The Babysitter: Killer Queen on Netflix is a horror comedy and the sequel to 2017's original, in which a young Cole (played by Judah Lewis) finds out his babysitter Bee (Samara Weaver) is part of a Satanic cult. In this, Cole's now a teenager (the original was filmed in 2015 and the actor has grown some) and must face the resurrected members of the cult. I liked this a lot better than the first.
The first film was a mixed bag in my opinion. It felt a little all-over-the-place. This one feels a lot more streamlined and straight-to-the-point. The last movie also tried to be a coming-of-age story, which didn't gel with me. This one dumps a lot of that and focuses more on the action and comedy to its benefit. (Not to say that Cole doesn't have an arc.)
There are some creative, madcap, bloody kills in this. Returning director McG (who did the Charlie's Angels movies) brings back his distinctive visual choices. It doesn't always land but is fun when it does. The new location, a rocky area surrounding a lake, is pretty scenic and also serves as a nice treacherous location for the characters to scramble through.
Thing is that for a movie called The Babysitter, it has very little of the actual sitter in this. Weaving's stock has risen recently, and she's had a busy schedule these last couple of years, so apparently she was available for a limited period of time. I know that there are people who feel that Bee's relationship with Cole was one if not the biggest parts of the first film, but I'm okay with this. More time for the jokes and carnage.
On the plus side, we get the rest of what is probably the most oddball group of Satanists one ever did see. Robbie Amell still steals the show as Max, the shirt-hating psychopath with a fondness for Cole who'll compliment him even as he's trying to kill him. Pitch Perfect's Hana Mae Lee's Sonya is still fun as the most Satan-loving and hardcore members of the group. Sadly like the last film, she is underutilized. The two more comical members Allison (Bella Thorne) and John (Andrew Bachelor), who I felt were the weak links last time, are better written, especially John.
Melanie (Emily Alyn Lind), Cole's love interest from the last film gets a lot more to do here. I loved Lind's performance and how her character is made more interesting. We also get some new faces who fit right in.
There is one really frustrating part of this film. Everyone thinks Cole made up the events from last time. I'm sorry, even if they couldn't find any bodies, there were still so many loose threads that this doesn't make any sense. Also, the high school scenes run too hard on "high school sucks" cliches. However, most of these issues are just in the introduction and quickly fade away.
Overall, I recommend this. This was just a lot of crazy fun. (It does help to see the first one to understand what is going on.)
No comments:
Post a Comment