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The Babysitter – Movie Review

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Image result for the babysitter

Netflix had a few successes when it comes to producing Horror movies. Hush, The Invitation and recently Gerald’s Game come to mind. And just last Friday the 13th they released a new scary movie. The Babysitter.

What’s it about?

The Babysitter is about Cole (Judah Lewis), a boy who has probably the best Babysitter ever. Bee (Samara Weaving) is hot, almost as nerdy as he is and has his back when it comes to bullies. But it wouldn’t be a horror movie if there wasn’t something bad about Bee. When spying on her after his bedtime, Cole realizes that she and her friends started a satanic cult, sacrificing a boy right in his living room. So he has to fight off a vast group of teenagers who all try to kill him.

In a lot of ways it’s similar to Tucker and Dale vs Evil. The premise, or a similar premise, has probably happened in many movies before this. But teenagers acting crazy and being funny in a fun and referential kind of way is just great. The group of murderous teenagers are scary, yet hilarious. It also plays a little like Home Alone, but not too much; it doesn’t feel like a rip-off. But it surely has to be inspired by it.

The new NEtflix movie The Babysitter

Source: Netflix

The Cast

Other than Bee there are 4 other teenagers in the group, each with their own archetypal personality:

  • John (Andrew Bachelor from Meet the Blacks) as the African American comic relief (yes, even in a horror comedy we get a comic relief),
  • Sonya (Hana Mae Lee from Pitch Perfect), the Asian silent yet crazy girl,
  • Max (Robbie Amell from Arq), the athletic jock
  • Allison (Bella Thorne), the self absorbed cheerleader.

While these characters could be boring and two dimensional, they are not. They manage to actually make these characters realistic enough that you actually care about them. In good old horror fashion they each try their luck at killing Cole, so each of them gets their time to shine. And they all do shine.

The acting was great. Not only were the teenagers convincing and delivered every line in the perfect way, but Judah Lewis and Samara Weaving were really perfect. They had the right chemistry that you would actually believe that this teenage girl actually enjoys hanging out with the nerdy kid Cole. I didn’t know anything about either of them beforehand, I had heard of Home and Away but never watched it. But I’ll be sure to keep looking for them in future movies.

The Babysitter cast

Is it Scary?

It is a little scary. It’s shocking at parts, surprising. But it is not that scary. It’s about as scary as Tucker and Dale vs Evil or Cabin in the Woods. There’s quite a few of slasher-typical stalking which is always a good thing.

Also the gore is great. There is not that much blood, but when it’s done, it is done really well. They use the gore for maximum impact instead of just trying to shock as often as possible.

Final Thoughts

The Babysitter actually managed to surprise by being original, well done, well acted and self aware. It starts off like a typical teenage-comedy, but turns into a great modern slasher film. It is well shot and most importantly entertaining. The runtime is only 85 minutes, they showed what they had and wanted to show and that was it.

If you liked this review, also check out

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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