Text © Richard
Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2021
Images from the Internet
With the
lockdown still going on and my job on hiatus, I have been expanding my viewing
palate. Both of these releases are available on Netflix, who helped produce the
films. Note that I was writing the reviews as I was watching them.
The Babysitter
Directed by McG (aka
Joseph McGinty Nicol)
Boles/Schiller Film Group; New Line Cinema; Wonderland Sound and Vision; Netflix
85 minutes, 2017
Cole (Judah Lewis) is a shy, nerdy kid who is often bullied, if not ignored. He even wonders if he’s a “pussy,” though he is adored by the girl next door – okay, across the street and down the block, fellow intellectual, Melanie (Emily Alyn Lind) who has a total douche for a father (a hysterical Chris Wylde). He lives with his mom, Phyliss (Leslie Bibb; did they ad the extra “s” at the end of the character’s name to match the extra “b” in hers?) and dad (Ken Marino), who is trying to teach him to drive.
It seems his only supporter is his babysitter, Bee (Australian hottie Samara Weaving), who is way to old for him; she obviously knows it, but he doesn’t. Yet.
Right off the bat, the
story telegraphs a lot of what is going to happen later, obstacles and weapons
that Kevin – I mean Cole – will use against adversaries. It’s only 11 minutes
in, and the director, McG, is setting up for the third act, as I am assuming at
this point. Meanwhile, I like the theme where whenever Cole and Melanie talk,
everyone else is in slow motion. Maybe by the end
he’ll get the Nerd Love Connection.
There is some really good dialogue here and there, like “I don’t yell at you; I just speak in all caps.” There are also a lot of film references literally quoted, like from Billy Jack (1971) and The Godfather Part II (1974). Bee is as much of a culture hound as Cole. But there is a difference, as when she’s spending the weekend babysitting and Cole expects to see her making out, on the insistence of Melanie, probably trying to get him to realize he can’t have Bee.
Bee has invited a bunch of friends, both male and female in a nice racial mix, including Allison (model and somewhat singer Bella Thorne), jock Max (Robbie Amell, pulling a Taylor Lautner/”The Manny” bit), Sonya (Hana May Lee, the quiet rapper of the Pitch Perfect franchise), John (Andrew Bachelor) who is a bit stereotypical rapper type personality, and shy Samuel (Doug Haley). But things suddenly take a turn for the weird, stepping away from the horny teen comedy, and before you can say Race with the Devil (1975), it seems Cole has seen more than he should have, putting his life in danger to start the second act.
There are some really fine directorial decisions made here, beyond the mixing of speeds, such as words popping up on the screen and almost found footage style photography at one point. It’s bloody but retains its humor. This is a very dark comedy, and the dark is blood red.
Even though it’s kind of an update of Home
Alone (1990), it’s not just electrifying a doorknob, but rather it’s Cole’s
fight for survival with bodies piling up in thankfully gruesome and gory ways.
Revenge is best served with home weapons. Oh, and before, when I commented on them
projecting on future ways people were going to be getting theirs, I was right
all the way. Still fun, though, because there are a number of quite a few
unexpected surprises thrown in. Though not a masterpiece, it was truly better
than I expected and left me interested in seeing the second part, which I’m
about to start now.
The Babysitter:
Killer Queen
Directed by McG
Wonderland; Boles/Schiller Film Group; Wonderland Sound and Vision; Netflix
102 minutes, 2020
This film takes place two years after the first. Cole was 12, so he’d should be 14 or 15 here, but is easily 16. This is due to the fact that the films were actually shot four years apart, according to IMDB. With an increased budget and a much longer run time, nearly all of the original cast came back for this (I will only list the new actors going forward). which is a credit to director McG, even though there are new writers.
The first film, despite the satanic theme, actually had no obvious supernatural nor metaphysical elements in it, but this one goes beyond that line in the brimstone.
Meanwhile, Melanie (looking even more like Chloë Grace Moretz) is dating a jerk jock-off, Jimmy (Maximilian Acevedo) – what happened between her and Cole?! – though they are still friends and neighbors. But a new girl, Phoebe (Jenna Ortega) is in the class, entering in slo-mo to the Cramps’ – a band I saw often in their early voodoobilly days – “The Way I Walk”… now that’s cool as wearing sunglasses after dark!
Apparently, no one believes Cole’s story, even though everyone who has been disposed of (including two police officers) has disappeared and he was hiding with Melanie while gun-toting Bee was after them, so now everyone, including his parents, think he’s a bit of a psycho. The drugs he must take attest to that.
When Cole, Melanie, her bully beau Jimmy, and a couple of his friends, Diego (the interestingly named Juliocesar Chavez) and Boom Boom (Jennifer Foster) – future slaughter fodder, I’m sure – head out to “the lake,” I was assuming we were in “cabin in the woods” territory, but instead it’s more like the bikini and shorts mob scenes from the Piranha franchise (Phoebe is also at the lake on her own, taking off on a skidoo) – until they all take a houseboat up the waterway to a secluded spot: cabin in the woods on a lake, essentially. Guess it just took patience for me.
Melanie is an odd character. She has a stoner/computer game playing dad who cares more about his car than her, a doofus of a boyfriend that she knows is an idiot (her own description), a habit of playing hooky and is a bit sex obsessed, though deep down she’s smart, and is into Cole but keeps doing this Bill Cosby routine “Adam and Eve” thing (if it’s cool to use him as a reference here) of “come here; no, go away; no come here; no go away). I’m beginning to think Cole can do better.
Less than a third of the way in, and act 2 starts with a shocking act that I totally didn’t expect, I’m happy to say, and before you know it, the blood cult from the first film is back from hell, with Max still shirtless, Allison in her cheerleading outfit, Sonya serving cookies, etc., and they are all after Cole (and his blood). I’m not going to say too much more about the story itself, so don’t worry about spoilers.
There are a lot of stylistic carryovers from the first film, such as words popping up onscreen, blood splattering on other’s faces, slow-mo, the use of Queen on the soundtrack, and added here are the backstories of the cult, which was pleasurable (and informative). I love all the film references, such as Max consistently screaming “Come on out and play,” quoting and using the intonation from The Warriors (1979). There’s also lots of Star Trek and Terminator talk. So great for film geeks, like me.
As the first one had some predictability among the surprises and chaos, I’m halfway through and I have already figured out how this is going to play out. I’m not sure of the road to it, but I know how the highway is going to get laid.
There’s a recurring video-game aspect to the film that made me laugh every time, even with it being a bit of a nod to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). Also, what amazes me, is how much they tried to make Melanie look like Bee, with the red lipstick, blonde hair, and cleavage (she was 17 during filming).
For this film, there was a much larger Latino/a cast, which was wonderful. It was starting to feel like watching a very bloody “Mr. Iglesias.” Speaking of cast, I would like to give a shout out to one of my favorite characters, Cole’s school psychologist, Dr. Big Carl McManus, played to the profane hilt by Carl McDowell, stealing every scene in which he appeared.
While the film was a bit long, I do have to add that McG did a sharp-as-a-tack job keeping the flow going, as he did in the first film. Did it need to be this long? Probably not, but it was still well done. A great couple of rainy weekend afternoon viewings around the cozy fire: just you, your loved one if they’re into it, and some demons from hell. Party on.
Just be warned that these trailers give away too much information:
No comments:
Post a Comment