The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)

Streaming Services: Netflix

Movie Name/Year: The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)

Genre: Comedy, Horror

Length: 101 minutes

Rating: NR

Production/Distribution: Boies / Schiller Film Group, Wonderland Sound and Vision, Netflix

Director: McG

Writer: Dan Lagana, Brad Morris, Jimmy Warden, McG, Brian Duffield

Actors: Judah Lewis, Samara Weaving, Jenna Ortega, Emily Alyn Lind, Andrew Bachelor, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, Hana Mae Lee, Ken Marino, Leslie Bibb, Chris Wylde, Carl McDowell, Maximilian Acevedo, Juliocesar Chavez, Jennifer Foster, Raymond Patterson, Valentina Mandala

Blurb from IMDb:  Two years after Cole survived a satanic blood cult, he's living another nightmare: high school. And the demons from his past? Still making his life hell.

Selina’s Point of View:

The Babysitter (2017) blindsided audiences when it came out. It looked like it was going to be a super basic, overly campy film. It was released in that October and people figured that it was going to be Netflix’s attempt at a B-Halloween flick. Instead, we wound up with a smart – if still campy – piece of comedy-horror gold.

It was an instant classic.

Honestly, with McG (3 Days to Kill, Terminator Salvation, Charlie’s Angels) at the helm, we all should have known better. He’s an executive producer/consultant for Supernatural (2005-2020). The comedy and paranormal quality of The Babysitter is right on par with that series – if a little goofier.

Of course, The Babysitter: Killer Queen is a sequel. It makes sense to be a little nervous about it. It’s tough to capture the same feel of a film twice, especially when the first one was so surprising.

What made people even more nervous is that the trailer lacked any sign of the modern scream queen that made the first one so incredible: Samara Weaving (Ready or Not, Guns Akimbo, SMILF). It was a gamble for Netflix to make it seem like she wasn’t going to have any part in The Babysitter: Killer Queen. Next time, if that’s the direction they want to take, they should wait to label her stunt double until after the film comes out.

That said, the sequel took a much more basic approach to the story telling process. It starts off with us learning that everyone thinks Cole is crazy and that only his best friend stuck by him through it. He’s bullied at school and having a rough go at it. At first, I was a little disappointed.

We’ve seen that story play through in the past. Part of what made The Babysitter such a dark horse success is that it subverted our expectations. Audiences went into it figuring the film would tell a story we’ve already heard, and then it didn’t.

I grew concerned very early on here.

By the end of it, though, I was happy. It turned into a much more interesting plot than I had initially believed it would and it took some risks.

The Babysitter: Killer Queen was just as campy and fun as the first one. There’s a touch more cringe, but otherwise, it’s on the same level. If you liked the first movie, you’ll probably like this one.

(Cat was unable to write her review due to some health issues, but she wanted me to add that she loved it and would have given it a 4.5.)

  

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 37%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 77%

Metascore – 30/100

Metacritic User Score – 6.3/10

IMDB Score – 6.3/10

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4.5/5

Trust the Dice Parental Advisory Rating: R

P.S.: Mid-credits scene.

Movie Trailer: