STARRING
Samara Weaving - Bee
Bella Thorne - Allison
Andrew Bachelor - John
Judah Lewis - Cole
Robbie Amell - Max
Hana Mae Lee - Sonya
Emily Alyn Lind - Michelle
Leslie Bibb - Mom
Ken Marino - Dad
Chris Wylde - Juan
Genre - Horror/Comedy/Slasher/Satanic
Running Time - 85 Minutes
PLOT
When Cole stays up past his bedtime, he discovers that his hot babysitter is part of a Satanic cult that will stop at nothing to keep him quiet.
I won’t get too much into any plot details since it’s a film that deserves to be seen without knowing all the twists and turns that pop up. But THE BABYSITTER is more focused on entertaining its audience with a fun ride rather than scaring its viewers. This trend has been very popular within the last few years with films like HAPPY DEATH DAY, WARM BODIES and THIS IS THE END. The horror elements are all in place, but these films are more comedic than anything else. This makes THE BABYSITTER a harder film to review since comedy is really subjective. I don’t think all the jokes and gags work in this film, but it did make me laugh more than I was expecting. In fact, THE BABYSITTER doesn’t hide its 80s coming-of-age teen comedy inspirations with teenage crushes, bullies, bro jocks who don’t mind giving life lessons and kids just want to be understood within an adult world. The comedic portions have been done to death since the 1980s, but they remain to have a certain charm and appeal due to the actors and the characters they seem to be having fun playing.
Since THE BABYSITTER wants to be a modern John Hughes or Chris Columbus type of film, the horror aspect becomes as bit of a sacrifice as the victims of this Satanic cult. While the death scenes are visual highlights, the whole idea of the Satanic theme isn’t as developed as one would hope. Certain characters explain why they’re willing to sell their soul to the Devil, but none of it is really fleshed out for it to feel substantial. But this subplot allows tension and suspense to build within the last half of the film, as well as amuse the audience with how the consequences of the antagonists’ actions play out. For those expecting any sort of demonic activity or some Hellish fun will be severely disappointed.
THE BABYSITTER is directed by McG, a very popular music video director during the last half of the 1990s who would later direct the original CHARLIE’S ANGELS film series [as well as the not-so-good TERMINATOR: SALVATION]. McG is a very visual filmmaker who loves style over substance, which is probably why he gets a lot of dislike from cinephiles that I’ve encountered on the internet. But McG is working with a decent script here, allowing to reign himself in to create a really nice looking film that is quick paced and never leaves you feeling bored or lacking for some action. It definitely has an 80s look without it going full retro, keeping the story in modern times. There are also random title cards that pop up, giving this sort of grind house feel that I kind of dug. I think the best stuff visually is obviously the death sequences. None of them are innovative or anything, but they’re really well shot and well built, creating a bit of “ooh” and “ahh” when they pop up. You get daggers through the skulls, a fiery explosion, a hanging, people getting shot, heads exploding and even a car running someone down. And these moments are usually done in an upbeat manner in almost a black comedic way. I actually like McG’s music video work and I don’t mind his work on CHARLIE’S ANGELS, so his direction worked for me here. It had a lot of energy and created a fun atmosphere that I appreciated. Sorry, Christian Bale.
The rest of the supporting cast do their part as well. It’s nice to see Leslie Bibb and Ken Marino as Cole’s parents, even though they’re not in the film all that much. Emily Alan Lind is also very sweet as Melanie, Cole’s neighbor and friend. As for the cult members, two of the actors really stand out. Bella Thorne is very funny as Allison, an extremely vain and ditzy teenager. Her dialogue is really amusing and Thorne recites it perfectly. She seems to be having a lot of fun playing a stereotypical mean girl cheerleader. And Robbie Amell is great as jock-bro Max. Out of all the characters, he plays the character who enjoys hurting and torturing people the most. Amell plays the role with so much glee and excitement that you can’t help but like his douchey character. He’s also shirtless for much of his screen time, so fans of that will enjoy the eye candy for sure.
And as usual for films going for nostalgia, the soundtrack kicks butt. We have Queen’s “We Are the Champions”, Bow Wow Wow’s “I Want Candy”, Dusty Springfield’s “Spooky” and more. A nice selection of songs to boost those nostalgic vibes.
THE FINAL HOWL
SCORE
DIRECTED BY
McG
STARRING
Judah Lewis - Cole
Jenna Ortega - Phoebe
Emily Alyn Lind - Michelle
Robbie Amell - Max
Andrew Bachelor - John
Bella Thorne - Allison
Hana Mae Lee - Sonya
Ken Marino - Dad
Leslie Bibb - Mom
Chris Wylde - Juan
Samara Weaving - Bee
Genre - Horror/Comedy/Satanic
Running Time - 101 Minutes
PLOT
Two years after defeating a satanic cult led by his babysitter Bee, Cole’s trying to forget his past and focus on surviving high school. But when old enemies unexpectedly return, Cole will once again have to outsmart the forces of evil.
REVIEW
After enjoying 2017’s THE BABYSITTER, I felt it was a pretty easy decision to check out this year’s sequel. With the original cast and director back, I figured the continuation to Cole’s story would be fulfilling and justified considering the quality of the first film. Unfortunately like Cole at the end of the first film, I realized that I didn’t need another BABYSITTER film if this is the best they could do after 3 years. What a let down!
The biggest culprit is that the screenwriters tried way too hard to capture the magic of the first film. The 2017 film’s strength was due to director McG being reined in by a single screenwriter who captured a lightning in the bottle at the right time. KILLER QUEEN suffers from having too many cooks in the kitchen, with four different screenwriters trying to be “funny” and “edgy” and letting McG do whatever the hell he wants visually. It’s kind of sad since the film starts off pretty well as we follow an older Cole still struggle with being a teenager in high school due to the town disbelieving him about the events of the first film. It plays out like your typical high school comedy until it reveals a really interesting twist that I didn’t see coming at all. That’s when it hits the fan because the film decides that more is more, ruining any potential and logical momentum this sequel previous had.
It doesn’t help that a lot of the characters are pretty paper-thin, even those from the previous film. Cole seemed a lot smarter and tougher in the first film, as he’s now grown up into this naive individual who seems lost by what’s going on. You’d think there would have been a character arc where the character grows into a man - having no problem facing the demons from his past and making sure the people around him are protected. But it feels backwards, as he’s clueless for the most part and it doesn’t make sense as of why. Even the villains that return seem old hat by this point. Max is still shirtless and still has his moments, but we’ve already seen this in the first film. Allison is still a ditz and gets shot in the boob again, so I guess that’s funny? John gets more to do and has some funny dialogue, but he seems like a background player nonetheless. And Sonya is just there, to be honest. Even the return of Bee during flashbacks is unfortunate because she’s one of the big reasons the first one worked so well. And she’s just really a cameo in this film. And the new characters replacing the previous cult members are pretty annoying and are shadows of the originals.
I will say that the character of Michelle is an inspired change in terms of her personality. Unlike Cole, she actually shows growth and is given new things to do that make her the most interesting character in the film. Not sure why or when the change occurred in between films, but the fresher dynamic between her and Cole is pretty great. Phoebe, the new girl, is a nice addition. She has spunk, attitude and sarcasm that makes her attractive to the viewer [and to Cole as well]. Too bad she becomes a bit of a damsel-in-distress in the final act, but I didn’t mind this addition to the story at all. And while it’s good that the parents got a bit more screen time, adding some comedic moments that are genuinely funny, I think their pot-smoking and video game interactions got old really quickly. Especially with Michelle’s dad, whose mid-life crisis act got less funny as the film went on.
It’s really disappointing because the first film, while not perfect, had a deeper story than expected and felt like a cohesive film tonally. The sequel suffers from trying to top what it had already done before. But with so many cooks in the kitchen, the jokes fall flat and the script feels like it’s trying to justify why this movie even exists. I think a really good sequel to THE BABYSITTER is definitely possible. But when everything is played for gags, and not even successful gags, it just leaves you feeling “meh”.
The direction by McG tries to keep with the over-the-top screenplay, feeling almost forced at times and not as fun as the first film. The film is about ten to fifteen minutes too long, with some odd pacing at times trying to keep up with all the plot points. While McG's visual presentation was more subtle in the previous film, he just throws anything he can visually to make the audience laugh - almost to the point that you need Adderall to keep up with it all. We get a ton of flashbacks, slow motion shots, splatter moments and explosions, and anything else that will compensate for a weak story. I’m not saying the gore and death sequences aren’t fun. In fact, some of them are pretty cool and are well done. But unlike the last film where you cared about the characters and you had tension and suspense built when it came to how the kills would happen, the kills in the sequel happen for the sake of laughs without any sense of real build or care to who will die because the characters aren’t as interesting the second time around. And the CGI looks a lot cheaper this time around for some reason, which is unfortunate. It’s a nice looking film and it definitely has energy, but McG didn’t work his magic the second time around sadly.
The acting is also a mixed bag. Judah Lewis is still fine as an older Cole, but I feel like he doesn’t have enough to really play with emotionally like he did in the first film. He feels like your typical “Final Boy” who has come back to an unnecessary sequel because he was contractually obligated to. Lewis does what he can and tries to bring maturity to a regressed character. Jenna Ortega and Emily Alan Lind do well with their roles, bringing a lot of sass and spunk to their roles. Ortega has some nice emotional beats as Phoebe, while Lind gets a lot more fun things to say and do in her new character arc, coming out of the film as a major highlight. The returning villains from the last film [Robbie Amell, Andrew Bachelor, Bella Thorne and Hana Mae Lee] give the same good performances as last film, just with less to do. Thorne in still a lot of fun, as is Amell who has the frat-bro schtick down pat. Lee, unfortunately, gets the short end of the stick as she’s just there really. And Bachelor gets more to say and do this time around, but gets sort of grating along the way with his pop culture references. Ken Marino, Leslie Bibb and Chris Wylde also get more screen time, but the writing for them tries too hard to be funny. This is especially in Wylde’s case, who hams it up every chance he gets. And the best part of the first film, Samara Weaving, returns in what’s really a glorified cameo. And in my opinion, she seriously looks like she would rather be anywhere else but in this film. I haven’t seen an actress this disinterested in a sequel since Jennifer Lawrence in DARK PHOENIX. I’m glad that Netflix check was good because I don’t see why else she would have bothered appearing here. It’s a shame because seemed to be having a ton of fun in the last film, but seems really bored here.
And the music here is good again, with songs like Das EFX’s “They Want EFX”, Young MC’s “Bust a Move” and Dead Kennedys’ “Police Truck” playing. Nostalgia shouldn’t be a selling point for your movie, but it as welcomed here because there wasn’t much else to latch on to.
THE FINAL HOWL
I enjoyed 2017’s THE BABYSITTER quite a bit, expecting myself to enjoy 2020’s THE BABYSITTER: KILLER QUEEN on the same level or at least close to it. Unfortunately, I ended up feeling disappointed by a sequel that tried too hard to be funny, shocking when it came to its death sequences, and forcing upon its audience why it even exists to begin with. The characters have either regressed since the first one or are written so paper-thin that you have no interest in caring about them. However, there are a couple of characters with interesting character arcs that are well done, but they’re the minority. McG’s direction wants to compensate for a weaker script by being super flashy and stylish to the point it becomes overwhelming and loses it visual luster super quickly because there’s no subtlety to it all. And the acting is a mixed bag, as a lot of the returning characters are pretty much glorified cameos and don’t get a whole lot to do. And Samara Weaving, the first film’s highlight, looks like she wishes she was anywhere but in this film. Cash that check, girl! KILLER QUEEN is just okay and only worth checking out if you enjoyed the first film and care enough to see how it continues. But in my opinion, THE BABYSITTER should have been a one-and-done because this sequel isn’t worth selling your soul for.
SCORE
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