Netflix Movie Night Streaming Review of "The Babysitter"
by The Headless Critic

The Babysitter – 2017

Production by: New Line Cinema, Boies/Schiller Film Group, Wonderland Sound and Vision
Distribution by: Netflix



Preteen Cole (Judah Lewis) wants to feel normal but he just feels weird most of the time. He’s bullied, a little bit babied and a whole lot sheltered. He’s getting a little too old to need watched at night but he happily lets his parents book his favorite Babysitter Bee (Samara Weaving). His friends tease him about still having a babysitter until they see her. Cole and Bee have a connection that transcends their age difference, at least in Cole’s eyes. What preteen boy wouldn’t crush on their beautiful teenage babysitter? The two have got together for their routine babysitting nights since Cole was a child. Tonight won’t be like the other nights though. Cole secretly stays up past his bedtime and finds out what really happens in his house when his babysitter thinks he’s asleep. Some “dream girls can be a nightmare”.

This adventure in babysitting tale is an adult themed family movie that both child and parent alike can enjoy. It’s a throwback to dark family features like Monster Squad or a modern day The Burbs. Elementary school authors everywhere write similar stories for their class presentations, surviving as they pit themselves against the odds. Hopefully with a little less death and sex in most.

Cole gets out of bed to find a group of teenagers having what appears to be an orgy in his house. Whatever they’re doing, they definitely don’t want anyone finding out about it. Death ensues with escalating absurdities. The characters are characters, perhaps even annoyingly so. Max (Robbie Amell) is the brute force who's mostly worried about showing off his abs. They are nice. Allison (Bella Thorn) is his equally beautiful and self involved female counterpart. She just got shot in the tit and might lose her boob. John (Andrew Bachelor) just can't seem to get the blood off. Sonya (Hana Mae Lee) is a hole poking Asian with a cookie persuasion. She'll crawl to any depths to keep people from finding out. Then of course there's Bee. She's nothing like what Cole thought she was. He might even have to stop crushing on her. Cole’s bullies stood out as my favorites though, including a young Anthony Anderson in Miles J. Harvey and a miniature Andre the Giant look-a-like from the 1970’s in Samuel Gilbert. It’s a lightheaded horror comedy that has unrealistic fun. It’s over-the-top, ridiculous and not for everyone but I enjoyed it.

Available Now on Netflix

4 out of 5 Headless Critics