulnerability to her that makes her sympathetic, and even likable. And man, is she ever ridiculously sexy. Matthew Gray Gubler is equally impressive as lovable loser Chip. He usually tends to play likable guys, and here he just comes off as extra likable as a guy who can't seem to catch any sort of break, and you can't help but feel for him. It's nice to see him in something other than a predictable, case-of-the-week TV show for a change.

The real revelation for us though was Alisha Boe as Violet. Equal parts of sweet and sinisterly sassy, Violet was a nice romantic interest for Chip, and Boe played her perfectly. The girl has a bright career ahead of her.

SORRY, BUT WE'RE NOT CRIMINAL MINDS FANS ANYMORE.

There is no shortage of bloody action in this one, in true grindhouse fashion.

68 KILL INDEED.

As twisted and sexually-charged as 68 Kill is, it doesn't get gratuitous at all with the nudity.

DON'T HAVE TO TELL US TWICE.

"You shovel shit for a living, I suck dick!"
"Ain't too often you get a sweetie like that offer up her pooper, no questions asked. Man, I been tryin' to get that."

IT'S ONLY 68 GRAND. RELAX!

I could easily dismiss 68 Kill as a B-grade, grindhouse wannabe that relies on shock to thrill its audience, but then I'd be doing a disservice to a smart script and a great cast who played some lively characters, and that would not be fair.

This is a twisted and fun flick that we ended up liking WAY more than we thought we would, and if you like darkly comedic thrillers steeped heavily in the trappings of noir and grindhouse goodness, then you should give it a go.

B+

68 Kill is available on VOD now. 

AnnaLynne McCord rocks our socks.