Movies
[Review] Bloody ‘The Babysitter’ Fails to Deliver On Its Promise; Samara Weaving is Transcendent
Netflix has given you two options this past Friday the 13th, and your best bet is to watch David Fincher’s incredible “Mindhunter” series over McG‘s absurd slasher The Babysitter.
Originally a New Line Cinema production, The Babysitter follows Cole (Judah Lewis), who is madly in love with his babysitter Bee (Samara Weaving). She’s cool and awesome in all the ways Cole is not. One evening while Bee is babysitting, Cole witnesses the unthinkable. Now he must survive a night full of first kisses, first broken hearts, and first encounters with homicidal maniacs (played by Bella Thorne, Andrew Bachelor, Robbie Amell, and Hana Mae Lee). –Netflix
This on-the-nose coming-of-age slasher is a buffet of gore that’s plagued by an inconsistent tone. Always trying too hard to be hip and cool (boasting a ridiculous soundtrack that would make a ’90s horror film jealous), McG turns Brian Duffield‘s Blacklist screenplay into a bad dad joke (with handjobs and all) that’s in the middle of a midlife crisis. It’s a bummer, too, because the chemistry between Lewis and Weaving in the first half of the film is dynamite.
Speaking of, Weaving’s performance dominates the first half of the film (she also steals the show in Joe Lynch’s Mayhem). She’s transcendent and could carry any film on her shoulders…only McG instead opts to turn the camera towards her unbearable knucklehead “Scooby-Doo” friends who bloat the second half of the film with a tiresome game of cat-and-mouse that’s dreadfully boring.
Even worse, The Babysitter looks like shit. McG comes from a music video background and that’s exactly what is on the screen – everything looks stage-y, with the empty streets lit up like a studio backlot where they would film “Desperate Housewives”.
The Babysitter also fails to deliver on its promise: the babysitter is somehow in possession of the book of the devil and it’s never used. In fact, you could completely remove the cult/satanic subplot from the film and nothing would change. Taking that one step further, removing everyone but the babysitter and child would have made for a way more entertaining movie.
As confused and sloppy as The Babysitter is, at least it’s astonishingly bloody. If anything, it’s a good primer for the far superior Better Watch Out, out now through Well Go USA.
Movies
SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!
As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.
Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:
Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.
Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.
Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.
Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.
Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?
Also check out:
The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.
Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.
And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.
These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.
Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.
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