Well, isn’t this a nice palate cleanser after some pretty awful films I have been watching for review purposes. On first blush this reminded me quite a bit of a similarly themed babysitter film which I adore called House of the Devil but just when I was getting bummed out at how similar the two films where Babysitter Wanted diverged and forged its own path, and in so doing, won my heart.
A young woman leaves her mother and home for the first time to go away to college. Upon arriving she finds she will be living with the poster-girl for bad roomies, that she needs a bed, and that she needs a job. While there’s little she can do about the roommate and bed, for now, she does find work as a babysitter for a couple and their shy young son. As perfect as things may appear though, there is a stranger that has been watching young Angie, and when he appears at the family’s secluded farm the simple night of babysitting becomes a nightmare none may survive.
The films hews a little too close to HOTD for my tastes but this appears to be one of those situations where it was just a sort of galactic kismet as both were made at nearly the same time. And once BS gets going the film strays away from the previous film. I can’t say I was surprised by anything but the refreshing ending, but this is a solid movie. Very good acting, fun writing, a good and gory movie without wallowing in cruelty, and one which is just a fun movie. It was nice to watch a good, scary movie that, while it is inspired by the films of the ‘70s isn’t obsessed with that or any specific decade. It’s nice to watch a movie that plays fair, is smart, and just gives you a good time. Popcorn? Absolutely, and in the best ways. Very well made with a good soundtrack and good casting choices. While not amazing, this is an utterly solid effort and worth your time. The one knock I have is that I did totally guess what the movie was pretty early in, which, while a bit lame for me, didn’t kill the film for me.
7.5 out of 10
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 